Law firms changing their ranks include Anthony Harper, Bell Gully, Buddle Findlay, Lane Neave
Anthony Harper, Bell Gully, Buddle Findlay, and Lane Neave were among the law firms that recently announced appointments across New Zealand.
On 22 October 2026, Anthony Harper welcomed two new partners to its Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland office: Natalie Summerfield and Tom Montgomerie.
“Natalie and Tom are both highly regarded lawyers with strong experience in their respective fields,” said Ed Dunphy, managing partner at Anthony Harper.
Summerfield’s practice has focused on resource management, infrastructure, environment, and planning matters. Meanwhile, Montgomerie’s work has centred on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets.
According to the news partners’ LinkedIn profiles, they were most recently Auckland-based senior associates at Buddle Findlay.
On 20 October 2026, Bell Gully announced the appointment of Richard Massey as AI lead. In this new position, he will help the firm navigate artificial intelligence technologies and support clients as they adapt to the implementation of such tools.
“AI is increasingly becoming part of how businesses and law firms operate,” said Andrew Petersen, managing partner of Bell Gully. “The creation of a designated AI Lead within Bell Gully will help us continue to use AI in a way that enhances our services to clients and maintains the high quality, integrity and reliability of the advice we provide.”
“The firm has invested extensively in getting the best out of AI through training and data governance, and it’s great to see the benefits in action,” added Massey, an Auckland-based partner in Bell Gully’s consumer, regulatory, and compliance team.
(Image caption: Richard Massey, Bell Gully)
On 21 October 2026, Buddle Findlay shared that Allegra Crawford had rejoined the firm as a Wellington-based senior associate in the commercial litigation team. She focuses on dispute resolution, insolvency, and restructuring.
From 2014–18, she worked at Buddle Findlay. She then spent nearly eight years with the dispute resolution and insolvency team of an offshore law firm in the Cayman Islands.
(Image caption: Allegra Crawford, Buddle Findlay)
On 23 October 2026, Lane Neave welcomed Emily Crutchley as a Queenstown-based special counsel in its employment law team. At the same time, the firm announced the addition of Josh Ioelu as an Auckland-based senior associate in its banking and finance team.
“Their expertise strengthens two important practice areas for the firm, but just as importantly, they bring the professionalism, commercial insight and collaborative approach that our clients value,” said Ben Russell, managing partner at Lane Neave.
According to their LinkedIn profiles, Crutchley joined Lane Neave from a special counsel role at Sharp Tudhope Lawyers, while Ioelu most recently served as a senior associate at Mayne Wetherell in Auckland.
(Image caption: Emily Crutchley and Josh Ioelu of Lane Neave)
Here are some other recent news stories on legal appointments across New Zealand.
The preceding roundup provided that Chapman Tripp, Dentons New Zealand, Holland Beckett, and Martelli McKegg were among the law firms that announced appointments or promotions.
Per a previous roundup, the firms of Buddle Findlay, Chapman Tripp, Holland Beckett, and Russell McVeagh announced appointments.
According to a roundup before that, Anthony Harper and Chapman Tripp strengthened their partner and special counsel ranks, respectively.
Enjoy this story? Read about the latest New Zealand legal appointments on the main page!
