Busy Summer Ahead For Law Students

Every year we welcome one or two law students to Cooney Lees Morgan during their university summer break – but this year we’ve recruited five to help foster the next generation of talent.

These summer work placements are highly sought-after with the recruitment process having begun in May this year. Our aim is to help provide valuable exposure to the legal environment for these students while also providing a gateway to finding some great talent. 

Georgia Thompson, Hannah Speight, Jemma Hollis, Lucy Tustin and Xavier Casey all have connections to the Bay of Plenty and joined our Tauranga law firm in mid-November. They will be with us until mid-February. 

We have assigned one law student to three of our practice groups, and two students to our litigation team which covers two major areas of law – litigation/employment and resource management. 

“We want to give each of these law students an insight into what daily life is like as a lawyer,” explains Deborah Flowers, Cooney’s HR Administrator.

“We have assigned each student a mentor within their particular team to support them during their time here. They go through the same training and exposure to our systems as any permanent staff member we take on.

“They also get real-world legal experience by attending client meetings and going to court with our Tauranga lawyers. Our goal is to provide a well-rounded experience both on the legal side and to expose them to the culture of a law firm. We believe it’s important to work hard but equally important to enjoy your workplace and the people you work with.”

A summer position can lead onto fulltime employment once qualified, depending on whether a suitable role is available at the time. 

Our current group of summer recruits hail from different universities around New Zealand and we’re delighted to have them spend time with us here in the Bay.

4 December 2019