A legal executive is a person who works as a trained assistant to a lawyer in a legal or quasi-legal environment.

The work covers a wide range of activities including searching public registers, preparing and filing documents, preparing estates, sale and purchase of real estate or a business, and debt recovery. A legal executive may interview clients on behalf of a lawyer but does not appear in court

The Legal Executive qualification

The New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) administered the qualification of the NZLS Legal Executive Diploma until 2017. The NZLS qualification is now discontinued, and instead the New Zealand Diploma in Legal Executive Studies is currently offered through some tertiary providers across New Zealand.

Contact

For more information on Legal Executives please visit the New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives (NZILE), the professional association for legal executives in New Zealand, at www.nzile.org.nz. Registered Legal Executives are entitled to associate membership of the New Zealand Law Society through their NZILE membership.

For students who studied the NZLS Legal Executive qualification, any enquiries regarding historical academic records, please contact the New Zealand Law Society:

Email: legalexecutive@lawsociety.org.nz
PO Box 5041, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145, New Zealand
DX SP20202