He mahi nui te mai hei rōia – Kia ora ai ō tatou hapori!

The work of a lawyer is considerable in enabling the health and wellbeing of our communities!

Mālō le soifua ma le lagi e mamā – Tēnā koutou kātoa – Greetings to you all

It gives me great pleasure to warmly welcome you to the profession. Being a lawyer is a special privilege which enables you to serve our communities around Aotearoa New Zealand. Lawyers play a crucial role in our democracy and in our wider society, ensuring that people have access to justice and are able to participate in legal disputes in a meaningful way. There is a lot of opportunity to help people in our profession, to make a difference and to change things for the better. This is not only in your paid employment, but also through pro bono work you may do and supporting your employers in the broader work they do in the communities in which you serve.

As a profession we have a strong sense of collegiality and community, we encourage you to join your local new lawyers’ group and connect to your local branch, this will afford you an opportunity to connect with some of your peers with similar levels of experience as well as others in your locality.   

For us there is real meaning in the Samoan saying, “E le tū fa’amauga se tagata” which is the Samoan equivalent of no man is an island, what we mean is no person stands alone, walks alone, struggles alone or succeeds alone. The profession is strengthened by having new lawyers like you, coming through year upon year and each of us is reliant on our learned friends for support and guidance from time to time.  

Providing this guide to help you as you start your career as a lawyer is one of the ways that we at the Law Society show your importance to us. You should not feel like you have to do this by yourself, it is important from the beginning that you build yourself a network starting with those that have come through your studies with you, and now building on to those who you are working with, your colleagues and your seniors. You are not alone in your journey, far from it, you are part of a 16,000 strong network of people who know what you have been through and are here for your support. 

I remember fondly the many new experiences I had as a young practitioner. All the firsts you get to have as a new lawyer are exciting and at times defining, embrace those. Don’t be afraid to try new things, you might get them wrong but in every error there is a lesson. Although we don’t get things right every time, the most important thing is that we learn and use our learnings as opportunities to be better in the future. 

At times, things may seem overwhelming and that is completely normal. I remember as a young lawyer, a friend once telling me we are “oar-bearers”. People come to us when they are stuck on stormy waters, which they can’t appear to navigate their way out of, we bear the oars which can help them get out. Our role as oar-bearers is to distribute our oars of wisdom to them, sometimes people will use them and sometimes they won’t, but we have no control over that! Our roles is to do our utmost to help them paddle their waka out of the stormy waters they find themselves in. It is important and imperative that we remain on the shore, distributing oars as we will lose all objectivity if we try to paddle for them! Importantly, if you ever find yourself running low on oars, you can always reach out to your colleagues for support and guidance. 

You are about to embark on a new chapter in your professional life, one which I sincerely hope proves to be fulfilling and enjoyable. Take every opportunity as they arise, seek out guidance and support as required, and enjoy the magnificent journey that is being a lawyer in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

The Japanese have a saying - 初心忘るべからず(shoshin wasuru bekarazu - Don’t forget your original intention). This speaks to keeping your enthusiasm, there will be wonderful days and there will tough and tiring days, but it is important that we remember your purpose and why it is we came to the law!  

Soifua ma ia manuia, 

Ataga’i Esera 
Law Society Vice-President, Wellington 

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks to the National New Lawyers Group for their work in producing this guide. 

• Bree Munro
• Georgia Osmond
• Jay Rajendram
• Thilini Karunaratne