New Zealand Law Society Guide for New Lawyers

Welcome to the legal profession. If you’ve got through law school and Professionals, congratulations! If you’ve nearly made it, it’s worth hanging in there. One thing you will find as you start work as a lawyer is that it’s very different to studying law and you’re going to have to learn quite a few new things. Law school and profs teach you how to think like a lawyer; when you enter the workforce, you’ve got to learn how to act like a lawyer.

This guide has been published by the New Zealand Law Society to assist those becoming lawyers with the process involved, and to help with some of the matters which new lawyers may encounter in their first few years. Legal practice can be somewhat daunting for a new lawyer coming to terms with both the office-related and legal issues. We hope we can provide you with some information and suggestions which will assist you in your chosen profession.

Obviously our guide is not intended to be exhaustive, as each individual’s experience is likely to differ as a result of varying workplaces, work practices, job requirements and client base. There are other sources of information and groups you can join and information on these is included.

The Law Society is the regulator of the New Zealand legal profession and we want to provide assistance to new (and sometimes, not so new) lawyers by ensuring they understand the very high standards of professional conduct which are required. We are also an organisation which is focused on representing the interests of this country’s lawyers, ensuring they are able to develop their professional skills and that they enjoy being members of a vibrant and exciting profession.

Material in this guide has come from a wide range of sources and members of the legal profession. We are particularly indebted to the work carried out by the Otago branch’s Continuing Legal Education Committee and New Practitioners’ Committee, the Canterbury-Westland branch’s “Success Kit” and to the Waikato Bay of Plenty branch’s publication A Guide for New Practitioners. Thank you also to Colleen Singleton, the Wellington Young Lawyers’ Committee, the Auckland Young Lawyers Committee, Bell Gully and Chapman Tripp for their feedback and helpful comments.

This guide is correct at 8 July 2011. However, you should be aware that some of the information and requirements may change over time.

Jonathan Temm,
President, New Zealand Law Society
July 2011.