In April, Tompkins Wake announced the appointment of another senior lawyer, a sign the firm’s planned growth is continuing.
“In keeping with our vision and our strategy we have doubled in size over the last three years,” CEO Richard Rowley says. “During this year, in support of our promise to our clients to increase the depth and scope of our professional services, we have secured three new senior lawyers to come and work in Hamilton.”
The first of the new arrivals is Theresa Le Bas.
Richard explains, “Because Tompkins Wake’s local government client list has grown significantly we are matching that growth with new people who bring similarly significant experience and skill to our service offering. Theresa is one of these people and we are delighted she has joined our team.”
Theresa Le Bas brings 16 years specialisation in environmental and planning law to the Tompkins Wake Resource Management & Environment Team; with much of her experience gained in top tier law firms in New Zealand and Australia.
Theresa’s extensive experience in obtaining designations and resource consents for road, water and wastewater infrastructure, and resource consents for mining, commercial and industrial projects in New Zealand and Western Australia will add significant value to council decision-makers and resource consent applicants in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty Regions. In addition, the network of specialist environmental consultants which Theresa has created in the course of these projects is a further valuable resource available to Tompkins Wake clients.
Contaminated site assessment and management is a particular area of specialty that Theresa has developed over the years in New Zealand and Western Australia. Her interest grew from a ground breaking piece of work she completed under Western Australia’s Contaminated Sites Act 2003. The application she created was subsequently adopted as a template for later applications under the Act.
The extraordinary variety and quality of work available in environmental and planning law because of strong regional economies driven by vibrant primary sectors in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty was a significant factor in Theresa’s decision to join the Resource Management & Environment Team at Tompkins Wake. She sees that there are many synergies between Western Australia and the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regions with their common focus on primary industries as the driving force of their respective economies.
Economies of this type generate significant demand by both local government and private sector clients for innovative, leading edge legal services in environmental and planning law. And that demand makes for a perfect match with the opportunities and skill set that Theresa Le Bas brings to Tompkins Wake.
Richard Rowley is satisfied with the rate of growth at Tompkins Wake. He concludes, “Over the next three months we will announce further new appointments of people who have already committed to joining us. These senior appointments are evidence that our clients and our firm are travelling well in these economically tough times and a direct reflection on the strength and resilience of the Waikato economy; upon which we all rely.”