What kind of work have you been involved with at MC?

As a junior in the Crown Specialist Team, I deal predominantly with serious criminal matters. My day to day consists of drafting sentencing, pre-trial and bail submissions, conducting criminal file reviews and undertaking research for senior prosecutors. I also regularly appear in court for bail and sentencing matters.

What is unique about working at MC?

MC is unique in that it puts a lot of trust in graduates from the get-go. The senior prosecutors you work with provide good guidance, but they trust in you and your ability to give things a go. Even as a graduate, you get to be involved in engaging and interesting files you get to see on the news.

Did anything surprise you while working at MC?

Prior to MC, I had always wanted to practise criminal law only. I was surprised to enjoy the non-criminal areas of litigation that MC engages in, such as regulatory prosecutions. MC has a great litigation skills training programme and the skills and principles you learn from criminal practise are applicable across all the different areas of law. MC encourages you to engage in different types of work, you never know what you might end up loving.

What is your advice to other students who would like to work with MC?

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.

Firstly, it goes without saying but don’t be afraid to be yourself. You will often find your biggest difference is also your strength. The diversity at MC means you are working in an environment with a variety of skillsets, knowledge and different perspectives. It’s good to be constantly learning from the people around you and everyone at MC is generous sharing their time and knowledge.
Secondly, the work we do at MC is very important in the community and impacts many people from all different backgrounds. Having empathy for others and keeping an open mind are crucial skills to develop and are more far-reaching than any paper you will take in law school.

Finally, get involved in opportunities in the community and give back to others.

About the firm

MC is New Zealand’s largest litigation firm, by far. With 160 litigators we’re at least five times the size of our nearest rival.

As Office of the Crown Solicitor at Auckland, MC is the repository and custodian of specialist knowledge accrued over generations to benefit the Crown, while ensuring prosecution decisions are independent from politicians. But most of our work now comes from litigation beyond the Crown warrant. We’re a blended firm, with our litigators doing Crown prosecutions and every other kind of litigation.

MC derives legitimacy from Te Tiriti o Waitangi and our lawyers pride themselves on their multicultural and inclusive world-view. In Auckland and Wellington, we’re about collaboration, honesty, accountability, excellence, and doing the right thing every day.

Working at the firm

If litigation is your thing, there’s really only one major firm for you.

With an average age of 31, MC leads on social justice and we encourage our team to take part in movements they support.

Women make up 65% of our team and 41% of our partners. We eliminated the gender pay gap six years ago and everyone who works with us is paid the Living Wage.

At MC, you’ll be working with clients and appearing in court in your first year. But, don’t worry – no firm invests as much in litigation training. You’ll be taught by New Zealand’s top litigators in our MC Training Courtroom – an exact replica of an Auckland High Courtroom, the only one of its type in Australasia.

And your wellbeing comes first. We’re the first firm in the Asia Pacific region to achieve WELL v2 precertification from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). Plus we have free barista coffee for our team all day.

 Sound good? Get in touch.

Opportunities for students

MC’s Winter Internship Programme focuses on developing you as a lawyer – taking what you’re learning in lectures and putting it to the test.

The Internship is new, practical and spread out over more than two months.

During your time with us you’ll meet all our MC players and immerse yourself in a team where you’ll do meaningful work and learn from the best in the business.

Winter is our busiest time which means you’ll see how we work together and support each other to get results for our clients.

To find out more, contact recruitment@mc.co.nz or visit our website.