Applications for Summer Clerks open 9am 4 March 2025
We're looking for outstanding summer clerks in their penultimate year of study to work on top commercial dispute and public law work for some of New Zealand's leading businesses over the 2025 - 2026 summer.
Wilson Harle is recognised as a leading New Zealand dispute resolution practice by multiple international directories, as well as being awarded Litigation and Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year at the NZ Law Awards in successive recent years. Our speciality is commercial litigation which we practice across many areas of law and commerce so your work with us will be varied and interesting. For example, you could be working on defamation cases, public and regulatory law, maritime law, competition law, contract disputes, negligence and complex criminal cases.
At Wilson Harle, you’ll be working directly alongside the partners who have appeared as counsel in the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as the Supreme Court of New Zealand and the Privy Council.
We’re passionate about our work and about developing New Zealand’s next top litigation lawyers. Our lawyers are exposed to a wide variety of challenging legal work, enabling them to learn quickly. Enjoy one-on-one mentoring and training in a collegial and collaborative environment.
We are looking for people who exhibit the following characteristics which we think will enable them to develop into excellent litigators:
- a desire to build a successful career in litigation practice
- enthusiasm for working collaboratively
- strong intellect and intellectual curiosity
- willingness to learn, including about yourself
- integrity, courage and resilience
- confidence to express ideas and ability to communicate them clearly and convincingly
- capacity and desire to form quality and lasting relationships
To apply please forward (preferably as one PDF document) a covering letter, CV and academic transcript to:
Applications open 9am 4 March 2025 and close midday 24 March 2025.
N.B. Only applications from students currently in their penultimate (2nd to last) year of study will be considered for summer clerk positions. Our summer clerks are immediately immersed in legal work and we believe students require as much time as possible at law school to enable them to manage and enjoy the real work experience in our firm.
Testimonials from our Summer Clerks:
Lucy Beban 2024 - 2025 summer clerk,
My time at Wilson Harle was a fantastic experience, I felt that I was actively encouraged to ask questions, voice my opinion and suggest arguments. They get you involved from day one. Within my first three weeks, arguments that I had helped to draft had been argued (successfully!) in the High Court. I was able to work on a wide range of files and issues and learn from and contribute to each. This allowed me to get a feel for all stages of litigation, from the first inquiry from a client, to discovery and all the way to court or resolution. It was great being able to have a quick chat with a partner or senior associate and having my opinion genuinely valued.
Everyone was lovely and friendly and thanks to its size, I felt I was able to get to know everyone over the summer. There were frequent coffee trips organised so that we could ask questions and get to know the other juniors at the firm and other social events such as drinks and morning teas get the whole firm together.
I would recommend Wilson Harle to anyone who wants to get a feel for the actual practice of law in a friendly and supportive environment and I am thankful to have had the opportunity.
Rana Cawley 2024 -2025 summer clerk,
I arrived at Wilson Harle with no idea what working at a small litigation firm would be like. What could have been a daunting prospect was made incredibly pleasant by the interesting and diverse work, the lovely people, and an overall engaging workplace.
What makes Wilson Harle stand out is the collaborative environment. The way files are assigned means one person could work with anyone in the firm - there are no defined teams. Especially as a summer clerk, you will work on so many files and pick up skills from virtually every person in the office. This way of working also gave me the opportunity to really get to know colleagues, juniors and seniors alike. As someone who values constructive mentorship and positive role modelling, I found the small firm structure to be exceptionally supportive and refreshing.
During my summer, I don't think I ever did the same task twice. I was doing real work for real files straight away, and with each task I was learning something new. It was a steep learning curve, but I came away with a big jump in my legal research skills and litigation knowledge.
Felicity Lewis 2023 -2024 summer clerk,
"I had an excellent experience summer clerking at Wilson Harle. Everybody was warm and welcoming, and as a smaller firm, I got to know everyone over the summer. Junior solicitors all the way up to the partners were generous with their time, encouraging questions and curiosity.
From the first week, I felt integrated into both the social fabric of the firm and my work responsibilities. Wilson Harle was intentional about giving a broad range of tasks, with a good balance of support and freedom to find the answer on my own. The work itself was stimulating and I learnt a great deal every day. I particularly enjoyed seeing the tangible results of some work I contributed to, by attending a High Court hearing.
The experience far exceeded my expectations and left me excited about my future in the legal profession".
George Easton 2021 - 2022 summer clerk,
"I’d describe Wilson Harle as being one big team, as there aren’t individual teams per se. Matters are usually dealt with in smaller groups led by a partner. This structure is great because it means there’s a variety of different matters to work on at any one time, and there’s opportunities to work with all of the team. Everyone is aware and caught up with what everyone is working on.
I really enjoy the diverse nature of work that lands on your desk. The breadth of issues that we deal with is quite surprising, and I can be working on a number of areas of law throughout any given day. Some of these areas are ones in which I have no previous knowledge, so I’ve had a few crash courses – this means I have learnt an immense amount and gained a lot of practical experience.
Also, I love the collegial atmosphere. Everybody has been really friendly and supportive from day one, and keen to involve the clerks in what is happening in the firm. Due to Wilson Harle’s size, the clerks are fully integrated into ‘firm life’ and get to know everyone well.
I think that Wilson Harle’s point of difference is the trust and confidence which is placed in the summer clerks. Starting work here is a bit like jumping into the deep end. It’s a great challenge, but there’s no shortage of support. I think this demonstrates the belief the firm has in our abilities. It has definitely made me feel like a valued member of the team, and I’m really grateful to have my summer clerking experience at Wilson Harle."