Buddle Findlay
Graduate Solicitor – Payments and Financial Services Regulation (Rolling Intake)
Wellington
Opportunity expired
Opportunity details
- Graduate Job or Program
- Apply by 21 Aug 2024
- Start date Ongoing
Your role
Is the candidate a junior solicitor or recent law graduate with an interest in financial services law and seeking to launch their legal career at a top-tier law firm? An ideal opportunity exists to join their market-leading Financial Services Regulation (FSR) team based in Wellington.
The candidate will become a valued member of their close-knit team, which is committed to investing in their professional and personal growth while offering substantial exposure to exceptional clients and matters. The work is demanding, high-profile, and intellectually stimulating. The candidates will rapidly develop and refine their skills through exceptional training, mentorship from senior practitioners, hands-on experience, and their career progression framework designed to support optimal performance.
This team operates across Auckland and Wellington and maintains close collaboration with the Christchurch FSR team, creating a truly national practice. Opportunities to travel to Auckland for team collaboration will arise.
The role:
The candidate will collaborate closely with Emma Geard (Senior Associate), who specializes in prudential regulation (regulation of banks to promote financial stability) and payments regulation. Additionally, the candidate will work alongside other lawyers within the broader Financial Services team. This position is distinctive within New Zealand's FSR landscape due to its primary focus on payments law and advising the payments industry in New Zealand and the Pacific. New Zealand's payments industry is currently undergoing substantial growth, exemplified by the implementation of the Financial Markets Infrastructure Act 2021, the Retail Payment Systems Act 2022, and the upcoming Consumer Data Right (CDR). Furthermore, the industry is actively pursuing several significant industry-led initiatives, such as developing an industry-led open banking solution in conjunction with the CDR and real-time payments capability. The candidate will also have the opportunity to contribute to a diverse range of regulatory matters related to financial services, including advising deposit takers, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) providers, and FinTechs.
About you
They value people who bring a different perspective, and who are passionate, curious, and innovative. To be successful in this role, the applicant would ideally be:
- Recently admitted law graduate and up to 2 years PQE within commercial, banking, finance, tax, accounting, consulting or a similar environment
- Interested in financial services law and with a curiosity towards payments and regulatory work
- Someone with a proven academic ability
- Someone who works with high attention to detail and enjoys working under pressure while meeting deadlines
- A good communicator and keen to engage with clients directly
- A natural problem solver – drawing on your ability to identify, understand, and resolve complex issues
- A self-starter who is motivated, curious and eager to learn
- Someone who would thrive in a collaborative, team-based environment
Benefits
A career with the firm offers the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse clientele within globally recognized teams, alongside some of New Zealand's foremost legal experts to influence the future of New Zealand's business landscape. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of benefits, wellness programs, community involvement opportunities, and flexible work arrangements to empower employees to reach their full potential. As an employee, they offer various benefits including:
- Mentoring opportunities and an extensive professional development programme (courses, seminars, CPD and more)
- A range of leave benefits (parental, study, long service leave, and a Buddle Findlay day)
- Flexible working practices
- Regular social, sports and wellness events, charity initiatives, and opportunities to join various committees within the firm (e.g., Diversity and Inclusion Committee)
- Competitive salary, health insurance benefits and an employee assistance programme
To learn more about Buddle Findlay's graduate program, watch this video:
Training & development
Buddle Findlay is committed to fostering a collaborative and supportive atmosphere that promotes professional and personal growth. The firm is dedicated to supporting employees' overall success and offers a variety of development, wellness, and community engagement programs to help them reach their full potential.
How to apply
If this opportunity aligns with the candidate's career aspirations and they are interested in applying, they should submit their CV, cover letter, and transcript.
Source
The following source was used in researching this page:
- buddlefindlay.com/careers/
- buddlefindlay.com/careers/students-and-graduates/
Hiring criteria
- No experience required
- New Zealand Citizen +more
- Business & Management +more
- Bachelor or higher
Reviews
My role includes dealing with a range of contentious and non-contentious IP issues.
Liaising with clients, drafting documents and agreements
I am a graduate in a Property Team, daily I am looped into various different pieces of work and asked to provide input through research, drafting of documents, correspondence with clients/councils, and digging up relevant precedents.
About the employer
Buddle Findlay
4.3
100 - 500 employees
Law
Buddle Findlay is one of New Zealand’s leading commercial and public law firms, with offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Pros and cons of working at Buddle Findlay
Pros
The range and challenge of work. I get to work on something different every day, and feel as if the work I do can actually help people and change things for the better.
The sheer amount of opportunities provided - not only in terms of multiple weekly legal training, but diversity and inclusion and social committees as well as external training e.g. resilience training. 2. He aha te mea nui o te ao (What is the most important thing in the world?) He tangata, he tangata, he tangata (It is the people, it is the people, it is the people). The people make up the culture at Buddle Findlay and everyone is willing to help you along your journey.
Great community/network of people that are kind, caring, professional and knowledgeable.
The firm has a great culture with kind and supportive people. We have a buddy system for summer clerks and law clerks which is very helpful and fosters a very nurturing work environment due to the availability of the buddy to answer questions and help you learn the ropes. We also get to rotate through teams as summer clerks and law clerks which enables you to get a taste of what different practice areas do and helps you to work out what type of law you are interested in and what team you want to end up in. We have heaps of great social events, great development opportunities and the technology of the firm is exceptional.
Cons
Doing challenging, interesting work in a team of high performers can be stressful, and it is easy for imposter syndrome to kick in. This job can be demanding.
Given it is a big law firm, sometimes it takes time to get to know everyone, especially if you are on different floors.
While pay is market rate for law graduates, my knowledge of what other people my age are getting paid in similar (non-law) graduate roles does make it feel as though law graduates start off with relatively low salaries, however I understand that this will climb quickly.