Senior Lawyer

Best Practice Lawyers; Foxton; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Best Practice Lawyers in Foxton is seeking a Senior Lawyer to handle a genuine senior caseload within our general practice. You will own your files from start to finish, manage client relationships directly, and have opportunities to grow your own client base. The role values depth of experience and sound judgement over specialization.

The position offers flexibility with hybrid or remote work options, and a clear path for career advancement within a supportive, boutique firm environment.

Qualifications

• 4+ years' PQE across Property, Commercial, Relationship Property, Wills & Estates, or Dispute Resolution.

Responsibilities

• Manage your own files from instruction through completion.
• Build and grow your own client base over time.
• Provide senior-level legal advice with depth and sound judgement.
• Communicate clearly with clients and colleagues to manage matters.

Skills

Senior PQE

Client development

Interpersonal skills

Commercial judgement

Problem solving

Autonomy

Leadership

Relationship building

Job description

Senior Lawyer - Manawatu/Horowhenua

Foxton & Waikanae | Full-time | Flexibility available

The Role

Best Practice is looking for a Senior Lawyer to take on a genuine senior caseload within our general practice team. You will carry direct responsibility for your files from instruction through to completion, for clients who value a lawyer who knows their matter inside out and can be trusted to run it well.

This role suits someone with a broad general practice background, or someone whose experience leans toward a particular area such as property, commercial, dispute resolution or relationship property. What matters most is depth of experience and sound judgement, not which single area you specialise in.

There is real trust placed in how you manage your matters here. This isn't a role where you are micro-managed, and there's a clear development path for career advancement.

Your caseload could cover

• Residential and rural property transactions, subdivisions, cross-lease conversions and refinancing
• Commercial and business matters, including sales and purchases, leases and advisory work for local operators
• Relationship property and separation matters, handled with the directness and care clients need
• Trusts, wills, enduring powers of attorney and estate administration
• Dispute resolution matters where your experience allows

How the caseload works

You'll inherit an active set of files from day one. Alongside that, you'll build and grow your own client base over time through networking, educational activities and community engagement. You will be supported in all marketing activities.

Your own clients or referral relationships are genuinely welcome here, and there's real support behind growing them. You are the lawyer clients deal with directly, and you make the calls on how a matter is run.

The hours

Typically, 8:30am to 5:30pm. There is no culture of staying late to look busy, no weekend emails expected, and no heavy targets that require you to sacrifice your evenings. The work is serious and the standard is high, but the firm is built on the belief that lawyers do better work when they have a life outside of it.

About Best Practice Lawyers

Best Practice Lawyers is an eleven-person practice founded and led by Trish Amor-Davy, who brings over 20 years of experience across property, relationship property, dispute resolution and general practice. The firm operates across two offices in Foxton and Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast.

It's small enough that everyone knows what's going on, and large enough to handle genuinely complex and varied matters. The culture is collaborative without being precious. If you have a view on how something should be done, it gets heard. The firm is woman-owned, community-rooted, and a close-knit team, where the quality of the work and the quality of life outside work both matter.

What autonomy looks like in practice

• You manage your own files and client relationships
• Decisions about how to run a matter are yours to make
• You are visible to the principal, and your input carries weight in how the firm operates
• There are no unnecessary layers between you and the work

About You

You're probably not actively job hunting. You're good at what you do, and your clients rate you. But something isn't sitting right, whether that's the variety of work, the lack of a client base to call your own, or a sense that you'd like more say in how things run.

What we're looking for

• Minimum 4+ years' PQE, with solid, demonstrable senior-level experience across one or more of Property, Commercial, Relationship Property, Wills, Trusts & Estate, or Dispute Resolution
• A track record, or clear potential, for building and growing your own client base
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the empathy and patience to build strong, long-standing client relationships
• Good commercial judgement and sharp problem-solving instincts
• Client-focused, with the ability to explain complex matters simply and reassuringly
• Motivated and self-directed, comfortable with autonomy rather than needing direction
• Staff management or team leadership experience is a plus, though not essential
• An existing client base or referral network is a genuine advantage, though not a requirement

Location

Based in Foxton, with flexibility around how and where you work, including hybrid or remote days, flexible hours, and the option to work from the Waikanae office from time to time. We're open to a conversation about how this could look, so if you're based further out, we're still keen to chat.

Foxton sits within Manawatu, with Foxton Beach on the doorstep and easy access to the wider Horowhenua and Kāpiti region. Upcoming roading improvements are set to make the Wellington connection faster and easier in the years ahead. Palmerston North, within an easy 30-minute drive, is a busy, well-connected city, which includes a regional airport.