Five lawyers boost three Tompkins Wake offices

Tompkins Wake has appointed five lawyers in three of the firm’s four offices, boosting its expertise in several areas of specialisation.

The firm has welcomed senior solicitors Jasmine Findlater and Michelle Urquhart in Rotorua, associate Wendy Embling and solicitor Charlotte Lunt in Hamilton, and senior associate Juliet Short in Auckland.

The firm said that the appointments are the latest in a period of strong growth. Over the last four years, its legal team has grown by 60%, it said.

John Calder, Tompkins Wake chief executive and managing partner of the year winner at the 2019 New Zealand Law Awards, said that the firm is committed to continuing its investment in increasing and building capability to meet the needs of a growing client base.

“The two appointments for our Rotorua office are indicative of our growing presence in the Bay of Plenty,” he said.

Findlater, who joined the firm’s property and private client and trust teams, has a particular focus on commercial property, complex refinancing and residential transactions, commercial leasing, and local government property, the firm said.

Findlater also helps private clients in establishing and maintaining trusts, wills, and enduring powers of attorney.

Urquhart brings to the firm experience working at a large regional law firm and the Ministry of Justice, where she was a Disputes Tribunal referee. She has also worked as a mediator, assessor, and lecturer at Te Piringa Law Faculty of Waikato University.

Urquhart, who mediates civil, consumer, property, rural, employment and commercial disputes, has a particular interest in cross-cultural disputes. She has specific expertise in employment and immigration matters, the firm said.

Embling has extensive experience in resource management and local government law. She has advised local authority and private sector clients for more than a decade.

Previously practising at top-tier national law firms, she has represented council and corporate clients in plan reviews and resource consent applications before councils and the Environment Court, the firm said. She is also experienced in managing large teams of expert witnesses, preparing for and attending hearings, and negotiating settlement of complex appeals.

Lunt, who has a focus on relationship property, family law and civil litigation, joined Tompkins Wake from a boutique law firm in Auckland that specialised in construction disputes.

A corporate and commercial law expert, Short is experienced in a broad variety of matters, including business establishments and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and drafting and negotiating commercial contracts. She also brought to the firm in-house experience from secondments in large companies in the insurance and primary industry sectors. With this experience, she has unique insight and perspective into the corporate world, leading to a practical and commercial focus in her advice, the firm said.

Tompkins Wake, mid-size law firm of the year at last year’s New Zealand Law Awards, elevated Philip Monahan to partner in January.