Going overseas?
Providing legal services outside New Zealand
From your practice in New Zealand
New Zealand lawyers who export legal services from their places of business in New Zealand are members of the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) and are regulated accordingly.
New Zealand lawyers who are admitted and practise in more than one jurisdiction concurrently will be subject to the regulatory regime of each.
Similarly, New Zealand-based lawyers who establish a commercial presence in another jurisdiction may, in some cases, be required to register as foreign lawyers in the host jurisdiction and be subject to relevant rules.
Working in another jurisdiction
New Zealand-admitted lawyers who are living and working in another jurisdiction may now be issued New Zealand practising certificates.
If lawyers are admitted and practising in a host jurisdiction they will be subject to local regulation.
Kiwi lawyers working in foreign jurisdictions where they are not, or not yet, admitted/entitled to practise may be required to register as foreign lawyers and regulated as such by the host jurisdiction. Regimes vary, so it pays to check in advance.
Admission to practice in another jurisdiction
Information about regulatory regimes in other jurisdictions is generally available from their law societies or bar associations.
Contact details of law societies in other jurisdictions are available from this site. For any other jurisdictions, contact inquiries@lawsociety.org.nz
Certificate of Standing
In most cases you will be required, as part of your application for admission in another jurisdiction, to produce a Certificate of standing from New Zealand. You can apply for that online.