Gibson Sheat
Gibson Sheat Lawyers is a privately held New Zealand law firm headquartered in Lower Hutt, serving individuals, businesses, and government/not-for-profit clients through offices in Wellington, Lower Hutt, and Masterton with practice areas spanning personal, commercial, and organisational legal services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLower Hutt, New Zealand
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Gibson Sheat does
Gibson Sheat Lawyers is a privately held New Zealand partnership-style law firm headquartered in Lower Hutt with additional offices in Wellington and Masterton. The firm was formed through the 2015 merger of Gibson Sheat and Logan Gold Walsh, building on heritage dating to 1905, and operates three practice streams: Life Legal Services (personal matters including ACC claims, family law, residential property, estates, and trusts), Business Legal Services (commercial transactions, employment law, franchising, dispute resolution, and rural/forestry law), and Organisation Legal Services (government, charities, and not-for-profits). The firm has All-of-Government Legal Services Panel status and provides specialist teams in Maori services, ACC and health law, privacy, and franchising, serving both local Wellington-region clients and remote clients nationwide.
The firm employs 52+ people including 14+ named partners and a mix of solicitors, senior associates, registered legal executives, law clerks, and support staff. Its technology stack is conventional legal practice tooling — document management, email, video conferencing, and the firm website — with no proprietary platforms, AI capabilities, or disclosed software products in the source material. Revenue is generated exclusively through professional services fees for legal work, billed monthly on an hourly or capped-fee basis with charges adjusted for complexity, urgency, specialised knowledge, and risk, plus a 5% office expense charge, GST, and disbursements; pricing is not publicly disclosed.
The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer and direct-to-business via in-person consultation at the three offices, with website and remote (phone/email/video) channels extending reach nationwide. Marketing is limited to content (blog/news section), an e-newsletter, and SEO-oriented service pages, with no paid acquisition or institutional sales motion evident. Ownership is restricted to the partner group with no external institutional investment, parent company, or subsidiaries.
Gibson Sheat firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gibson Sheat
- Legal name
- Gibson Sheat Lawyers
- Website
- https://gibsonsheat.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Gibson Sheat Lawyers is a privately held New Zealand law firm headquartered in Lower Hutt, serving individuals, businesses, and government/not-for-profit clients through offices in Wellington, Lower Hutt, and Masterton with practice areas spanning personal, commercial, and organisational legal services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gibson Sheat industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Legal Services
- NAICS
- Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (541110)
- SIC
- Services-Legal Services (8111)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)
Keywords
Where Gibson Sheat is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lower Hutt
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices3 records
Markets served
Gibson Sheat business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Legal Services Fees: The firm charges clients for legal services based on time spent, complexity, urgency, specialised knowledge, responsibility and risks involved, and results achieved. Fee arrangements may include estimates, capped fees for certain work, or standard hourly billing. Fees are subject to GST and include a 5% office expense charge plus disbursements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Fee-based legal services with rates determined by complexity and time |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Gibson Sheat product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gibson Sheat is a New Zealand law firm providing legal services across three practice areas: Life (personal matters such as ACC, family, property, and estates), Business (commercial transactions, employment, franchising, and disputes), and Organisation (government, charities, and not-for-profits). The firm delivers advice through in-person consultations at offices in Wellington, Lower Hutt, and Masterton, with remote support available nationwide.
Product overview
Gibson Sheat is a New Zealand law firm offering legal services through three main practice areas: Life Legal Services (personal matters including ACC, property, family, and estates), Business Legal Services (commercial transactions, employment, disputes, and franchising), and Organisation Legal Services (government, charities, and not-for-profits). The firm operates from offices in Wellington, Lower Hutt, and Masterton, providing specialist teams including an ACC and Health Law team and Māori Services group. Services range from transaction support (buying/selling property and businesses) to dispute resolution and regulatory compliance advisory.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Life Legal Services
- Business Legal Services
- Organisation Legal Services
- ACC and Health Law Services
- Māori Legal Services
Companies that use Gibson Sheat
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Gibson Sheat technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Gibson Sheat partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- All-of-Government Legal Services PanelcoreGibson Sheat is part of the All-of-Government panel, enabling them to provide legal services to government agencies. This panel arrangement positions the firm as an approved provider for public sector legal work including procurement, policy, governance, and operational matters.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Gibson Sheat competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Chapman Tripp: Top-tier New Zealand law firm with offices in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Comparable to Gibson Sheat across commercial, property, public law, and trust/estate practices; operates at a much larger scale with broader geographic reach.
