Gallaway Cook Allan Lawyers History

Gallaway Cook Allan Lawyers of Dunedin was formed on 1 July 2001 through the merger of the practices of Cook Allan Gibson and Gallaway Haggitt Sinclair. Both of these firms trace their succession back to the early settlement of Dunedin.

At the time of merger, the partners were: Warren Alcock, John Anderson, David Brent, Helen Davidson, Anthony Devlin, Stephen Grant, Roger Macassey, Philip Page, Rosemary Riddell, Diccon Sim, and John Walker, and the consultants were Iain Gallaway and Peter Gibson. On 30 November 2001 Anthony Devlin left the firm to work in the United Kingdom.

Initially, when the two firms merged, they continued to operate from two buildings – at 245 Stuart Street, where Gallaway Haggitt Sinclair had been, and at 276 Princes Street, where Cook Allan Gibson had been based. In September 2003 the two branches came together in a newly refurbished and extended premises on the corner of High and Princes Streets, Dunedin.

The merger with Blake Horder Gowing of Wanaka took place in 2006. This firm started in April 1999 and was originally known as Blake Law after founder Ray Blake. The name subsequently changed with the addition of Tony Horder in April 2002 and then Peter Gowing in June 2003. Felicity Hayman joined the firm in 2000 and is now also a partner.

The merger of Gallaway Cook Allan and Blake Horder Gowing created a true Otago-based law firm with 9 partners and 8 consultants – and around 50 other staff members.  The firm's name for both offices is Gallaway Cook Allan Lawyers.

View Gallaway Cook Allan family tree

If you would like further information on any of the firms shown in the above chart please contact us. Alternatively, the Otago District Law Society has published a book titled Lawfully Occupied, which details the movements of law firms, and their partners, in Otago throughout the province’s history.