Auckland Seventh-Day Adventist H S
Solicitor Rōia
Solicitors give legal advice, prepare legal documents and study the details of legal arguments.
Solicitors need to be registered with the New Zealand Law Society and hold a current practising certificate.
Patent attorneys need to be registered with the Intellectual Property Office.
Solicitors may do some or all of the following:
- give legal advice to clients, including families, businesses and individuals
- research and study details of the law and examine legal arguments
- prepare legal documents such as wills and affidavits
- prepare and advise on paperwork for property or business deals
- handle clients' funds
- instruct barristers to appear in court on behalf of clients.
Trade marks attorney
To become a trade marks attorney you need to:
- have a qualification from Australia or New Zealand at diploma level or above - and this qualification doesn't need to relate to trade marks or be in a specific field
- work under supervision for several years in a relevant role
- register with the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board.
Many trade marks attorneys are also lawyers but this is not essential.
Useful Experience
Useful experience for solicitors includes:
- general legal work
- research work
- public sector experience.
Personal Qualities
Solicitors need to be:
- analytical
- able to think on their feet
- good at working under pressure
- ethical, responsible and able to keep information private
- good problem-solvers
- well organised
- good communicators.
Skills
Solicitors need to have:
- knowledge of New Zealand laws and the legal system
- knowledge of the way courts work
- legal research skills
- skill in researching, interpreting, analysing and evaluating information
- negotiating skills
- writing skills.
Conditions
Solicitors:
- usually work regular business hours but may need to work evenings and weekends doing research
- work in offices and courts
- may travel to attend conferences and meetings.
Subject Recommendations
A tertiary entrance qualification is required to enter further training. Useful subjects include English, history and classical studies, social studies and te reo Māori.
Solicitors can earn around $62K per year.
Pay for solicitors varies depending on their experience, the organisation they work for, and the region they work in. For solicitors with:
- less than one year's experience, the median salary is $62,000 a year.
- two years' experience, the median salary is $72,000 a year.
- three years' experience, the median salary is $80,000 a year.
- four years' experience, the median salary is $95,000 a year.
- five or more years' experience, the median salary is $131,000 a year.
They may also receive other benefits such as bonuses and allowances.
Trade marks attorneys
- Solicitors working as registered trade marks attorneys usually earn $60,000 to $120,000 a year.
- Senior trade marks attorneys can earn $120,000 to $180,000 or more a year.
Sources: Aotearoa Legal Workers' Union (ALWU), 'New Zealand Legal Industry Employment Report 2022-2023', 2023; and New Zealand Intellectual Property Attorneys Inc, 2023.
Solicitors may progress to set up their own practice or they may become an associate or a partner of the firm they work for.
Solicitors may specialise in:
- competitions and corporate law
- criminal law
- environment and resource management
- human rights
- intellectual property
- public law
- property
- tax
- Treaty of Waitangi.
Solicitors may also specialise as a:
- Patent Attorney
- Patent attorneys advise on intellectual property and setting up patents, and help prosecute people who copy someone's patented work.
Years Of Training
3-4 years of training usually requiredTo become a solicitor you need to:
- complete a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB)
- complete a Professional Legal Studies Course
- get a completion certificate from the New Zealand Council of Legal Education
- get a certificate of character from the Law Society
- be admitted to the roll of barristers and solicitors of the High Court of New Zealand
- hold a current practising certificate issued by the Law Society.
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