Inaugural conference designed specifically for new lawyers

Lawyers in the early stage of their career are the focus of the inaugural New Lawyers Conference 2025. Being held at the wonderful Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, the conference is a must attend for early career lawyers to reflect, explore and connect with their peers.

It’s the first Law Society conference designed specifically for new lawyers with 0-7 years post qualification experience (PQE).

“We’ve never had a national conference specifically for early career lawyers and that seemed to be a huge gap,”says Colin McDougall, the Law Society’s Canterbury Westland Branch Manager and previously Convenor of the National New Lawyers Group, who has led the team putting the conference together.

“This group of lawyers encompasses those newly qualified to those with a number of years under their belt. But they’re all still relatively early in their career trajectory and will benefit from the development opportunities the conference will provide.”

Designed by new lawyers for new lawyers, the conference programme is forward thinking and includes personal and professional development opportunities for attendees to take into their legal journey and future practice.

“We thought it was important to have new lawyers involved in shaping the conference programme and identifying areas of interest to their peers,” says Colin.

Jordan Neville is one of the new lawyers on the conference organising team and is the current convener of the New Lawyers Committee for Canterbury Westland. He says that in addition to developing skills and tools to help prepare lawyers for the future of the profession, attendees will be able to look at different but not commonly considered career path options within law.

“You don’t come into law knowing all the pathways you can take. There are a whole range of career options within law that early career lawyers are not aware of,” says Jordan.

Having started out working in a Community Law Centre before transitioning to a medium sized law firm, Jordan is now working as an Employed Barrister for Amy Lake Barrister based at Riverlands Chambers in Christchurch. “When I started out, I had no idea that was an option or that would become my pathway, however six years down the track here I am.”

For those who are not familiar with the term employed barrister, it is a lawyer employed by a sole practitioner.

“My experience over the past six years of practice and my involvement with the New Lawyers Committee have shown me that there are diverse pathways for a career within the legal profession. Everyone has their own journey ahead of them, and each person brings their own unique character and perspective to the practice of law,” says Jordan.

Opportunities to thrive

A panel discussion on legal careers will be facilitated by three dynamic senior lawyers sharing the real stories behind their career journeys. Sam Lindsay, a Director and Search Partner for Lawyers at Chisholm Clarke, will head the discussion. Sam also hosts the What a Lawyer podcast that reaches hundreds of kiwi lawyers at home and around the globe.

The session will explore how each of the panellists started out, and how they’ve navigated critical decision points, unexpected challenges, and evolving definitions of success. Rather than presenting a single path, the chat will highlight the diverse ways one can thrive in the legal profession both now and later in careers.

Core career capabilities

A vital professional capability for navigating the complex demands of contemporary legal practice is the development of emotional intelligence (EI). Dr Sarah Anticich will introduce the core competencies of EI.

Lawyers who develop these competencies are better positioned to maintain professional standards, foster productive relationships, exercise sound judgment under pressure and effectively manage the demands of the legal profession.

Joe Consedine, Co-founder of Mobilise – Inclusive Leadership and Allyship, will run a session on inclusive leadership and explore the critical traits of future-ready leaders. He will challenge conference attendees to think beyond technical excellence and look at a broader range of skills to develop to meet future leadership requirements.

With more ethnically diverse communities, a new wave of technological transformation impacting our workplaces and different work expectations from Gen Z, inclusive leadership is a strategic imperative.

“Both of these sessions will challenge attendees to look at the competencies they need to build their career into the future. Likewise, the session on AI which will look at the AI-powered legal tools available in NZ or coming soon and how to develop AI skills to meet the demands of the future legal landscape,” says Colin.

Networking and connection

To top off the day, the conference dinner will provide ample opportunity for networking and meeting other early career lawyers. It’ll be a more communal, move-around type of atmosphere with different types of cuisine to tantalise the taste buds.

“All in all, the conference will be a fantastic opportunity for early career lawyers to connect and foster relationships with each other, collaborate on what’s important to them in their individual careers and develop more confidence and capability for their own pathway in law,”says Jordan. 

Registrations are open now.
Go to the Events page of the Law Society website to register. New Lawyers Conference 2025 Tāraitia a anamata | Create the Future
When: Friday 22 August 2025
Where: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre