Harkness Henry gains two new partners in Marise Allan and Patrick Casey
Newmarket firm Malloy Goodwin Harford (MGH) has merged with Harkness Henry, boosting both firms’ North Island offering.
The merged firm will take on the Harkness Henry brand. It will consist of 10 partners and over 60 staff across branches in Auckland, Hamilton, Cambridge, Paeroa and Matamata.
MGH partners Marise Allan and Patrick Casey will join the Harkness Henry partnership while David Ruck and David Moorman will become consultants. Sarah Paterson and Sarah McLaren will add to Harkness Henry’s roster of senior associates.
“MGH operates the same way in Auckland that Harkness Henry operates in the Waikato: close client relationships, specialist advice, and personal legal service”, said Sarah Rawcliffe, Harkness Henry’s managing partner. “The complementary nature of our two firms’ legal expertise was a driving factor in the decision to merge. We are now able to offer our clients a more complete service without compromising the personal, specialist approach that defines us both”.
Allan added that the merger combined Harkness Henry’s 150-year history with MGH’s 35 years of experience.
In 2022, Harkness Henry established its office in Cambridge through a merger with Waikato firm Cambridge Law. As with MGH, Cambridge Law took on Harkness Henry’s name.
Many local firms have been combining of late. Earlier this year, Duncan Cotterill announced a combination with Blenheim-based firm Radich Law. In August 2025, Rainey Collins merged with fellow Wellington firm Stephens Lawyers under the Rainey Collins banner. Wynn Williams also formalised its combination with SBM Legal in May 2025. In December 2024, Auckland firms Glaister Ennor and Keegan Alexander pooled their expertise.
Merger fever has extended beyond New Zealand, with global firms joining forces as well. Allen & Overy combined with Shearman & Sterling in 2024 to form A&O Shearman – the sole Magic Circle firm to stay on a list of London’s 10 most profitable firms. Last year, global firms Perkins Coie and Ashurst fused into Ashurst Perkins Coie, while Taylor Wessing UK and Winston & Strawn initiated discussions.
Earlier this year, global firms Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft merged in what the firm said was “the largest law firm merger in history”.
