Tompkins Wake

What Tompkins Wake does

Tompkins Wake is a New Zealand full-service commercial law firm founded in 1922 and headquartered in Hamilton, operating four offices across Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua and Tauranga with 130+ staff. The firm delivers legal services across 36 practice areas including corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, dispute resolution and litigation, construction, commercial property, employment, immigration, intellectual property, agribusiness, energy, food and beverage, Māori business, and private equity and venture capital, serving large corporates and listed enterprises alongside SMEs, government, agribusiness and growth-stage startups.

The firm operates a dual go-to-market: a partner-led enterprise field-sales model for complex mandates evidenced by clients such as Gallagher Group, Open Country Dairy, Foster Group, Obayashi Corporation, Ultrafast Fibre and Crown Fibre Holdings, complemented by an AdviSME self-serve platform with AI-powered Business Healthcheck, automated smart legal documents and fixed-fee or monthly subscription pricing for the SME segment. Additional technology-enabled offerings include the Virtual General Counsel outsourced in-house counsel service, the TW Drive resource platform for the startup and venture capital ecosystem, Josef-powered legal bots and Settify-enabled online client intake. Early-adopter integrations with LawVu, Automio, RedView, Josef, and Settify underpin internal practice operations and client delivery. Revenue is generated through traditional professional fee billing for enterprise mandates and subscription or fixed-fee pricing for SME and startup services; the firm is privately held as a partnership and does not publicly disclose financial results.

Name

Tompkins Wake

Legal name

Tompkins Wake

Website

https://tompkinswake.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Tompkins Wake is a New Zealand commercial law firm founded in 1922 with 130+ staff across offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua and Tauranga, serving corporates, SMEs and startups across 36 practice areas with an AI-enabled SME platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Legal Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate & Construction Law (BPAHAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Litigation & Dispute Valuation (damages, shareholder disputes) (FSAEAHAI), Closing & Settlement Services (Settlement Agents) (BPAJAOAE)

Keywords

• Commercial legal services
• Corporate law firm
• Dispute resolution litigation
• Mergers acquisitions advisory
• Private equity venture capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotorua

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Professional Fees: Traditional legal service fees for corporate and commercial law matters including M&A, litigation, property, employment, and specialized industry sectors. Services delivered by partner-led teams with expertise across multiple practice areas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Tompkins Wake is a full-service commercial law firm providing legal advice across 36+ practice areas including corporate and commercial, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution and litigation, construction, property, employment, immigration, insolvency, and intellectual property. The firm serves enterprise clients through partner-led teams and SMEs via its AdviSME technology platform, augmented by AI-powered tools such as the Business Healthcheck and automated smart legal documents.

Product overview

Tompkins Wake is a leading New Zealand commercial law firm founded in 1922, operating from four offices (Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga). The firm offers a comprehensive suite of legal services across 36 practice areas, underpinned by a portfolio of technology-enhanced products. The core offering is full-service legal advice across corporate/commercial, property, litigation, employment, and specialist sectors. This is augmented by legal tech products: AdviSME (AI-powered SME legal platform with automated documents and Business Healthcheck), Virtual General Counsel (on-demand in-house legal team service), TW Drive (startup/VC legal resources), Josef bots (automated client service delivery), and Settify (AI-powered family law client engagement). The firm also leverages tools including LawVu, Automio, RedView, and Josef for internal operations and client service delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AdviSME: A technology-driven legal service using automation and AI to provide innovative and affordable legal solutions for SMEs.
• Virtual General Counsel (VirtualGC)
• TW Drive

