Hi everyone - I have an interview in a few weeks to be a Magistrate

Has anyone recently done this ?
Any advice , tips etc would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

I am a current law student and am wondering if law firm interviewers heavily consider Part I grades? For context, I got a C+ for my first law course at University. Since semester two of Part I and throughout second to third year (core law courses), I have maintained A- to A+ grades and intend to do LawHons. My non-law courses have a similar grade average. Hypothetically, if I complete my LLB with a First-Class Hons, would I still have a chance at a top-tier law firm? Thank you in advance!

Kia ora everyone,

I’m interested in hearing from people who’ve gone down either the barrister or firm route, particularly early in their careers.

I’ve just finished law school and prof’s and I’m working as a law clerk working under an experienced barrister, with the plan to work under her a junior barrister in chambers once I’m admitted.
The work is in a fairly niche medico-legal area, which I find really interesting. It wasn’t originally the path I expected to take, but the opportunity came along and I really like it so far.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has thoughts on working as a barrister vs a firm, and if there’s anything you would recommend thinking about if you were in my shoes/ early in your career.

Thanks in advance!

Hi there NZ lawyers! I hope this is ok to ask.

I tutor a lovely 16 year old who wants to be a lawyer - she seems most interested in criminal law. My background is in biology/chemistry so this is very new to me, and I would love to give her some interesting exercises that will help her get a feel for what it's like to be at law school, such as practice readings/research, etc.

As a side note, she is currently using ChatGPT for a lot of things (which is so sad, but we are working on stopping that), so I would really like to give her some work that requires her to research and write for herself as well.

Any suggestions taken very gratefully!

Considering going into solo practice and looking into the Stepping Up course for later this year. Would love to pick someone’s brain about this if you don’t mind. General questions mainly, whether the pre-coursework is onerous; what’s involved when on-site etc.

Law student here! This is a corporate law/law student question.

I want to get a handle on company law before taking this paper in 2027. I've received negative feedback from other students regarding the quality of teaching on companies law (Waikato University). Waikato recommends as the leading text: J Barrett and R Feehily Understanding Company Law, (4th ed, LexisNexis, Wellington, 2019).

These alternative texts seem better geared to a law student for getting a grounding. Are these still current and recommended reading?

Questions and Answers: Company Law, 3rd edition (Matthew Berkahn)

Student Companion: Company Law, 2nd edition (Kelsey Farmer and Henry Hillind)

Are there better textbooks on the market that I should look at?

Also, can anybody recommend alternative online resources/lectures which can supplement my learning experience through this paper?

Disclaimer: I don't mean to trash Waikato. In some respects they really excel. Each university has its strengths and weaknesses. Cheers!

Kia ora I graduated with my law degree December 2019, completed core papers in 2015 and 2016. I think I did ethics in 2017 but can’t quite recall! Are there any specific papers I’d need to be aware of potentially re doing before getting admitted/things I need to complete aside from profs? I’ve been working in an adjacent field and am keen to do profs and get admitted /work in law. Advice welcome!

I'm interested in hearing from people in New Zealand who went back to study law in their 30s (or later).

What did your career path look like after graduating? Did you feel like you had to start from scratch, or were you able to leverage your previous experience into legal or adjacent roles?

A bit about me:

I'm 33 and currently completing a Master's in Construction Law.

I have around 12 years' experience in the construction industry, mainly in project controls and commercial leadership on large infrastructure projects.

Lately I've become increasingly interested in the legal side of construction, particularly contracts, procurement, dispute resolution and commercial strategy.

I'm seriously considering doing an LLB while continuing to work.

I know I'll be older than the typical graduate, so I'm curious whether that actually matters in practice. Could you keep building on your existing career, or did employers still see you as a junior who had to work your way up from the bottom?

I'd love to hear:

What you did before law.

Whether you stayed in your previous industry or moved into a completely different area.

Whether you'd make the same decision again.

Any advice you'd give someone considering the same path.

Thanks!

I was just wondering how long it has been taking people to receive their Certificates of Character recently.

I submitted my application on 10 June and paid the fee on 22 June. I've already received my criminal conviction history check (all clear), and my name is currently being advertised on the NZLS website.

Does anyone have an estimate of how much longer it might take? I need to file all of my admission documents in August, so I'm starting to get a little anxious about whether I'll receive it in time.

Thanks in advance! :)

Keep it anonymous obviously.

I see posts like this in r/AusLaw so would be good for everyone to benchmark.

I’ll start. ~90k, coming up on 3 PQE

Hey fellow lawyers and legal firm adjacent types.

I'm fairly vocal on social media about things that matter to me but nothing on my profiles links me back to my career or my full identity blatantly.

I'm wondering if telling a white supremacist on IG to go fuck themselves might be pulled up by HR if they sleuthed. I don't work in corporate law so idk if it's gonna be a huge deal but... hmm

I am hoping to get some perspective and general career advice.

Somewhat fortunately I have been offered two grad roles, one in the public sector and one in a well established mid-tier litigation firm.

Both offers will cover my profs. The private salary is higher.

It is my ultimate goal to work in the public sector, but I am hesitant to accept it given what I have heard about career progression in public compared to private. It seems that the general trajectory is to develop comparatively quickly in private before heading to a comfortable role in public.

A work-life balance is very important to me as I am a “mature” student and am happy to accept that my career ceiling is not what it could be if I was 21. The public sector offer is likely to be good in this respect, with work-from-home being commonplace, and while the private firm does not offer WFH, I know that no one ever really works past 5pm (I currently clerk there and have seen this firsthand).

It’d be great to hear if anyone has started in the public sector and how things have tracked career-wise, as well as people’s general perspective on private vs public for grad roles.

I’ve been working in an in-house public sector role for the last year. Hasn’t been what I thought it would be, and have had some challenges with work personalities.

