Senior Legal Counsel

Small In-house Team of the Year - In-House Lawyers Association of New Zealand (ILANZ) – 2024

He aha te tūranga - About the role: 

This is an opportunity to join one of New Zealand’s most distinctive in-house legal teams, supporting an organisation with national reach, significant complexity, and real impact on the lives of New Zealanders every day. The scale, breadth and criticality of our work means the legal function is embedded in high-stakes, high-trust decision-making across the organisation.

As Senior Legal Counsel, you will report directly to the General Counsel and operate as a trusted senior adviser, providing high-quality, pragmatic legal advice and helping shape legal services and resources across the organisation. While the role does not carry formal people leadership, it is senior in influence, autonomy and scope, with genuine opportunity to mentor, guide and support others.

Working as part of a small but highly capable team, you will advise across a wide and intellectually engaging portfolio, including:

• Commercial and contractual matters
• Medico-legal issues
• Property
• Regulatory and compliance matters
• Governance
• Estates and Gifts in Wills
• Privacy
• Safeguarding
• Complex project work

This is a role for a lawyer looking for breadth, autonomy, and exposure to governance-level and enterprise-wide issues. The role provides an excellent foundation for lawyers with the ambition to progress into future General Counsel roles, while remaining a substantive and rewarding senior position, contributing to outcomes that matter.

At Hato Hone St John, you’ll find a legal environment unlike any other: purpose-driven, varied and trusted. We offer hybrid and flexible working, and the autonomy to deliver your work in a way that reflects your experience and professional judgement. You’ll also have scope to mentor and support others, sharing your expertise and contributing to a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.