She also shares why appearing before the Employment Relations Authority was a standout career moment
Last month, Kiely Thompson Caisley welcomed employment law expert Hannah King to the partnership – a remarkable career moment for someone who didn’t even know she wanted to be a lawyer. In the first half of this December interview, King tells NZ Lawyer about the most memorable moment in her legal career to date, and why a solo jaunt across Europe was a major 2024 accomplishment.
I did not grow up knowing I wanted to be a lawyer. Throughout my school years and at university, I considered several potential careers, all in very different industries!
Ultimately, what drew me to the law, and what has kept me here, are the role models I encountered as guest lecturers at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, while summer clerking, and when I commenced practice. These were senior lawyers who displayed extraordinary intellect, who were great with people and great people themselves, and who had a relentless drive to serve their clients and their communities. I wanted to do what they were doing.
The part of the job I find most rewarding is helping my clients navigate difficult or complex situations, particularly when crisis strikes, to reach the best resolution possible in the circumstances.
The most memorable event of my career was my first appearance as sole counsel in the Employment Relations Authority. I was just over a year into practice, I had never appeared before the Authority even as junior counsel, and we were successful. I will be forever grateful for the faith that my client and my firm placed in me to run that matter and the support I received in preparing the case.
The unfortunate thing about a legal career is that you often can’t say a word about the work you are most proud of! The most I can say is that my proudest accomplishments at work in the last year or so have involved tackling some tough legal issues with a client in a long-running union dispute, in an external investigation I conducted, and as part of an important deal with constantly shifting goalposts.
Outside of work, I travelled solo across Europe for several months before starting back at KTC. I visited all the places that have been at the top of my travel list for years, but managed to avoid medical emergencies, missed connections, lost luggage or any other cause for an insurance claim – so that is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of!
The biggest lesson I've learned is the value of taking ownership of your work (no matter how small a cog in the wheel you perceive yourself to be) and taking ownership of your career and the direction you want it to take.
