Our Culture

The one attribute our staff members share is that they are great at what they do. Other than that, Russell McVeagh staff members are all individuals with different interests and backgrounds. We actively encourage diversity – there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to our recruitment.

Russell McVeagh is committed to the success of our lawyers regardless of gender, and our promotion structure ensures that there are no hidden glass ceilings in the firm. We believe our firm reflects our commitment to gender diversity:

• Our firm’s partners are 30% women (as at May 2016).
• The firm’s non-legal managers are over 50% women.
• We have won gender diversity awards for both our Auckland and Wellington offices.

Since 2014 our firm has also been undertaking a study into diversity and inclusion to ensure that the support we offer our staff meets their needs.

We are also proud to have been awarded Rainbow Tick certification in June 2016 after a six month audit process. We are committed to continuing to work on making our environment a welcoming place for all of our employees to feel comfortable enough bringing their authentic selves to work. The Rainbow Tick programme is a continual quality improvement programme designed to help an organisation ensure it is a safe and welcoming workplace for employees of diverse gender identity and sexual orientation. Becoming certified involved an audit of relevant documents and the use of two focus groups which took place in the first part of 2016. The focus groups involved one with a self-selected group of Rainbow employees and the other with a group of staff from the general population and from a range of departments, with staff from both Auckland and Wellington offices taking part in this process. The audit findings were then assessed against current international best practice in this field.

At Russell McVeagh, we believe in hiring the best staff – and then treating them like the best. We offer a range of benefits to help our staff both at work and with their work-life balance.

We pay people at the top end of the market and we review salaries regularly to ensure we maintain this position. In addition, we offer a variety of other benefits including:

• Exceptional performance awards.
• Health and wellbeing initiatives including subsidised gym memberships, free and confidential counselling services and an onsite health nurse in both our Auckland and Wellington offices.
• Discounted premiums for Southern Cross medical insurance.
• Long service leave, generous sick leave and a variety of gifts and celebrations.
• An attractive bonus scheme for senior solicitors and senior associates.
• An annual solicitor’s allowance for solicitors with more than four years experience.
• Paid parental leave.
• Late-night dinners and taxis home.
• Access to a number of ‘workplace support’ services including an emergency nanny service, smartphone allowance and errand runners.
• A superb social calendar organised by the firm’s social committees – including Friday night drinks, numerous sporting events, balls and functions.
• An extensive Learning and Development program.
• And, as you would expect from NZ’s premier law firm, access to fantastic resources – cutting edge technology and one of New Zealand’s top legal libraries.

Russell McVeagh aims to support all employees to be the best they can be in their professional and personal lives. There are numerous options in place to support employees and their individual needs. Flexible working arrangements are possible for a variety of reasons, including family commitments, involvement in professional sport and continuing education. We also encourage our staff to take regular holidays and the firm closes for approximately three weeks over the Christmas/New Year break. Our IT systems are such that staff may work from home when necessary (depending on their role), and are able to receive reasonable reimbursements for use of their Smartphones if used for work purposes.
 

Russell McVeagh has a calendar packed with great social events for staff, led by social committees in our Auckland and Wellington offices. Any of our staff can join their office social committee, or suggest ideas for great events and functions. Events include:

• Mid-year balls.
• End of year Christmas parties.
• Weekly social ‘Friday Fives’.
• Social sports teams.
• Numerous themed events including quiz nights, wine tastings and cultural celebrations.
• Team trips and weekends away.

In 2016 we launched our very first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report. The Report is a key milestone in the firm’s continued commitment to being a sustainable law firm and delivering positive impacts to employees, clients, the environment and our local communities.