Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public

What Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public does

Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public is a privately held, full-service New Zealand law firm founded in 1864 and headquartered in Nelson, with a second office in Richmond. The firm serves three client segments: individuals and families (family law, residential property, immigration, wills and estates), businesses (agribusiness, commercial property, employment, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry, health and safety, Māori organisations, resource management, IP, trusts, and business structuring), and licensed immigration advisers (complaint proceedings, complex visa applications, and tribunal representation). It employs 11-50 staff including partners, senior associates, associates, registered legal executives, and consultants, with documented leadership in litigation, commercial property, immigration, and senior law/succession.

The firm operates a traditional professional-services business model, charging clients through hourly rates and fixed-fee arrangements (the latter used, for example, in its immigration-adviser complaint service). Distribution is sales-led and relationship-based, conducted via direct office consultations, phone (+64 3 548 8349), email, and a website (pittandmoore.co.nz), with a publications programme and event speaking engagements supporting top- and mid-funnel client engagement. There are no proprietary technology platforms, no digital product, and no app; the firm delivers exclusively through its professional staff.

Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The firm is independently owned in a traditional partnership structure, with no parent company, private equity, or institutional investor involvement. Recent signals point to measured organic growth: internal promotion rounds in April 2025 and April 2026, ongoing lateral hiring, and the addition of niche practice areas (notably immigration-adviser services and trans-Tasman immigration). The firm has no M&A, no funding rounds, and no disclosed expansion beyond the existing two Top-of-the-South office locations.

Name

Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public

Legal name

Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public

Website

https://pittandmoore.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1864

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public is a privately held, full-service New Zealand law firm founded in 1864, headquartered in Nelson with a Richmond office. It serves individuals and families, businesses, and licensed immigration advisers across 18-plus practice areas including property, commercial, employment, immigration, and litigation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Immigration Law (BPAHAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD), Consular Appointment, Document Legalization & Attestation Services (Apostille) (THACAKAE)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Commercial law
• Immigration law
• Property conveyancing
• Estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Nelson

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Professional legal services billed primarily through hourly rates and fixed-fee arrangements for specific services. The firm offers fixed-fee options for immigration adviser complaint services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public is a full-service New Zealand law firm established in 1864, headquartered in Nelson with a second office in Richmond. The firm delivers legal advisory, transactional, and litigation services across 20+ practice areas, organized into three client segments: businesses, individuals/families, and licensed immigration advisers. Services are billed primarily on hourly rates with fixed-fee options for select matters such as immigration adviser complaint work.

Product overview

Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public is a full-service law firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of legal services for individuals, families, businesses, and immigration advisers. The firm operates as a unified service offering without a platform-plus-modules architecture. Services are organized into three main client categories: Business Services (agribusiness, commercial property, business structuring, employment, fisheries, forestry, health & safety, immigration, litigation, Māori organisations, resource management, trademarks, and trusts); Individual & Family Services (family law, immigration, inheritance planning, overseas investment, residential property, and dispute resolution); and Immigration Adviser Services (complaint proceedings, visa applications, and appeals). The firm has two office locations in Nelson and Richmond, serving clients across the Top of the South region of New Zealand since 1864.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agribusiness & Rural Legal Services
• Business Structuring, Advice & Commercial Contracts
• Buying, Selling or Starting a Business
• Commercial Property, Development & Leasing
• Employment Law
• Fisheries, Aquaculture & Maritime Law
• Forestry Legal Services
• Health & Safety Law
• Immigration & Visas - Corporate Migration
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Māori Organisations Legal Services
• Resource Management Law
• Trade Marks & Intellectual Property
• Trusts and Wealth Management
• Family Law
• Immigration & Visas - New Zealand
• Immigration & Visas - Australia
• Inheritance Planning, Estate Administration & Senior Law
• Overseas Investment
• Residential Property Services
• Legal Services for Immigration Advisers

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DLA Piper New Zealand: Global law firm's New Zealand offices (Auckland/Wellington) handling corporate, employment and immigration matters for multinational and larger regional employers — particularly relevant as a competitor for the corporate-migration practice.
• Buddle Findlay: Large New Zealand national law firm with full-service commercial, resource management, employment and immigration capabilities — an incumbent that draws away larger regional mandates Pitt & Moore would otherwise service.
• Simpson Grierson: National New Zealand law firm with broad corporate, property, employment and public-sector practices — an incumbent whose regional presence draws work away from smaller multi-practice firms like Pitt & Moore.
• Bell Gully: Top-tier New Zealand law firm with national reach across corporate, commercial property, resource management and employment — competing for larger mandates originating from the same agribusiness, forestry and fisheries corporates Pitt & Moore services.

Emerging players

• Fragomen: Global immigration-focused law firm with significant Australia/New Zealand practice — directly comparable on Pitt & Moore's immigration offering to corporate clients and licensed advisers, and a competitor for cross-border migration mandates.

Direct peers

• Tompkins Wake: Hamilton/Waikato-based full-service New Zealand law firm with similar practice breadth including commercial property, employment, immigration, family law and agribusiness — a comparable regional multi-practice peer.
• Anthony Harper: Multi-office New Zealand law firm (Christchurch and elsewhere) offering a comparable blend of commercial, property, employment, immigration and private-client services to similar SME and individual client segments as Pitt & Moore.
• Lane Neave: Christchurch-based multi-practice New Zealand law firm of comparable mid-market size, serving business and individual clients across property, commercial, employment, immigration, family and dispute resolution — the closest structural analogue to Pitt & Moore in another regional centre.
• Duncan Cotterill: Wellington-headquartered New Zealand multi-practice law firm with overlapping commercial, property, employment and litigation capabilities, competing for similar business client mandates in the regions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 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 Pitt & Moore Lawyers and Notaries Public