- Simpson Grierson: Full-service New Zealand law firm headquartered in Auckland with a Wellington office. Directly comparable as a multi-practice firm serving government, corporate, and individual clients, including in employment, property, and trust matters.
- Buddle Findlay: Major New Zealand full-service law firm with offices in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Comparable as a national multi-practice firm serving corporate, government, and individual clients with overlapping practice areas including commercial property, employment, and dispute resolution.
- Bell Gully: One of New Zealand's largest full-service law firms with offices in Auckland and Wellington. Directly comparable as a multi-practice NZ firm serving individuals, businesses, and government; Gibson Sheat's MĀori Services lead previously led Bell Gully's MĀori Services Group.
Direct peers
- Duncan Cotterill: New Zealand mid-tier full-service law firm with offices in Christchurch, Wellington, and other centres. Closely comparable to Gibson Sheat in scale, multi-office regional model, and breadth of practice across personal, business, and rural/agribusiness clients.
- Lane Neave: Canterbury-based New Zealand mid-tier law firm with multiple offices across the South Island and a presence in the North Island. Comparable as a multi-practice regional firm serving personal, business, and rural clients with similar breadth to Gibson Sheat.
- Holland Beckett: Bay of Plenty-based New Zealand law firm with offices in Tauranga, Rotorua, and Hamilton. Comparable as a regional multi-practice firm serving personal, business, and rural clients with similar service breadth to Gibson Sheat.
- Cavell Leitch: Christchurch-based full-service law firm. Closely comparable to Gibson Sheat as a mid-sized multi-practice firm covering family, property, commercial, and rural/agribusiness work for a regional client base.
- Anderson Lloyd: New Zealand mid-tier law firm with offices in Christchurch, Queenstown, Auckland, and Dunedin. Comparable in scale and multi-practice breadth, with particular overlap in rural, property, and commercial work similar to Gibson Sheat's Wellington/Wairarapa client base.
- Harkness Henry: Waikato-based New Zealand law firm. Comparable to Gibson Sheat as a regional full-service firm; notably, Gibson Sheat's Claire Byrne was previously a partner at Harkness Henry before joining in 2002.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Gibson Sheat financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gibson Sheat leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Gibson Sheat funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gibson Sheat M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gibson Sheat
What does Gibson Sheat do?
Gibson Sheat is a New Zealand law firm providing legal services across three practice areas: Life (personal matters such as ACC, family, property, and estates), Business (commercial transactions, employment, franchising, and disputes), and Organisation (government, charities, and not-for-profits). The firm delivers advice through in-person consultations at offices in Wellington, Lower Hutt, and Masterton, with remote support available nationwide.
Is Gibson Sheat a public or private company?
Gibson Sheat is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Gibson Sheat founded?
Gibson Sheat was founded in 2015. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Gibson Sheat based?
Gibson Sheat is headquartered in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Gibson Sheat make money?
One revenue line is on record: legal Services Fees.
Who are Gibson Sheat's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Chapman Tripp, Simpson Grierson, Buddle Findlay and Bell Gully. Direct peers are Duncan Cotterill, Lane Neave, Holland Beckett, Cavell Leitch, Anderson Lloyd and Harkness Henry.
Does Gibson Sheat have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gibson Sheat.
What industry is Gibson Sheat in?
Gibson Sheat's product category is Legal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAAAK, Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law. Its NAICS code is 5411 and its SIC code is 8111.