Products and services

• Core Legal Services Full-service commercial law firm offering legal services across 36 practice areas including Corporate & Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking & Finance, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, Construction, Commercial Property, Employment, Privacy & Data Protection, Technology & Digital, Agribusiness, Energy, Food & Beverage, Franchising, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Life Sciences & Biotechnology, Māori Business, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Restructuring & Insolvency, and more. Services delivered through offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, and Tauranga.
• AdviSME Technology-driven legal service using automation and AI to deliver affordable legal solutions for small-to-medium businesses. Includes a free AI Business Healthcheck, automated smart legal documents, and human lawyer review. Operated by Tompkins Wake as a separate brand targeting the SME market.
• Virtual General Counsel (VirtualGC) Provides access to Tompkins Wake's entire team of lawyers on demand, with a dedicated relationship manager coordinating specialist expertise for business clients. Targets larger clients needing full-service in-house legal support with cost certainty.
• TW Drive Legal resource platform designed to support New Zealand start-ups and venture capital ecosystem with interactive tools, automated legal documents, and resources targeted at founders and growing start-ups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Construction team has worked on projects totalling more than $1 billion over the past decade
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• The IcehousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Regional partnership for Waikato and Bay of Plenty with business capability building programmes, workshops, coaching and advisory services. Tompkins Wake contributes $15,000 in scholarships for the first year, including two Owner Manager Programme scholarships valued at $5,000 and five 'Taking Your Business Forward' scholarships of $1,000 each.
• MultilawcoreOthers · 1 December 2020Membership in elite global law network spanning 100+ countries with 10,000+ lawyers. Provides Tompkins Wake clients access to expert international legal advice and consistent service for New Zealand companies operating globally. Multilaw member firms are ranked in more than 132 practice categories by leading legal guides including Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.
• Imagimation SchoolsupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2019Digital learning and innovation workplace that collaborated with Tompkins Wake to create the AdviSME Business Healthcheck using AI tools combined with legal expertise. Partnership to develop automated legal documents powered by Automio.
• LawVusupportingTechnology or IntegrationLegal operations software provider. Tompkins Wake was one of the first users of the software which improves communication, visibility, knowledge management and aids information sharing between clients and their lawyers.
• AutomiosupportingTechnology or IntegrationLegal automation platform used for developing client onboarding and recruitment forms and building bots to power legal work for the AdviSME platform.
• RedRain (RedView)supportingTechnology or IntegrationLegal app provider. Tompkins Wake co-funded development of RedView's integration into commonly used practice management systems to provide mobile access to client information, matters and time recording.
• JosefsupportingTechnology or IntegrationLegal automation platform for building bots that make delivery of the firm's services more accessible, efficient and seamless for clients. Tompkins Wake is the first New Zealand law firm to use Josef.
• SettifysupportingTechnology or IntegrationAI-software enabling family lawyers to engage with clients online and enables clients to complete a legal needs assessment online before meeting their lawyer.
• Imagimation SchoolsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCreated AI-powered Business Healthcheck for AdviSME platform, combining powerful AI tools with Tompkins Wake legal expertise.
• The Good CollectivesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration focused on creating a Waikato charitable sector that is more effective, more sustainable and delivers more impact to the communities within the region. Tompkins Wake is a member of this collective.
• Momentum Community FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial enterprise that Tompkins Wake was instrumental in helping form. The firm continues to support the Foundation with advice to help achieve greater social impact.
• Shakespeare Martineau (Multilaw)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFellow Multilaw member firm that Tompkins Wake worked alongside on the East Imperial acquisition and reverse listing on London Stock Exchange.
• KPMGsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdvisory firm that Tompkins Wake worked with for Obayashi Corporation on the Eastland Generation acquisition.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bell Gully: Bell Gully is NZ's largest full-service commercial law firm, headquartered in Auckland and Wellington. It is a direct competitor to Tompkins Wake for top-tier corporate, M&A, and dispute resolution work, but operates at significantly greater scale and brand recognition.
• MinterEllison Rudd Watts: MinterEllison Rudd Watts is the NZ arm of the MinterEllison global network, offering full-service commercial law across corporate, M&A, and dispute resolution. It is a competitor on mid-market NZ M&A deals and has been a co-counsel with Tompkins Wake on past awards (e.g., Flooring Brands acquisition).
• Buddle Findlay: Buddle Findlay is a leading NZ commercial law firm with strong public law, infrastructure, and corporate practices. It competes with Tompkins Wake for government, energy, and large commercial mandates and operates at comparable geographic spread nationally.
• Russell McVeagh: Russell McVeagh is one of NZ's premier corporate and commercial law firms, traditionally focused on top-tier M&A and capital markets. It is a competitor for high-end mandates and is comparable to Tompkins Wake in client mix but operates at a larger scale with greater brand pull.
• Chapman Tripp: Chapman Tripp is one of NZ's largest full-service commercial law firms with strong corporate, M&A, banking and infrastructure practices. It competes with Tompkins Wake on mid-to-large transactions, especially in the infrastructure and energy sectors where Tompkins Wake has flagged strength.

Direct peers

• Duncan Cotterill: Duncan Cotterill is a NZ mid-size full-service commercial law firm with offices across the country. It is the closest direct peer to Tompkins Wake in scale (mid-tier national), service offering (corporate, commercial property, dispute resolution), and regional/enterprise client mix.
• Lane Neave: Lane Neave is a South Island-based NZ full-service law firm with comparable size and practice breadth. It competes with Tompkins Wake for mid-market corporate work and shares the regional dominance strategy (Christchurch/Canterbury is to Lane Neave what Waikato/Bay of Plenty is to Tompkins Wake).
• Anderson Lloyd: Anderson Lloyd is a NZ full-service commercial law firm with regional strength in the South Island and similar mid-market positioning to Tompkins Wake. It is a direct peer in scale, regional strategy, and practice mix (corporate, property, agribusiness, dispute resolution).
• Hazlett Lawyers: Hazlett Lawyers is a Waikato-based NZ law firm with strong regional presence in Hamilton, directly competing with Tompkins Wake's headquarters market. It is comparable in scale (mid-size regional) and practice mix, and represents the most direct local competitor for Waikato enterprise and SME work.

Regional players

• McVeagh Fleming: McVeagh Fleming is a Bay of Plenty-based NZ law firm with strong regional presence in Tauranga and Rotorua — directly competing with Tompkins Wake's offices in the same geography. It offers a similar full-service commercial practice and is a close competitor for SME and mid-market clients in the region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tompkinswake
• Facebookfacebook.com/tompkinswake
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tompkins-wake
• Instagraminstagram.com/tompkins_wake

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tompkins Wake