Riccarton High School
Solicitor Rōia
Solicitors give legal advice, prepare legal documents and study the details of legal arguments.
Solicitors need to be registered with the New Zealand Law Society and hold a current practising certificate.
Patent attorneys need to be registered with the Intellectual Property Office.
Solicitors may do some or all of the following:
- give legal advice to clients, including families, businesses and individuals
- research and study details of the law and examine legal arguments
- prepare legal documents such as wills and affidavits
- prepare and advise on paperwork for property or business deals
- handle clients' funds
- instruct barristers to appear in court on behalf of clients.
Trade marks attorney
To become a trade marks attorney you need to:
- have a qualification from Australia or New Zealand at diploma level or above - and this qualification doesn't need to relate to trade marks or be in a specific field
- work under supervision for several years in a relevant role
- register with the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board.
Many trade marks attorneys are also lawyers but this is not essential.
Useful Experience
Useful experience for solicitors includes:
- general legal work
- research work
- public sector experience.
Personal Qualities
Solicitors need to be:
- analytical
- able to think on their feet
- good at working under pressure
- ethical, responsible and able to keep information private
- good problem-solvers
- well organised
- good communicators.
Skills
Solicitors need to have:
- knowledge of New Zealand laws and the legal system
- knowledge of the way courts work
- legal research skills
- skill in researching, interpreting, analysing and evaluating information
- negotiating skills
- writing skills.
Conditions
Solicitors:
- usually work regular business hours but may need to work evenings and weekends doing research
- work in offices and courts
- may travel to attend conferences and meetings.
Subject Recommendations
A tertiary entrance qualification is required to enter further training. Useful subjects include English, history and classical studies, social studies and te reo Māori.
Related Subjects
Solicitors can earn around $62K per year.
Pay for solicitors varies depending on their experience, the organisation they work for, and the region they work in. For solicitors with:
- less than one year's experience, the median salary is $62,000 a year.
- two years' experience, the median salary is $72,000 a year.
- three years' experience, the median salary is $80,000 a year.
- four years' experience, the median salary is $95,000 a year.
- five or more years' experience, the median salary is $131,000 a year.
They may also receive other benefits such as bonuses and allowances.
Trade marks attorneys
- Solicitors working as registered trade marks attorneys usually earn $60,000 to $120,000 a year.
- Senior trade marks attorneys can earn $120,000 to $180,000 or more a year.
Sources: Aotearoa Legal Workers' Union (ALWU), 'New Zealand Legal Industry Employment Report 2022-2023', 2023; and New Zealand Intellectual Property Attorneys Inc, 2023.
Solicitors may progress to set up their own practice or they may become an associate or a partner of the firm they work for.
Solicitors may specialise in:
- competitions and corporate law
- criminal law
- environment and resource management
- human rights
- intellectual property
- public law
- property
- tax
- Treaty of Waitangi.
Solicitors may also specialise as a:
- Patent Attorney
- Patent attorneys advise on intellectual property and setting up patents, and help prosecute people who copy someone's patented work.
Years Of Training
3-4 years of training usually requiredTo become a solicitor you need to:
- complete a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB)
- complete a Professional Legal Studies Course
- get a completion certificate from the New Zealand Council of Legal Education
- get a certificate of character from the Law Society
- be admitted to the roll of barristers and solicitors of the High Court of New Zealand
- hold a current practising certificate issued by the Law Society.
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