Law firms look at positive aspects to OE
Rather than viewing the New Zealand OE as a black hole which absorbs mid-level staff, some law firms are now using it as an opportunity to build international networks and secure long-term loyalty from top employers.
The latest issue of the New Zealand Law Society’s LawTalk magazine says some of New Zealand’s larger law firms are asking staff to let them know if they want to travel overseas and are then using their contacts to secure them jobs.
LawTalk says one firm, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, has a well-established programme of encouraging staff who want to go overseas to talk to them about their plans.
“Then they try and place them in Minters overseas,” LawTalk says.
The number of New Zealand lawyers heading offshore is slowly picking up again, with movement currently at around 10%. However, Minter Ellison’s managing partner Mark Weenink says that while the United Kingdom was the employment target before the recession, more lawyers are now heading for the Middle East, the United States and Asia.
Another large New Zealand firm, Chapman Tripp, has a similar tactic to Minter Ellison. They are now asking staff to share with them their overseas aspirations and attempt to place staff using company networks.
Chapman Tripp managing partner Andrew Poole says not only does the firm end up with “really good alumni” coming back out of New York and London, but the system also strengthens Chapman Tripp’s business relationships.
“Chapman Tripp is cementing its commitment to sending employees overseas, and has recently announced an international secondment arrangment with Slaughter and May in London,” LawTalk says.
“Each year, one Chapman Tripp solicitor in their third or fourth year will have the opportunity to be seconded to Slaughter and May for one year, commencing January 2012. In return, every 6 months Slaughter and May will second a second year lawyer to Chapman Tripp for half a year.”