Headquartered in Hamilton, Tompkins Wake is the biggest law firm in the region.
Named as mid-size law firm of the year for the second consecutive year at the New Zealand Law Awards, Tompkins Wake has branches in Auckland Rotorua and Tauranga and is a firm that prides itself on being forward thinking, innovative, and client focused. More than 130 people work across the four offices, and of the 24 partners, 10 are women.
Two of those partners are Kate Cornegé and Kate Searancke. Both are mothers with young children, both have been partners at Tompkins Wake for about three years, and both started their legal careers at large corporate firms before coming to the Waikato for family and lifestyle reasons.
At Victoria University in Wellington, Kate Cornegé was planning to major in English; Kate Searancke was geared up for history at the University of Waikato. Searancke decided she needed a bit more of a challenge. “I’d always been good at the arts, been good at English, history and writing, but I liked maths too, and law seemed like a good option.” So she completed a conjoint BA/Bachelor of Laws (LLB).
And in Wellington Cornegé, who’d been keen on debating at school, and liked the intellectual challenge of an argument, switched courses to complete a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration and LLB with Honours.
She’s a corporate and commercial dispute resolution specialist who represents clients across the commercial and local government sectors, covering issues raised in contracts, consumer rights, company law, and intellectual property and real property disputes.
“Most people will avoid going to court if possible,” Cornegé says. “You see the risks and costs. The effects litigation has on relationships are considerable, particularly for individuals and small businesses. The personal costs can be huge.” In the vast majority of cases she says she and her colleagues can find a satisfactory outcome for both parties. But litigation is always an option.
“The amount of time I’m in court varies depending on what we have on. A lot less than a criminal lawyer who is there every day, but in Hamilton, and all over New Zealand really, most lawyers work with clients across a range of topics and industries.” Cornegé has considerable experience working across regulated industries, including dairy, energy and telecommunications.
“I get a lot of satisfaction in seeing disputes coming to a satisfactory conclusion. Especially when the other party has the power and you can help your client get the outcome they deserve.”
– Kate Cornegé
She also likes the challenge of using legal arguments that aren’t straightforward, that force her to think creatively and which help a client with a difficult or stressful situation, where she can pull things together to get the desired result.
Cornegé and Searancke (Ngāti Maniapoto) are both recommended lawyers in The Legal 500 Asia
Pacific, an annual publication that provides unbiased commentary and insight into law firms and lawyers in 25 Asia Pacific jurisdictions.
Searancke is a partner in the Tompkins Wake property team specialising in leasing and commercial property transactions. She works with developers and investors across their commercial property portfolios for sales and acquisitions, due diligence, and financing. She also has strengths in local government property law working with local authorities throughout the central North Island.
In addition, Searancke leads the firm’s Māori business practice and works with local government and private entities, advising on complex Māori land law issues and on working effectively with Māori and iwi engagement ensuring seamless advice for whānau, hapū and iwi clients.
Searancke is also a director of Hamilton Airport. It’s a far cry from where she began her career straight out of Waikato Law School.
“I came from Te Awamutu, and my first experience in the corporate world was in Auckland as a summer clerk at one of the big five law firms. That took some getting used to. The hours were long, sometimes we’d finish at 4am and be back at work by eight. I’d been a competitive sports person but the competitiveness in the workplace was really tough.”
She says it took her three or four years to find her legal niche, to find a team of people she was comfortable working with.
It took some adjustment again when Searancke decided to leave the large corporate environment in Auckland to move with her family to the Waikato and join Tompkins Wake. But she says it’s turned out to be a good move for herself and her family. It’s been great for their lifestyle.
Both Searancke and Cornegé say law firms have changed a lot over the years for the better.
“They’ve had to,” Searancke says. “I think we’ve become a lot less hierarchical and a lot less formal. The current generation has different expectations on what they want from a legal provider. They want advice to be useful, and as lawyers we need to understand how our clients think and operate. We’ve got to have a long-term relationship with them, be part of their journey.”
And the competitiveness that still exists in some law firms doesn’t happen at Tompkins Wake, Searancke says. “Rather than competing, we feel supported by our peers. And we get to work with some remarkable women, clients and colleagues,” she says.
A successful change leader, Kate Cornegé is a member of the Tompkins Wake Working Parents’ Forum, helping her colleagues and the firm create better options for optimising whole-life balance.
“In my team of 11, for instance, five of us are working part-time and have flexible hours. We’re all mothers, and we also have people working reduced hours for other reasons. I think people need a degree of flexibility. It works well for us.”
And as partners in a busy law practice comes the added responsibility for both women of being in charge of their own practice as well as providing support and mentoring for junior staff in their teams. “There’s a sense of autonomy,” Searancke says. “It’s like running your own little business.”
