Main takeaway: New Zealand’s largest law firms have been busier than anticipated over the past 12 months, although headcounts have remained largely static since 2023.
Background: We surveyed and spoke to numerous law firms and in-house legal teams to assess the size and shape of the country's legal sector, likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Key players: Anderson Lloyd, Anthony Harper, Bell Gully, Buddle Findlay, Dentons, DLA Piper, Duncan Cotterill, Kennedys, Lane Neave, Meredith Connell, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Russell McVeagh, Simpson Grierson, Wynn Williams, Fonterra, Air New Zealand, Kāinga Ora, IRD, Ministry of Justice, Crown Law, MBIE, Auckland Council, Commerce Commission, ILANZ, Juno.
Andrew Poole has been MinterEllisonRuddWatts’ chief executive since 2018.
Before that, he held the same role at Chapman Tripp for just over a decade. All up, he’s been a lawyer across multiple firms – both here and in the UK – since 1987.
He says that when he first started, his clients were
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Key points
Main takeaway: New Zealand’s largest law firms have been busier than anticipated over the past 12 months, although headcounts have remained largely static since 2023.
Background: We surveyed and spoke to numerous law firms and in-house legal teams to assess the size and shape of the country's legal sector, likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Key players: Anderson Lloyd, Anthony Harper, Bell Gully, Buddle Findlay, Dentons, DLA Piper, Duncan Cotterill, Kennedys, Lane Neave, Meredith Connell, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Russell McVeagh, Simpson Grierson, Wynn Williams, Fonterra, Air New Zealand, Kāinga Ora, IRD, Ministry of Justice, Crown Law, MBIE, Auckland Council, Commerce Commission, ILANZ, Juno.
