Applications for all programmes open on Thursday 7 March and close on Tuesday 2 April.

• 2024 Scholarship – open to students in their third year of study
• 2024/2025 Summer Clerkship – open to students in their penultimate year of study
• 2025 Law Clerkship – open to students in their last year of their law degree (planning to finish university studies by the end of 2024 and be available to start in early 2025)

Areas of expertise: Full-service commercial firm

Staff: Over 380 people

Contact: Grace Jonnalagadda

Working at the firm

At Russell McVeagh we are committed to excellence in everything we do. We are always raising the bar and challenging ourselves to be leaders in technical excellence. We have built a culture in which our people feel respected, and we are proud of the work we do for our clients and communities. When you join our firm, no two days will be the same. The work across each of our legal teams is varied and exciting. From day one, you will work with a supportive team who are invested in developing your career and you will be constantly learning and growing.

Meet Andrew O’Malley Shand

Solicitor, Russell McVeagh

“Without a doubt, my favourite aspect of working at Russell McVeagh is the culture, which is excellent.  I have found so many kind and patient people who invest their time in teaching me new skills and concepts, which is a real privilege for a new lawyer.”

Where do you work now?

I work in the Corporate Advisory team in Russell McVeagh’s Auckland office.

What career steps have you taken to get to this point?

During my time at university, I often considered which path in the law I should take. My first legal work experience was at a community law centre through the Equal Justice Project, and shortly after I began at a Hamilton-based criminal defence firm for two summers, followed by two summers at a boutique civil litigation firm in Auckland. I learned a lot from these roles, but I was unsure about pursuing a career in criminal or civil litigation after university. I sought conversations with lawyers working in different practice areas, including privacy, intellectual property, corporate and litigation to better understand the opportunities available to me. Those conversations indicated that my interests, personality type, and working style aligned with corporate advisory and transactional work, and I was fortunate enough to receive an offer to start as a Graduate Law Clerk at Russell McVeagh. 

What kind of work have you been involved with at Russell McVeagh? 

Most of the work I have assisted with is providing advice to large corporations on corporate governance, transactional, and contractual matters.  This includes a range of corporate governance-related advice, including ensuring companies are operating within the boundaries of the law and its own constitution; transactional tasks, including reviewing company documents and contracts, and preparing reports and agreements to reflect a transaction, and preparing agreements.  I have also assisted on pro bono work for organisations such as Cure Kids and the New Zealand Red Cross.  The work is highly varied, and I appreciate the breadth of clients, complexity, and areas of commerce upon which our team advises.

What do you enjoy about working at Russell McVeagh?

Without a doubt, my favourite aspect of working at Russell McVeagh is the culture, which is excellent.  I have found so many kind and patient people who invest their time in teaching me new skills and concepts, which is a real privilege for a new lawyer. I have been included on interesting work, treated with respect, and given the opportunity to challenge myself to sharpen legal and other professional skills. I also really enjoyed joining the firm with a large cohort of like-minded graduates who have been social and highly supportive.  

What has been the most challenging part of working at Russell McVeagh

The most challenging part of working at RMcV has been the gear shift from university – the work is fast paced, high volume and there is an expectation that it will be completed to a high standard. In saying that, part of what I came to RMcV for was to be challenged to improve my legal and professional skills, a challenge that reflects the complexity of the work and the nature of the clients and projects.

What is the social life like at Russell McVeagh?

The social life is relaxed, frequent and inclusive. While there is no expectation to attend firm events, whether they be lunches in the office (prepared by the  firm’s outstanding kitchen team), summer lawn bowls, or fortnightly drinks, they are a great opportunity to meet more people across your practice area and the firm, and people make it easy to take part.  A highlight has been taking part in the weekly tennis hits, which has been a great way to get to know more people across the firm. Again, joining with a large graduate cohort has been a lot of fun.

Did anything surprise you while working at Russell McVeagh?

I was pleasantly surprised that the environment was much more relaxed than university, where sometimes it seemed like there was an element of competition among some students (for a place in first year, job roles, etc) but the culture at RMcV has been much more relaxed, and usually emphasises sharing work and learning opportunities among everyone as much as possible.

What has been your favourite experience at Russell McVeagh?

My favourite experience has been working closely with my partner to assist on a workstream which involved providing corporate governance advice on an usual situation with an international perspective.  Getting involved in client calls and learning from people at the top of the industry is a fantastic learning opportunity.

