\u201cOur role has been to bring employers together and tell a stronger regional story about the opportunities available here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said attracting talent to the Bay of Plenty would lift productivity, ease capability shortages, support business growth, and strengthen the region\u2019s employer retention.<\/p>\n
All three law firms reported a common misconception of Tauranga legal work: a lack of quality projects.<\/p>\n
However, employees said Tauranga law firms offer a standard rivalling projects available in big cities or overseas.<\/p>\n
Priority One’s Redefining Legal campaign aims to attract skilled professionals to the Bay of Plenty. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Cooney Lees Morgan associate Jasmine Daroch, 33, said the firm\u2019s quality of work attracted clients from Auckland and overseas. <\/p>\n
Partners at the firm had done offshore stints, and \u201cclients have followed them back to Tauranga\u201d.<\/p>\n
Daroch worked as a senior solicitor at an Auckland firm before joining Cooney Lees Morgan<\/a> in 2024. She moved to Tauranga for family and lifestyle reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving here was an easy decision,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n She said people assumed leaving Auckland meant taking a pay cut, but in her experience, Tauranga law firms were willing to match Auckland salaries. <\/p>\n Senior solicitor Georgia Thompson, 28, worked in Sydney before joining Cooney Lees Morgan at the end of 2024.<\/p>\n She said Tauranga law firms encouraged a work-life balance, compared to the longer hours she worked in Sydney.<\/p>\n Tauranga offered the same quality of work as Sydney, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t realise how much of a hub Tauranga actually is.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson said the Western Bay of Plenty\u2019s horticulture industry<\/a> generated a huge amount of commercial work.<\/p>\n Seniors at the firm also attracted projects that enhanced your experience, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get to enjoy complex work at a junior level.\u201d<\/p>\n Holland Beckett people and culture manager Danielle Brownlie said high demand for experienced practitioners and a limited local talent pool created a competitive recruitment market<\/a>.<\/p>\n She said the firm was successful at recruiting graduates and junior lawyers.<\/p>\n The mid to senior-level roles were harder to recruit for, despite offering competitive salaries.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people tend to hit that range, they start thinking about spending some time overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n She said Holland Beckett offered opportunities across multiple areas of law as a full-service law firm.<\/p>\n It even had a specialised aviation team working for clients overseas.<\/p>\n Sharp Tudhope human resources manager Grant Davidson said lawyers with upwards of two years of experience were moving overseas to Australia or the United Kingdom. <\/p>\n He said some Kiwis returned home in 2022 and 2023 after the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Those numbers had levelled out now, and roles for lawyers with five or more years of experience were taking longer to fill.<\/p>\n Driving factors for candidates were lifestyle and pre-existing Tauranga connections.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps Mum and Dad live down here, and the lawyer has got married, has young children, and wants to move closer to the grandparents.\u201d<\/p>\n Tauranga law firms also offered more client interaction than what may be available at global firms, he said.<\/p>\n Infometrics chief executive and principal economist Brad Olsen said as of March 2025, there were about 1095 filled jobs in the Bay of Plenty legal services industry, and about 21,300 across New Zealand.<\/p>\n Seek data showed job advertisements for legal services in the North Island outside Auckland and Wellington had grown 20.4% from February 2025 to February 2026.<\/p>\n New Zealand Law Society chief executive Katie Rusbatch said all 13 of its branches reported recruitment challenges.<\/p>\n About 450 practising certificates were issued to new lawyers from July 1, 2025, to mid-February 2026, and only 7.2% were working in regional New Zealand.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is competition for that talent not only from the larger cities, but also from overseas,\u201d Rusbatch said.<\/p>\n She said early-career lawyers reported benefits to working in the regions.<\/p>\n \u201cOften, they will be in court much sooner than their city-based counterparts and will accumulate a range of experience at a fast rate. <\/p>\n \u201cHousing is more affordable, and there are obvious lifestyle advantages.\u201d<\/p>\n University of Waikato lecturer in law Dr Rachel Tan and senior lecturer in law Dr Amanda Turnbull said in a joint statement that long-term retention could be tough.<\/p>\n They had observed drop-offs at the mid-level stage.<\/p>\n \u201cLawyers have gained a few years of experience and are driven to look for higher salaries, more specialised work, or international opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n Robert Walters legal senior manager Kate Williams said market patterns indicate Tauranga typically pays 10% to 15% below Auckland levels. <\/p>\n \u201cEven with this pay differential, Tauranga remains an attractive destination for many lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n Lifestyle advantages, growing regional investment, and hybrid working drew legal professionals away from the main centres, she said.<\/p>\n However, she said New Zealand\u2019s ongoing salary gap with international markets meant junior lawyers were heading to Australia at rates not seen before<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recruitment difficulties were being felt nationwide. <\/p>\n Williams said New Zealand\u2019s talent shortage meant metropolitan and regional firms were competing for the same limited candidate pool.<\/p>\n 2026 average legal salaries<\/p>\n Private practice<\/p>\n Solicitor (2-4 years post-qualifying experience)<\/p>\n Auckland: $102,500<\/p>\n Bay of Plenty: $90,000<\/p>\n Senior solicitor\/associate (4-8 PQE)<\/p>\n Auckland: $140,000<\/p>\n Bay of Plenty: $122,500<\/p>\n In-house legal<\/p>\n Legal counsel<\/p>\n Auckland: $120,000<\/p>\n Bay of Plenty: $105,000<\/p>\n Senior legal counsel<\/p>\n Auckland: $200,000<\/p>\n Bay of Plenty: $175,000<\/p>\n – Source: Robert Walters<\/p>\n Cooney Lees Morgan senior solicitor Georgia Thompson, 28. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
New Zealand Law Society chief executive Katie Rusbatch. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
The 2026 average salary for a solicitor two to four years into their career at a private practice firm was $90,000 in the Bay of Plenty. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n