As Gaze Burt celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026 we reflect on the past and look ahead to the future, grateful for a century of law grounded in faith, integrity and relationships.
Foundations of Faith and Threads of Relationship
Few law firms can trace such a continuous thread of Christian ownership and values over a full century. Yet that doesn’t necessarily mean we are any better or worse than other firms. The difference comes with how our Christian faith and values are outworked in practice, one day at a time, over 100 years.
Our story began in the 1920s and 30s when two separate law firms were established by Noel Gaze and James Burt.
Times were very different. Trams ran up and down Queen Street, few people owned cars, and those who did most likely drove a Ford Model T. The country was enduring the Great Depression, pubs closed at 6pm, and people dressed formally from three-piece tweed suits to Gatsby-era flapper dresses.
What didn’t change right up until their deaths in the 1960s was the Christian faith of both men, which was foundational to their respective law practices and saw their firms prosper and garner a reputation of professional integrity, excellence and service.
This reputation stayed with the firms after their death in 1961 (James Burt) and 1967 (Noel Gaze), when their sons David Burt and Stuart Gaze carried on their names and legacy, taking leading positions in their fathers’ firms. In fact it was James Burt who inspired a young Stuart Gaze into a law career by giving a rousing speech about law at Auckland Grammar where Gaze was a student.
In 1987 after more than 60 years of close legal association and friendship, these two founding firms—by then known as Gaze, Bond, Munn & Allen and Burt, Moodie, Goold & Francis—merged to form Gaze Burt, woven together with a third strand of their strong faith.
These foundations of faith and threads of relationship live on at Gaze Burt today. Whether we’re advising a business owner, supporting a family through an estate matter, or helping a church or charity navigate compliance, our values remain the same: Prioritise relationships, provide quality legal expertise, and act with justice and integrity.
Integrity Forged in Trial
Our reputation for upholding our Christian values didn’t just come naturally. It was hard won, tried and tested over a century, including the Great Depression, World War Two, the oil crisis and inflation of the 1970s, recession in the 1980s, the global financial crisis in the 2000s, and the global pandemic of 2020.
Our biggest test came in the 1990s when a major financial fraud by a partner was discovered, leaving around 63 innocent clients out of pocket to the tune of $1.9m NZD.
The easy path would have been to admit this reputation crisis was too big to come back from and to walk away. Instead, Gaze Burt’s partners made the costly decision to pay for an independent top barrister to represent their clients collectively, and encouraged their clients to sue Gaze Burt to gain the funds through a proper and transparent process.
The partners went and visited every person who had been wronged, and after an insurance shortfall they repaid every cent back to their clients with their own money.
This seven-year period was financially and personally gruelling for the partners, but that decision to do the right thing became a defining moment for us.
In the midst of this difficult period, partner David Munn looked out of an office window and saw a rainbow stretching across the sky. He felt it as a divine reassurance: that they were not alone, that God was present, and that the path of integrity they were walking would ultimately prevail. This ‘rainbow moment’ became a symbol for the partners — a reminder that faith, courage, and moral commitment would see them through even the darkest times.
Speaking at a Christian lawyers conference many years later, David reflected:
“A frightening self-delusion can arise as to the correctness of one’s actions, a danger which seems to increase when you think you’re alone and no one is watching. I believe that touches at the heart of integrity…integrity involves maintaining the personal integrity of our Christian faith and living out its truth in our daily lives as lawyers, regardless of the situation.”
These hard-learned lessons forged in crisis have stayed with the firm to this day and continue to guide our decision to do the right thing, even when it is costly or difficult, and we’re incredibly grateful to continue to serve
Seeing Law Differently
Our tagline, “We see law differently” is intentionally open-ended and designed to provoke curiosity. Importantly, it encourages us to regularly reflect on our distinct identity, and how this is worked out practically day-to-day.
We know we see law differently when:
Faith guides our practice: Every directors’ meeting begins with prayer for our team and clients, seeking their best interests.
We pursue justice with integrity: We ensure quality legal expertise to achieve justice. This doesn’t necessarily mean aggressive and adversarial litigation, as there’s often a better way to achieve justice while preserving relationships.
Relationship comes before revenue: We critically review our performance to ensure fees are fair and reasonable, because relationships matter more than transactions. We employ mums and dads in director roles and promote flexible hours and support for parents, because relationships outside of work are just as important and nourish us to be our best at work.
Law as Right Relationship
At its heart, Gaze Burt has always seen law as guiding good human relationships..
“Law is ultimately about regulating human behaviour and seeking justice,” reflects director Michael Bright. “At a fundamental level, real justice is the biblical notion of ‘shalom’ which is focussed on right-relationship.”
Our hope is that our clients experience this approach in many ways: families reconciled through guided estate planning, business owners navigating conflicts without acrimony, and churches or charities receiving advice that protects both their compliance and their reputation with stakeholders..
We’re humbled to have walked alongside a number of families now as their trusted legal counsel for generations, forming relationships with children and grandchildren as they grow up and need legal guidance and service.
Director Rachael Jhinku proudly displays thank you cards from families whose relationships have been reconciled through guided legal expertise. For her, these cards hold immeasurably more value than any award.
“As long as people need help navigating human relations, good lawyers have an important role, not just to resolve disputes, but to restore relationships.”
This view of law, not as a weapon but as a tool for relationship, shapes everything we do. We look first for the pathway that preserves dignity and fairness between parties and use litigation only as a last resort.
From Fountain Pens to AI—and Beyond
Over a century, the tools of law have evolved dramatically; from drafting wills with fountain pens, to preparing affidavits on typewriters, then using computers and the internet for legal research, using fax machines to send urgent court documents, and then email to exchange briefs, opinions, and correspondence.
More recently it involves storing documents in the cloud, ensuring robust cybersecurity and now AI-assisted drafting of agreements and legal analyses.
While technology will continue to enhance our work and allow us to focus on what’s important, it can never replace human relationships—and at its core the legal profession remains profoundly human.
“Technology can’t sit alongside someone when they’re navigating grief, conflict and loss” says director Kimberly Knox. “It cannot replace the empathy, wisdom, and relational trust that sit at the heart of quality legal services. Humans will always be best at human relationships.”
Gaze Burt’s Christian heritage calls for stewardship and caring for the next generation of lawyers so they too can serve clients with excellence and compassion.
That’s why we continue to invest heavily in developing young lawyers — mentoring, training, and shaping them not just as skilled lawyers but as people of integrity.
A Future with Faith
As we step into our second century, whatever new transport, fashion, recreation and crises await us in 2126, our hope is simple: To remain faithful to the Christian values that have guided our firm since the 1920s .
While the future promises to reshape the way legal services are delivered, and we will continue to adapt to a changing technological social landscape, the basics will remain.
Whether advising a family through loss, supporting a business in crisis, or guiding a charity through complex compliance, Gaze Burt’s lawyers will continue to act as stewards of justice and relationship.
Our faith and shared values will also shape how we nurture the next generation of lawyers. Through mentoring, training, and modelling values-based practice, we ensure that the qualities essential to law — integrity, compassion, patience and courage — are passed on.
In a world where real justice can feel distant and our legal system is increasingly complex, our prayer is that we continue to see law differently for another hundred years: Not merely as a mechanism but as a ministry of facilitating good human relationships.
About Gaze Burt
Gaze Burt is a full-service law firm based in Auckland, serving clients across New Zealand. Founded on Christian values of relationship, justice, expertise, and integrity, the firm provides trusted legal services in property, commercial, employment, franchise, family, and estate law.