What is your advice to other students who would like to work with Russell McVeagh?

Get as much experience and have as many conversations as you can to try to understand what different practice areas in the legal profession look like on a day-to-day level.  Consider not only your interests, but your working style, and try to find your reasons for pursuing a particular career path before you finish university, if possible.  

Jasleen Oberoi

Law Clerk, Russell McVeagh

“What stands out to me about Russell McVeagh is that it truly provides its junior lawyers with the full package – exciting and relevant work, mentoring from the top, a genuine consideration for people and diversity, a supportive and social culture, leadership opportunities, and a work-life balance. I don’t see myself thriving anywhere but Russell McVeagh.”

What kind of work have you been involved with at Russell McVeagh? 

As a summer clerk and now a law clerk, my primary team is the General Litigation team. What I really love about being in this team is that I get exposure to various areas of law from construction, insolvency, trust issues, consumer law, and class actions. It means that you are always learning and growing, and never bored! What has also been really cool is that all the other teams are really supportive if you wanted to learn more about the work they do and there are opportunities to get involved. This meant that I also learnt about transactions and projects that the Corporate and Environment teams were doing.

What do you enjoy about working at Russell McVeagh?

Simply put, I love working at Russell McVeagh because they truly do put their people first. The firm’s culture is all about supporting, respecting, and including one another and this bleeds into so many facets of the firm life. It means that professionally, you are being entrusted to work on, and even single-handledly manage big transactions from the start, rather than purely administrative tasks. You are also receiving valuable mentoring and support from the juniors right through to the senior partners and it’s personalised to you. The firm’s great culture is also reflected in the social activities that are run monthly, if not weekly. I have ended up making friends for life through Russell McVeagh, and I am truly grateful!

What has been the most challenging part of working at Russell McVeagh?

Making the transition from law school to a law firm is always going to be challenging. I found myself at the start of my summer clerkship being unsure if the work I was producing was of value to the firm. However, these concerns quickly dissipated because of two reasons. The first was that at Russell McVeagh, you are so fortunate to be part of a large cohort. This means that you soon realise that you are not alone in feeling this way. The second was that everyone goes out of their way on the projects I was working on to tell me what a good job I was doing, and/or sit down and patiently explain how I could improve for next time. Everyone was incredibly passionate about developing and supporting their summer clerks, which made the experience incredible!

What is unique about working at Russell McVeagh?

Their modern approach to the law. One thing that was obvious to me from day one was that Russell McVeagh is passionate about delivering excellent client advice. This meant that the priority was not always on writing a 20-page memo filled with legal terminology. Rather, excellent client service for the firm means translating our research and our advice into a digestible form that gives the client pragmatic and tangible advice. This same modern approach translates to the firm culture, which emphasises a focus on wellbeing, work/life balance and inclusivity.

What is the social life like at Russell McVeagh?

The social life at Russell McVeagh is extensive. On a regular roster, we have 3pm team quizzes every day, weekly Friday snacks, and monthly Friday Fives. There is also a mid-year soirée, end of year Christmas parties, admission celebrations, team lunches, and events run by the social club.

Did anything surprise you while working at Russell McVeagh?

I think how modern the firm is. Having grown up on legal television dramas, I thought traditional law firms forced you to work huge hours and carry unbearable pressures. This is definitely not the case at Russell McVeagh! I always had enough work to keep me busy but at no point did I feel burnt out or unsupported. It was so refreshing to see that Russell McVeagh prioritise the wellbeing of its employees first and foremost. After experiencing that, there was no way I couldn’t come back.

What has been your favourite experience at Russell McVeagh?

Sitting on the grass at Takutai Square in a big circle with all the summer clerks. Having gone through university through the pandemic, I enjoyed the camaraderie of being surrounded by like-minded peers and feeling at home. Our cohort ended up getting very close over the course of the summer clerkship. We naturally participated in numerous social activities that the summer clerks organised themselves. It speaks volumes as to the time and effort that Russell McVeagh puts into hiring people who they think are a great culture fit.

What is your advice to other students who would like to work with Russell McVeagh?

This is tricky because the answer I want to give is cliché but it truly is to confidently put your true self forward in your application. I remember in my interview we ended up talking about the university clubs I had been involved in, my hobbies, and music I like listening to. Russell McVeagh truly cares about who you are! So be confident in yourself and what you bring to the table, academic or otherwise.