What kind of work have you been involved with at Anderson Lloyd?

All sorts! When I first started as a summer clerk, I completed one rotation in the Property and Personal Client team and another rotation in the Employment team. This was a great opportunity to get exposed to two very different areas of law that were exciting and challenging in different ways. In the property team, I was involved in working with clients to draft their wills, enduring powers of attorney, and conveyancing agreements. In the employment team, I was involved in drafting and reviewing employment agreements, writing submissions, and drafting practical advice for clients.

What do you enjoy about working at Anderson Lloyd?

Definitely the office culture. I’ve worked in both the Dunedin and the Christchurch offices, and in both environments, I was welcomed and supported by staff across the office. It’s awesome working alongside people that are willing to answer questions and support you without judgment when you’re learning the ropes in the early stages of your legal career.

What has been the most challenging part of working at Anderson Lloyd?

Adjusting to the full-time lifestyle post-university has definitely been the most challenging part. You don’t get the same flexibility as you do at university, that’s for sure! The silver lining is that each office has a top espresso machine and a fully stocked snack drawer, which I find keeps me going when I hit the 3 o’clock slump.

What sets Anderson Lloyd apart from other firms?

Anderson Lloyd is unique in that it’s a big-little firm. It’s big enough that you work for some cool, well-known clients, and big enough to have four offices across New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Queenstown), but small enough that the teams within each office work together as part of one larger national team. For example, we have employment lawyers in Christchurch, Dunedin, and Queenstown, but we often work together as part of one large national employment team. This means there are lots of opportunities to work with different lawyers on lots of different client matters.

What are the social opportunities like at Anderson Lloyd?

AL’s social calendar is jampacked. Each office offers a range of opportunities for staff to socialise, in a way that suits everyone’s individual interests. From run clubs and lawn bowls, to themed drinks and karaoke nights, to crochet breaks and tree planting.

What has surprised you about working at Anderson Lloyd?

Probably the sheer amount of staff benefits available. For example, each member of staff receives a Health Living allowance annually, to be spent on anything that promotes health and well-being. We also receive one day of paid community leave each year, to be used for getting involved in a community cause of your choice. These are just two examples of many benefits!

What would your advice to students be who are wishing to apply to Anderson Lloyd?

When putting together your cover letter, use it as an opportunity to really let your personality shine through. As much as the reader will be interested in your past work experience and the other information included in your CV, they will equally want to know about who you are outside of work. That is how you can set yourself apart from other applicants.

About the firm

Being located in four key economic centres enables Anderson Lloyd to bring local knowledge as well as a national team to any situation.

Anderson Lloyd is the first law firm to earn Toitū carbonzero accreditation and is a certified Living Wage Employer. Anderson Lloyd is now a large law firm and we are a regular award winner at the New Zealand Law Awards.

Anderson Lloyd succeeds thanks to the quality of our people. It is our expertise and passion that has delivered great results for our clients. Our values define us and we are looking to align with like-minded people to lead the legal profession into a brighter, more sustainable future.

Working at the firm

Our clients are some of New Zealand’s leading businesses and we are involved in challenging and high profile legal work. You will have access to first-rate resources and leading technology and will be encouraged, mentored and developed to achieve your potential. We provide a genuinely collaborative culture – with teams working across offices to ensure we deliver the best results for our clients.

However, we like to think that we can offer you something a little different from other law firms. We have not lost sight of the important things. We want our people to look forward to coming to work and we openly encourage them to reach their own personal and professional goals. It’s our friendly environment, flexible work practices and our commitment to making sure that our staff are happy, healthy and enthusiastic that really sets us apart.

We are also part of our communities. We have active sustainability programmes, which promote environmentally sound practices, encourage diversity, and form partnerships that benefit our communities. We pride ourselves on our pro-bono work – and believe that providing pro-bono work is an essential element of every lawyer’s professional responsibility. Our people give their time, expertise and leadership to assist with a range of health, community, educational, environmental, heritage and recreational initiatives. Read more about our pro-bono, sponsorship, donation and sustainability initiatives in the community.

Working at Anderson Lloyd you will earn a highly competitive salary and enjoy a range of other benefits. We have active social groups and a range of regular functions in each of our offices.

Opportunities for Students

Each year in March we open a 2 week Summer Clerk application process. We take between 12 – 16 Summer Clerks each year.

Our Summer Clerks are important to us – and we hope that they will stay with us to begin their legal career as a Law Clerk. Summer Clerks usually join us during their third, penultimate or final year at university and we only take on as many Summer Clerks as we need for graduate positions. Accordingly, we put a lot of effort in to ensuring that Summer Clerks learn a lot and have a fun and enjoyable experience.

Locations: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown
Staff: More than 203 partners and staff across all offices

Anderson Lloyd at a glance

How many students do you take in your programme(s) each year: We take between 12 – 16 Summer Clerks each year, across all four offices.

When do you typically hire students for your programme(s): Applications for our Summer Clerk programme open in March with contracts typically going out in May. We hold a two-day induction programme for our Summer Clerks and new Graduates in November, before they start their journey with us.

Do you do rotations? How many rotations: Yes we offer two rotations for our Summer Clerks (pre/post-Christmas). However, we take the lead from what experiences our Summer Clerks wish to take, with some Summer Clerks staying in their original rotation.

Number of staff at your firm: 203

No. of partners: 27

Location(s): Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Queenstown.

Area of expertise: Corporate & Commercial, Property & Private Client, Environment, planning & natural resources and Litigation & Employment.

Contact for students: HR Team hr@al.nz