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Our Culture

Our culture

We are committed to providing a diverse and inclusive culture for all our people.

We have a culture where our people feel respected and are supported both in their work and with their wellbeing – a culture where everyone can thrive. Your success and the success of all our people – regardless of gender, age, ability, cultural background, sexual and gender identities, or political and religious views – is of the upmost importance to us.

"The partners and senior lawyers are very friendly, patient and knowledgeable. The firm is very intentional in building a positive, welcoming and inclusive culture."

Anonymous employee - Pulse Survey February 2024

Our recruitment process is fair and robust, and our promotion structure ensures that there are no hidden glass ceilings in the firm. The work programme that supports our D&I strategy, and working in partnership with external organisations, is helping us strive to achieve excellence and best practice.

Russell McVeagh's Board has committed to three key diversity and inclusion goals for within the next 4 years – you can read more about them.

Our Diversity & Inclusion goals

What it's like to work here

Your learning & development

Our dedicated learning and development team assist you in achieving your development goals, with the emphasis on learning and development continuing throughout your career and tailored to suit your individual needs and aspirations.

Alongside your ‘on the job’ development and coaching, we run a wide portfolio of programmes covering technical, people and business development. You will have opportunities to attend many of these as you progress your career with us. There are a variety of easily accessible opportunities for lawyers to complete their required CPD hours every year.

An important part of development is ensuring you receive regular feedback which is encouraged both through informal ‘on the job’ feedback, and through formal bi-annual performance appraisals.

Mentoring and the opportunity for external experience

We help to develop our solicitors’ careers through external experience such as secondments, to advance skills and grow relationships. We also maintain strong networks with clients and overseas firms for solicitors who may wish to travel and work offshore.

For our summer clerks, law clerks and solicitors, we offer a ‘buddy’ system, where each new solicitor is paired with a buddy who can be their first point of reference and show them the ropes. We also offer a mentoring scheme which is open to all of our people.

At a more senior level, our senior associate and special counsel programme offers mentoring and a variety of support mechanisms with a goal to further develop firm leadership and the pathway to partnership.

"Russell McVeagh feels like a modern firm, leading the way among big firms in the way we work. We also do and win great work across the firm." 

Anonymous employee - Pulse Survey February 2024

"Interesting work and always a positive experience dealing with colleagues in and around the office."

Anonymous employee - Pulse Survey February 2024

"The firm has incredibly talented people contributing to a high performing workplace."

Anonymous employee - Pulse Survey February 2024

Your wellbeing

Ensuring that your health and wellbeing is optimised so that you can live your best life, both in and out of work - we have a range of initiatives and resources available to support you, both your physical and mental health: 

  • Active Health, Safety & Wellness committee with regular initiatives such as, webinars, speakers, and holistic support for wellbeing (for example, mole mapping).
  • Extended hours policy to recognise instances of working more than your standard hours and give you time back (for law clerks, solicitors and senior solicitors)
  • A number of our people are Kaiāwhina Oranga (Wellbeing Support People). They are there if you need to talk and are also trained mental health first responders.
  • Telus Health – free confidential counselling and advice for you and your whānau.
  • Support for different life stages (some examples include fertility, parental, menopause).  
  • Opportunities to get involved in various social club and sporting events.

Our community

Everyone at Russell McVeagh has the opportunity to contribute their time, skills, or resources towards making a difference. From our work with social enterprises, to our pro bono programmes, sponsorships, and charitable partnerships, our focus is on working alongside our local communities to achieve positive social and environmental impact.

Our pro bono work

Support for your life outside of work 

Flexible working arrangements are possible for a variety of reasons, including family commitments, involvement in professional sport and continuing education. Our IT systems allow people to work from home when necessary (depending on their role), and you are able to receive reasonable reimbursements for use of your Smartphone if used for work purposes.

We also encourage you to take regular holidays and the firm closes for approximately three weeks over the Christmas/New Year break over the summer holiday period.

What we offer

We offer a range of benefits to help you both at work and outside of work.
 
We aim to pay at the top end of the market and review salaries regularly to ensure we maintain this position. In addition, we offer:

  • An attractive bonus scheme for legal teams, tailored to your role level;
  • Exceptional performance awards;
  • A home office set up allowance to ensure you are set up to work from home;
  • An annual wellness allowance;
  • Extended paid parental leave and an extra day of paid leave in our Christmas closedown period;

Our social activities

Helps to build a greater sense of community and friendship through social activities where everyone at our firm is able to get involved. It is a great way to break the ice for new joiners, strengthens relationships across all of our teams, and creates a fun and supportive environment for all. 
  
Some events for 2024 include our annual Summer Function, Quiz Night, and Movie Night. Other popular events to look forward to are themed Friday night get togethers, sporting events (including tennis, rugby, marathons), charity fundraisers, and Random Act of Kindness treats.

Our accreditations

Through our partnerships and initiatives, we work alongside organisations that help to improve diversity and inclusion in the communities we live and work in, as well as the advancement of our profession.

Rainbow Tick

We are proud to have held Rainbow Tick certification since 2016 when we committed to being a welcoming place for everyone to feel comfortable to bring their authentic selves to work. The Rainbow Tick programme is a continual quality improvement programme designed to help an organisation ensure it is a safe and welcoming workplace for employees of diverse gender identity and sexual orientation.

Gender Tick

In 2023 we gained Advanced Gender Tick certification with the Gender at Work Community, which is a first for a New Zealand law firm. The work the firm is doing to progress gender equality, including becoming one of the first law firms in the country to publicly report its gender and ethnicity pay gaps with Mindthegap, has contributed to our progress which you can read more on here. 

The GenderTick enables businesses to demonstrate their commitment to gender equity in their workplace and their compliance and leadership across five key indicators: Equal Pay, Leadership Representation, Flexible Work and Leave, Gender Safe Workplace, and Gender Inclusive Culture.

Accredited Living Wage Employer

We became an Accredited Living Wage Employer in 2024 which demonstrates that the firm pays at least the current Living Wage rate to all of our staff and regular contractors. While we had already been paying our people at least living wage prior to receiving accreditation, this helps us to publicly reinforce the firm’s support for the Living Wage movement and ensures that this commitment is also recognised and extended to our suppliers and contractors.

Our partners