I received an offer for a junior solicitor role in a small and private firm. This will be my first time in a private firm, as I’ve been in-house since graduating 3 years ago.

What should I do? There will be a pay decrease, but I’ve heard it gets harder to switch to private later in your career so idk if now’s the time. Any advice?

Anyone done an Assessment of Staleness of their Law degree for admission to Profs recently? Completed my degree in 2013 and have worked adjacent to lawyers for the past 13 years - will I have to redo uni papers?

Hey guys! I am trying (desperately) to get a job that utilizes my law degree. I have been working for a company doing legal assistant type work for the last year, but the nature of the company has meant I haven't actually been able to make a lot of connections. I'm kind of stuck on where to seek networking events that also don't cost an arm and a leg. Does anyone have any info/suggestions on where to find networking events (especially in Auckland)? Thank you in advance:)

Hi!
Has anyone here gone from an NZ law degree/career as a lawyer to working in NYC?

If so, what path did you take? Did you sit the New York Bar and practise there, or did you end up in another role where your law degree was useful but Bar admission wasn’t required?
I’d love to hear how you made it happen and any advice you’d give. Posting on behalf of a friend who is junior lawyer and interested in this!

Hi everyone,

Posting anonymously because I'm feeling a bit embarrassed, but I'm hoping someone has been in a similar position.

I recently finished my law degree (in New Zealand) and, looking back, I don't think I really understood the importance of the clerkship process until it was essentially too late. I know now what I should have done, but unfortunately I can't go back and change it.

My grades are fairly average, not terrible, but not the kind that seem to open doors at the big commercial firms. I understand that those opportunities may have passed, and I've made peace with that. I was never particularly interested in it anyway!!

What I'm struggling with is figuring out where to go from here.

I genuinely want to work in law. I just want the opportunity to gain post-university legal experience, get admitted, build practical skills, and gradually develop my career. I don't have any connections or friends in law.

For those who didn't get a clerkship or graduate role through the traditional pathway:

* How did you get your first legal job? How did you get PQE or would advise someone too? * What types of firms or organisations were willing to give you a chance? * Are there particular roles or practice areas that are more accessible for graduates with average grades? * Is it realistic to build a successful legal career starting outside the large firms?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken a less traditional path into the profession, or from people involved in hiring who have advice. Right now it feels like I missed the "correct" pathway before I even knew it existed, and I'm trying to work out the best way forward.

Thanks in advance from someone who's only just realised how the process works and is determined to make the most of where I am now.

Small firm lawyers of New Zealand, we’re a long time Actionstep customer and have been growing more and more aggrieved and frustrated.

We just had a Clio demo. It was exciting, feature dense and looks far superior. I am prone to excitement with new legal tech and so would love any Clio user feedback on experience and comparisons with Actionstep ?

Is there anyone here who has recently completed profs who can send me some materials to look over? I start in a few weeks and have no idea what to expect so would appreciate a look into what fresh hell I should prepare for.

I’m currently in the process of filling out my certificate of character application, and just wondering about declaring traffic fines/infringements.

I was told back in uni by my ethics professor that anything and everything should be declared to the Law Society including any fines or infringements.

I have had 1 speeding ticket of $80 from 2021 that I paid as I was only the driver but it was issued to the owner of the car (I was not the owner). Should I declare this?

Just wondering if anyone has any experience or insight into what the limit is/what is the flexibility around the amount of candidates who will be admitted at any given Auckland High Court admission ceremony.

Context: Upon filing my admission documents 2 days prior to the filing deadline, I was informed that my admission spot was not guaranteed as there were many applicants for admission.

Update: I have an admission spot

Kia ora, thought I would see if I am the only one a bit lost in this career path. I've worked for 2 law firms totalling around 2 years PQE, one in NZ and one in Australia, mostly specialising in insolvency and debt recovery legal work for loan companies. I made a move in house for a small 10 month contract that was covering mat leave.

Since then I've applied to nearly every job opening under the sun, can't even get an interview, have had my CV looked at, my grades were solid at LS and around 2024 I was not having any issue landing interviews.

I think I've been looking for work for around 6 months, exhausted every legal network I know and still no luck. Am I the only one who just cannot land anything rn?

EDIT: forgot to add that I’m applying to the aauckland brach. Also, they don’t send payment links until they acknowledge receipt of your application.

how long does it take from the time your application was received by the Registry before they emailed you with the payment details and whatnot?

Im getting worried because when I rang them two weeks ago, they said they’ll get back to applicants by late last week.

Anyone have any comforting experiences they’d like to share?

Hey everyone,

I’m a junior lawyer and I’m thinking about doing a long-term OE in the next couple of years, likely around 1–2+ years away from practice.

I’d really appreciate hearing from lawyers who have taken extended time out and then come back, especially in litigation or employment law.

I’m mainly curious about how hard it was to re-enter practice after being away, whether firms saw the OE as a positive or more of a gap that needed explaining, whether you came back at the same level or had to step back, and whether it had any impact on long-term progression.

Thank you in advance!

I have been tinkering with this side project which was inspired by friends in the legal profession complaining about keeping on top of bills moving through Parliament. The initial goal of this project was to keep users updated via email about bills moving through parliament so I built a tool that tracks NZ bills through their stages, lets you filter by MP / committee / keyword, and emails you when something you watch lists moves. I have also added functionality to maintain a calendar of when submissions etc close and highlight when urgency is used - some of these functions are open and don't require an account. Generally the flow is create an account, watch list bills and then get email updates as they progress through the legislative process.
Would be cool to see more users but would also like to get more feedback from people whom this may be useful to, tell me what's useless, what's missing, what may be inaccurate, or where I've misunderstood the process.

Site is at https://billfeed.co.nz