Options are varied for the next generation of legal talent, especially as borders open up
Young lawyers are seeing many options opening up to them, especially with borders finally opening up once more and offering the opportunity to travel overseas. However, over the past couple of years, one avenue that has also risen in prominence is the in-house market.
“Regulatory change and society’s expectations of companies have increased the role and importance of in-house lawyers. So we will be more in demand,” explained David Bricklebank, general counsel and company secretary at ANZ Bank New Zealand.
“We're seeing a number of private practice lawyers move to in-house earlier in their careers, which is great, and I believe there will be a continued trend in that direction.”
2021 New Zealand Law Awards judge Anna Thorburn, group general counsel at Oceania Healthcare, pointed out that going in-house enables young lawyers to gain valuable experience that can facilitate transitions to other roles.
“Some in-house roles offer more flexibility than roles in private practice, which can also be attractive to young lawyers,” she said.
Thorburn predicted much activity for in-house lawyers in 2022 due to “ongoing government regulation in a number of areas and continued upheaval created by COVID-19.”
“Many New Zealand in-house legal teams are continuing to navigate the challenges presented by COVID-19 – including providing advice on vaccination of employees, suppliers, clients, etc., as well as providing advice on the constantly evolving policies as a result of the government ‘traffic light system',” she said.
Nonetheless, accompanying the boost in the stock of in-house lawyers was an increase in workload.
“In-house legal teams are juggling resourcing and budgets with increasing workloads as commercial teams within businesses see the value that the legal team can add,” Thorburn explained.
The nomination period for the 2022 New Zealand Law Awards commenced last week.
