Private company

Bell Gully

Logo: The original uploader was Cobblestone2003 at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

New Zealand law firm

Bell Gully is a major New Zealand law firm. Founded in 1840 it is one of New Zealand's largest law firms, and along with Chapman Tripp and Russell McVeagh it is considered to be one of the "big three". Bell Gully is a full-service law firm.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1840Founded1

Bell Gully is a major New Zealand law firm. Founded in 1840 it is one of New Zealand's largest law firms, and along with Chapman Tripp and Russell McVeagh it is considered to be one of the "big three".2

The story

Bell Gully is the result of a merger between Bell Gully & Co of Wellington, founded in 1860, and Buddle Weir & Co of Auckland, founded in 1840.

Over the years, the firm has produced many leading lawyers, including four of the twelve first presidents of the New Zealand Law Society (Sir Francis Bell, Sir Humphrey O'Leary, A. B. Buxton, and Sir Denis Blundell), two solicitors-general (Herbert Edgar Evans and Sir Richard Wild), four attorneys-general, three chief justices (Michael Myers, Sir Humphrey O'Leary, and Sir Richard Wild), numerous High Court and Court of Appeal judges, two prime ministers and a governor-general.

From Wikipedia’s article on Bell Gully, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1840Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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