Maude Legal is a law firm with offices in Wellington and Porirua, advising individuals, businesses and government entities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. The firm traces its roots back to 1990, when Maude & Miller was established serving the Wellington region, before merging with Chiu and Cain Law in 2023 and Greig Gallagher & Co in 2024, and incorporating as Maude Legal Limited in 2025.
The firm's legal services span property law (including residential and commercial property, subdivisions, unit titles and cross-leases, commercial leasing, and retirement home arrangements), commercial law (company formation, ownership structures, business sales and purchases, franchising and business financing), trusts, wills and estates (family and charitable trusts, wills, enduring powers of attorney, and estate administration), and Notary Public services, which are only offered at the Wellington office by appointment.
Maude Legal describes its approach as trusted, tailored and thorough, aiming to provide pragmatic, common-sense legal advice tailored to each client's circumstances. The firm is a principal sponsor of Pataka Museum and Gallery in Porirua, and sponsors the Whitireia Foundation and the Asian Law Students Association, with staff also involved as trustees and members of various community organisations, clubs and school boards.
With offices in both Wellington and Porirua, Maude Legal has built a legal practice around a straightforward promise: advice that is trusted, tailored and thorough for clients across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Maude Legal's roots go back to 1990, when Maude & Miller was established serving the Wellington region. The firm grew through a series of mergers — in 2023 it merged with Chiu and Cain Law, bringing Mark Chiu and Richard Chiu into the Wellington office, and in 2024 it merged with Greig Gallagher & Co, with Charles (Mike) Michael Gallagher joining the team briefly before his retirement. In 2025, Maude & Miller incorporated to become Maude Legal Limited, the firm's current form.
The firm's practice spans four main areas. Property law covers buying and selling residential and commercial property, subdivisions and property development, unit titles and cross-leases, commercial leasing, easements and encumbrances, and retirement home ownership arrangements. Commercial law covers company formation, ownership structures, buying and selling a business, franchising, and business financing. The trusts, wills and estates practice handles family and charitable trusts, wills, enduring powers of attorney, estate planning and estate administration. Rounding out the offering, Maude Legal provides Notary Public services by appointment — though this is only available through the Wellington office.
Maude Legal's team includes four Principals — Andy Soper, Mark Chiu, Damian Smith and Richard Chiu — alongside Senior Solicitor May-Ana Tirikatene-Sullivan and Solicitor Victoria Spratt. The wider team includes Senior Registered Legal Executives Rosemary Springett and Adele Hollis, Practice Manager Rebecca Ellery-Winchcombe, Trust Account Accountant Cynthia Qi, Legal Assistants Alexandra Hayes and Donna Sampson, Deeds Clerk Teri Reti, and Law Clerk Angelynn Jayasuria. The firm says its lawyers bring decades of combined experience across a broad range of commercial, property, trusts and wills matters, both in New Zealand and overseas.
Maude Legal frames its client approach around three principles. Being trusted means providing pragmatic, common-sense legal advice delivered with integrity, professionalism and discretion. Being tailored means recognising that every legal matter is unique and adapting advice to each client's specific circumstances. Being thorough means bringing technical proficiency and meticulous attention to detail to every practice area, so clients can be confident their legal matters are being handled properly.
Beyond client work, Maude Legal is a principal sponsor of Pataka Museum and Gallery in Porirua, and sponsors both the Whitireia Foundation and the Asian Law Students Association. Staff at the firm are also involved as trustees and members of various community organisations, clubs and school boards, reflecting a firm that positions itself as embedded in the Wellington and Porirua communities it serves, rather than operating at arm's length from them.
Maude Legal also publishes a series of insight articles covering practical legal topics relevant to its client base, including gifts versus loans in property law, charitable trusts, winding up a trust, retirement villages, property sharing agreements, residential property sales, buying a house, why everyone needs an enduring power of attorney, why everyone needs a will, and changes under the new Societies Act.
Maude Legal operates from two offices: Wellington, at Level 4, Wakefield House, 90 The Terrace, and Porirua, at Level 7, 14 Hartham Place North. Both offices keep the same hours, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, and general enquiries can be directed to the firm by phone or email.