Lane Neave

The Lane Neave story

Lane Neave is proud to be one of New Zealand’s leading full-service law firms, with a genuine national presence and a people-first culture. With offices in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, and Wellington, we deliver the scale and quality of a top-tier firm with the close-knit feel of a boutique.

We’re proud to be recognised as a 2025 5-Star Employer of Choice and 2024 Employer of Choice (<100 Lawyers) by NZ Lawyer. Beyond legal work, we actively support environmental, health, and economic initiatives and provide pro bono services that make a real impact in our communities.

For more than 150 years, Lane Neave has combined tradition with a modern, supportive, and high-performance workplace. Our modern offices and regular social events create a vibrant environment where people thrive.

With over 160 staff nationwide, we operate across six specialist practice areas: corporate, employment, immigration, litigation, property, and resource management. At Lane Neave, you’re not just joining a firm—you’re joining a team that shares work, knowledge, and opportunities across all four locations.

Early Careers & Opportunities

Our graduate recruitment, onboarding, and training programmes are designed to give you the best possible start in law. Our commitment has been recognised by NZ Lawyer and the NZ Law Awards, reflecting our focus on diversity, inclusion, and continuous development.

Our Summer Clerks spend time across two rotations in separate practice groups, while having the opportunity to interact and gain exposure across all areas of the firm. This allows you to build relationships, set goals, and develop a strong foundational understanding of private practice to drive your career forward.

As a graduate at Lane Neave, you’ll experience regular roundtable training sessions with external facilitators and experts within our own team, numerous networking opportunities, and access to all of our internal and client events.

Our Culture

We don’t just talk about values—we live them. Equality, respect, and inclusion are embedded in everything we do. We also value accountability, transparency, and working hard and smart to deliver exceptional results for our clients.

Our work is supported by formal policies and a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Flexibility isn’t an afterthought but truly integrated into our workplaces as a part of our business.

We work hard, but we also make time for connection. Whether it’s weekly social events, firm-wide celebrations, or initiatives that give back to our communities, we prioritise great relationships in everything that we do. At Lane Neave, you’ll find a workplace that’s vibrant, inclusive, and full of opportunity for those who are motivated to succeed.

Corporate Social Responsibility

We have a dedicated CSR Steering Group that brings to life our ambitious social and environmental goals, including a commitment to empowering, enhancing, and supporting the communities where we live and work, and promoting environmental restoration and sustainability.

We encourage all staff to get involved with community organisations and fundraising for good causes. In 2024, we strengthened this commitment by introducing one paid volunteer day per year—giving every team member the chance to contribute in a way that matters to them.

Remuneration & Career Growth

Summer Clerks at Lane Neave get access to a great suite of perks and benefits during their time with us as a taste for some of the real-world offerings of being a practicing lawyer in our team. Here’s some highlights – just to name a few!

We pride ourselves on looking after our people, and our Summer Clerks are no exception to this, receiving an hourly rate equivalent to an annual salary of $60,000, including full-pay over our annual shut-down period and two days of sick leave.

You’ll also get access to continuous learning and development over your summer with us, including our structured sessions with a range of industry specialists. During your time with us, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to interact with all of our team, but a particular highlight for our clerks is their 1-on-1 catch-ups with the Partners and mentors they are paired with each rotation, ensuring you get access to feedback and support.

In 2026, our Summer Clerks will also get access to a wardrobe allowance to help kick-start their corporate wardrobe and professional career. This also includes full access to the exciting Lane Neave social calendar—team functions, coffees, Friday night drinks, social sports teams, and of course—our annual all-of-staff Christmas party in Christchurch!

In the last five years, we have been thrilled to offer 90% of our clerks who have joined us over the summer a permanent full-time Graduate Offer, and we’ve also extended numerous casual offers to further their professional experience throughout the final university year. Whether our clerks walk away from their time with us with an offer, or industry-leading experience under their belt, we are proud to be a part of their legal journey. Our graduates also enjoy a suite of bespoke benefits, including six-monthly remuneration reviews, a dress code allowance, our annual wellness benefit, and a special celebration evening for you and your whānau in our offices following your admission.

Q&A’s with Lane Neave – Lucy Larkin & Caleb Banks

Lucy Larkin – Solicitor (Auckland)

What does a day-in-the-life look like in your role?

I’m a Solicitor in the employment team at Lane Neave. We provide advice and assist employers and employees on a wide range of workplace issues.

Day-to-day I assist the senior lawyers with a wide variety of different tasks. I am generally taking notes, drafting letters or emails, drafting documents for the Employment Relations Authority, doing lots of research and attending client meetings. I also often get the chance to assist other lawyers at mediations or Employment Relations Authority hearings. What’s on my to do list changes a lot depending on the matters we are dealing with at the time, which always keeps things interesting and diverse!

What was your journey into law?

I originally grew up in Auckland, my family moved to Sydney when I was six before returning to Auckland when I was twelve. I went to Westlake Girls High School and worked part-time at Bunnings before starting my degree at the University of Auckland in 2020.

I was never entirely sure what I wanted to study at university, but I knew maths and science weren’t particularly appealing. Since I enjoyed social studies, history and English, law seemed like the best fit via process of elimination! I had no intention of becoming a lawyer, but I figured a law degree could lead to lots of other opportunities.

