Chapman Tripp

Chapman Tripp is New Zealand's largest commercial law firm. It is considered one of the "big three" law firms along with Russell McVeagh and Bell Gully. Established in New Zealand in 1875, it now has around 60 partners and roughly 200 legal staff across its offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The firm practises in all areas of corporate and commercial, property, construction, finance, tax, dispute resolution, environmental and public law.

Chapman Tripp
No. of offices3
No. of attorneys200+
No. of employeesc.400
Major practice areasGeneral Practice
Key people
  • Nick Wells (Chief Executive Partner)
  • Andrew Woods (Chair of the Board)
  • Sophia Gunn (COO)
Date founded1875
Website

History

Chapman Tripp started as a one-man practice in Wellington in 1875 with Martin Chapman. Chapman was joined in partnership by William Fitzgerald in 1882 and then by Leonard Owen Howard Tripp in 1889, who spent a record 69 years with the firm.

The firm went through many name changes, reverting to Chapman Tripp & Co in 1949.

In 1962 the firm opened an Auckland office, becoming the first law firm to have offices in both Auckland and Wellington. In 1985 Chapman Tripp merged with Sheffield Young and Ellis, becoming Chapman Tripp Sheffield Young, and in late 1997 the Christchurch office was opened.

Notable alumni

Supreme Court judge Justice Arnold was a partner of predecessor firm Chapman Tripp Sheffield Young between 1985 and 1994. He later served as Solicitor-General between 2000 and 2006 before becoming a judge of the Court of Appeal, sitting from 2006 until his elevation to the Supreme Court.[1]

The Honourable Justice Sir Mark O'Regan of the Court of Appeal served as partner at Chapman Tripp from 1984. He was appointed to the High Court in 2001, and was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2004 where he served as President of the Court of Appeal,[2] until his elevation to the Supreme Court in September 2014. Justice Miller was a partner at Chapman Tripp from 1987, until appointment to the High Court in 2004, and then to the Court of Appeal in June 2013.

High Court judges Collins, Ellis, Gilbert, Katz, MacKenzie and Peters of the High Court all previously held roles at Chapman Tripp,[3] as have a number of District Court judges.

Supporting the Arts

Chapman Tripp is a major supporter of the arts and communities in New Zealand. Chapman Tripp sponsored the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards from 1992 - 2014.[4] The annual awards were established to honour the best in theatre in Wellington. The awards have been a major highlight of the year in the capital's art and social calendar.[5]

In addition, Chapman Tripp supports the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra,[6] Orchestra Wellington,[7] the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra,[8] the New Zealand Opera,[9] and Circa Theatre.[10]

Rankings

Chapman Tripp is regularly ranked as one of New Zealand's leading law firms, and is considered a top-tier firm in Banking, Finance and Project Finance;[11][12] Capital Markets;[13] Corporate Commercial and M&A;[14][15][16] Dispute Resolution;[17][18] Real Estate & Construction;[19] and Restructuring and Insolvency.[20][21]

Across all three major rankings publications, Chapman Tripp has more top-tier rankings than any other New Zealand firm.

References
  1. "The Judges of the Supreme Court". Courtsofnz.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  2. "The Judges of the Court of Appeal". Courtsofnz.govt.nz. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  3. "The Judges of the High Court". Courtsofnz.govt.nz. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  4. Stewart, Matt (2015-12-01). "Wellington's theatre 'Oscars' loses sponsor Chapman Tripp". Stuff. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  5. "New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews". Theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  6. "Sponsors and Funders | Welcome to the Auckland Philharmonia". Apo.co.nz. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  7. "Sponsors & Partners — Orchestra Wellington". Orchestrawellington.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  8. "Corporate Sponsors". cso.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  9. "Support - New Zealand Opera". Nzopera.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  10. "Sponsors". Circa.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  11. "The Legal 500". Legal500.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  12. "IFLR1000 - The guide to the world's leading financial law firms". Iflr1000.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  13. Archived April 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  14. "New Zealand". Chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  15. "The Legal 500". Legal500.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  16. Archived April 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  17. "New Zealand". Chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  18. "The Legal 500". Legal500.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  19. "The Legal 500". Legal500.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  20. "The Legal 500". Legal500.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  21. Archived August 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
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