New Zealand’s top legal firms are still experiencing a tight labour market, despite a sharp increase in unemployment.

 

Russell McVeagh HR manager Jackie Stead told ALB that the firm was still recruiting across all practice groups. It is not surprising – New Zealand’s Department of Labour statistics show an increase in the number of advertised positions for barristers and solicitors, with 16% growth over the last year. Similarly, a report from recruitment agency Manpower, which surveyed employers on employment prospects, found that the services sector (including law) was anticipating a healthy level of hiring activity in the coming months.

 

However, the chill winds of the global credit crisis are having an effect on the profession, with more lawyers staying in New Zealand due to a weaker international economy. Firms such as Minter Ellison, Chapman Tripp and Duncan Cotterill said they have noticed that the number of lawyers moving overseas has declined. “The downturn in the overseas legal market has meant that we aren’t losing the numbers of staff to London that we did a year ago, and the few [who are] going are staying longer,” said Vivien Maurice, HR manager for Minter Ellison Rudd Watts.