My plan was to just to try the first year of law and see how it went, as I hadn’t had much exposure to the subject. With no lawyers in my family and no previous experience speaking to one, I had no idea what to expect. After I made it through that first year, I decided I wanted to keep going and the rest is history!

In the summer of 2023/2024, I was an intern at Foodstuffs North Island assisting with Grocery Supply Code Compliance. Even four years into my law degree I still had no intention of becoming a practicing lawyer, but I saw everyone else applying for Summer Clerkships, so I figured I’d give it a go. During my summer at Lane Neave, I realised just how fun and interesting it is to be a private practice lawyer, and I knew I wanted to stay and become a solicitor.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Getting to be a part of matters (files) from the start to the end. I get to sit in on client meetings, be across all the details and then assist other lawyers with the different tasks required as the matter progresses. This means I get to meet lots of different clients and work with them to help solve their employment law issues, no matter how big or small.

What about the challenges?

The hours can be somewhat variable depending on what team you’re in and the amount of work that you have on during any given week or month.

One limitation can be having to sit still for long periods at a desk, but I make sure to exercise and keep a balanced lifestyle outside of work, so this doesn’t really bother me.

What are three pieces of advice you would give to future law graduates?

You don’t have to have everything figured out! You don’t have to know exactly what job you want to do, or what area of law you might want to practise. Be open to opportunity and willing to learn, and you’ll find what you enjoy.
Be yourself. As much as you might want to be appealing to employers, it’s just as important that you find somewhere to work where you’re happy and comfortable. You want to be a good fit, but you also want a workplace that is a good fit for you.
Be as prepared as you can. Go into an interview knowing as much as you can about the firm or company. Make sure your cover letter is tailored to the places you’re hiring, rather than something generic.

Caleb Banks – Solicitor (Queenstown)

What does a day-in-the-life look like in your role?

I work as a Solicitor in Lane Neave’s Resource Management department. I began at Lane Neave as a Summer Clerk in November 2023 and returned full time as a Law Clerk in February 2025. I am based out of Queenstown, however our team deals with a range of projects, big and small, all-around New Zealand.

Resource consent will typically be required for any project that contravenes a rule in a plan. These plans are prepared by councils, and set out a range of objectives, policies and rules that deal with environmental effects of activities. We advocate for our clients’ interests at all stages of this process, whether this be for or against a consent or plan.

As a junior author in the Lane Neave Resource Management team, my typical day at work usually consists largely of first drafts of advice and doing legal research. In the team, junior authors work closely with senior authors throughout all stages of a project. This provides valuable learning opportunities, while also developing your understanding of the Resource Management system as a whole.

What was your journey into law?

While I am Queenstown born, I did most of my schooling in Darfield, a small town just out of Christchurch. While I was at school, I refereed rugby around Canterbury, a rule focused job that (believe it or not) played a big role as a talking point during my interviews for a clerkship!

After school, I worked jobs in tourism and hospitality in Japan and Queenstown before returning to Christchurch to study at the University of Canterbury – Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha. For me, this year off was a defining time for me that helped not only cement my desire to study law but allowed me to grow as a person outside of me schooling before I re-entered the education system.

While at university, I worked 20-30 hours a week at Cassels Brewery as a Duty Manager, which massively helped me develop my people skills. In the summer of 2023-24, I worked as a Summer Clerk in the Commercial Property and Resource Management departments in Lane Neave’s Queenstown office.

In my final year of university, I was lucky enough to be elected to the University of Canterbury Students Association, where I was the Vice-President – Academic for 2024. This job provided incredibly valuable experience in governance and tertiary education, and is the kind of role I encourage all students to get involved in.

What’s the best thing about your job?

My favourite thing about my job is the ability to continue to learn about areas that I am passionate about. While I already had an interest in Resource Management, this has grown as I gain experience and understanding of the legal and social complexities of the area.

What about the challenges?

It is hard work. Like all litigation centred areas, Resource Management can go from 0-100 in a flash. You must be disciplined with your approach to your work, and conscious of the way your timings interact with everything else that is in play on a file (in particular your supervisors workloads) to ensure you can provide the most value to your clients and those you work with.

What are three pieces of advice you would give to future law graduates?

Develop your interests outside of the lecture halls. In my opinion, the best way to make yourself stand out is to show you bring life experience to the job, as well as an understanding of the law. When I interviewed at Lane Neave, I spoke for a large portion of my interview about the lessons my experience in rugby refereeing and hospitality taught me. Finding a job isn’t all about what you have done within the school system.
Don’t be afraid to not know things. It is important to try and find answers to things yourself. However, don’t be scared to lean on your support systems, whether that is at work, school, or elsewhere. People are usually more than happy to offer 5 minutes of their time, and that might save you hours of stress and work elsewhere.
Follow your passions. If you have a real interest in something, do your best to put yourself in a position to follow that passion. Having a passion for your work makes it much easier to get up each day and head to the office!

Summer Clerk Applications

Applications for our Summer Clerk programme open 2 March 2026 and close 29 March 2026.

Find us at your local recruitment expo or check out our careers page for more info.