[saffer01]

Hi, my name is Jon, i am a qualified attorney in South Africa, however I am not practising at the moment.

I have heard and read that it is quite a lengthy process for me to get admitted to practise law in NZ. Please could anyone who has had any experience in this regard let me know exactly what is involved.

I have also heard that it is easier to get admitted in Australia and then come and get admitted in NZ. Any information on that would also be most welcomed. thanks in advance.

Jon

[dusk]

hi Jon,
afraid I have no idea on that and not sure I know of anyone on here who is in the legal professions, but if there is someone I'm sure they will offer any info they have :)

[bartons]

Hi Jon,

I never got further than reading through the information and phoning the NZ Law Society, so I can't really share any experiences. However, I decided against applying to get admitted as a lawyer in NZ because of the fees and time involved. I would have had to sit several exams and do some courses which would have added up hugely in time and money.
Anyway, have a look at the Law Societies pages here:
http://www.nz-lawsoc.org.nz/osloslawpracnz.asp
http://www.nz-lawsoc.org.nz/oslpractisenzlaw.asp

By the sounds of it depending on where you got your qualification and how long you've been practicing you might not have to do much extra training. Or you might have start again from the beginning. It all depends...

Mareike

[saffer01]

Hi Mareike

Thanks for the reply and the info.

I see you are now in NZ, did you find that your legal qualification was useful when you were looking for employment, and is there much scope for legally qualified people who are not necessarily admitted to practise?

Any info would be much appreciated.

Jon

[bartons]

Hi Jon,

my experiences here are limited, as I've only recently started looking for a job, and also Dunedin is not a big city and quite limited job-wise; I'm sure it would be a different thing in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. I asked the City Council for any law-related jobs, and they sounded happy enough to consider lawyers who aren't admitted in NZ, but that's not necessarily in legal jobs but any paper-pushing jobs. Same at the university.
It's worth checking out the council websites in the big cities (or even in the medium-sized ones), also the government agencies in Wellington (for example the Legal Services Agency).
Sorry I'm not of more help. Just trawl through loads of websites, even phone up or email some councils and government departments to get an impression. As I said, it might be a completely different picture in the bigger cities.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Mareike

[saffer01]

Hi Mareika

Thanks for the heads - up.

Will try what you suggested, sounds positive from what you say.

How are you enjoying Dunedin, it looks like a beautiful place, probably too cold for me coming from sunny South Africa though.

Cheers
Jon

[bartons]

Hi Jon,

we love it here! Nice-sized laid-back city with lots of students and atmosphere and much more to offer than we expected from a city this size (theatres,cinemas,festivals,museums,etc). And stunning scenery around it, great for outdoor stuff. And lower house-prices than in a lot of other places in NZ... Can't really comment on the climate/weather with only one (unusually warm and sunny) summer under my belt, but having come from Cornwall we're used to cooler weather, in fact we didn't want it too sunny and hot!

Anyway, good luck wherever you decide to go!
Mareike