WELLINGTON, LawFuel® the legal news and law jobs website reported today on the new challenges facing the New Zealand legal profession in the face of the ‘borderless’ workplace and global competition for New Zealand lawyers from major, international law practices.
Although earnings and salaries are up in New Zealand, the demand for sought-after New Zealand lawyers from overseas law firms has increased with the easing of access to the US and UK markets, as a result of legislative and other changes.
One of the major developments in the tight labour market has been the increased pace of New Zealand lawyers finding attractive work overseas, where mainly US and UK multi-national law firms offer highly competitive salary packages in their numerous international offices.
Although there has been a tendency for some partners to move ‘laterally’ within New Zealand, the report “The Big LLB-OE” sees the trend continuing and examines the growing phenomenon of the law firm boutique, offering specialised services and attracting high-quality work from major corporate clients and Government.
Equally significant has been the transfer in ‘power’ or influence between the Wellington and Auckland offices of the major law firms. The transfer in partner numbers has seen the capital city’s partners halve in some cases compared to the situation a dozen years ago.
The ‘LawFuel Jobs Report : The Big LLB’OE” can be downloaded from www.LawFuel.com
Among the other highlights of the LawFuel report:
• The legal market has matured, forcing law firms to further develop overseas alliances and find work overseas, including Asia and South America.
• Firms are re-examining structural issues relating to their partnership structures and remuneration in order to attract more experienced lawyers and to retain existing partners and senior lawyers. Law firms are moving away from the ‘lock step’ remuneration system is seeing more competitive remuneration packages offered.
• Boutique law firms have taken advantage of New Zealand’s size and ‘networked’ business community to create a number of focused, specialised law practices that compete on an even footing with major practices.
• Increasing numbers of lawyers are discontent, or finding themselves receptive to changing jobs.
• Competition from US and UK law firms, who are increasingly opening offices in Australia, has opened the law job opportunities for New Zealand lawyers in the key markets of Australia, Asia, the UK, US and Middle East.
• Areas of high growth include commercial, finance and banking, intellectual property law and employment law.
LawFuel.com is to shortly launch its law jobs website, offering legal positions and advertising law jobs in selected, international markets. Candidates for law jobs can submit free details on the website now and law firms interested in registering can do so through www.lawfuel.com
Headquartered in Wellington, LawFuel.com is one of the Web’s leading legal newswires, reaching up to 70,000 unique users monthly and focused on delivering law news and law jobs information to the international legal community, LawFuel.com offers a specialised law news release service and is soon to launch its law jobs network internationally. Those interested in registering their interest in law jobs or legal positions should log onto www.lawfuel.com
