2026 ALPMA/Fluid Legal Recruitment NZ HR Issues & Salary Survey

Graduate

Has successfully completed a Law Degree and is undertaking further supervised work experience or training as governed by the relevant Law Societies and other legal bodies or institutions across Australasia to gain admission.

Lawyer

Enter salary data based on a titled position first (e.  g. Associate/ Senior Associate) then by PQE level. For example: A lawyer with 3 years PQE would be entered under Lawyer 3 years PQE but a 3 year PQE Associate would be entered under Associate.

A qualified and admitted Legal Practitioner with years of Post Qualification Experience (PQE). Salaries to be entered by years of experience:

• 0–1 yr PQE.
• 1 yrs PQE
• 2 yrs PQE
• 3 yrs PQE
• 4 yrs PQE
• 5 yrs PQE
• 6+ years PQE

Associate

A Lawyer with 3–5 years’ experience who has achieved a level of specialist knowledge that can be held out to the public as a representative of the firm.

Senior Associate

A Lawyer with 5+ years’ experience held out to be an experienced representative of the firm on the path towards a Partner Position/Special Counsel/Consultant.

Special Counsel

A Lawyer with 7+ years’ experience. Appointment to Special Counsel can be a career path promotion towards Partnership or applied to a Senior Lawyer who is not seeking partnership as part of career goals.  This person may also be a very senior lateral hire or person who has stepped down from Partnership.

General Counsel

An experienced Lawyer with 7+ years’ experience who typically is responsible for the in-house legal functions for a company, organisation or government department.

Consultant

Usually, a lawyer whose role can range from a specialist advisor (like a Special Counsel), a Partner who has retired or been bought out (and may never come into the office), or can include an overseas qualified lawyer who is not yet admitted in Australia. This person may take the role of coach/mentor or client Relationship Manager and may also be a significant person on a retainer to appear at special events. This position relates to internal salaried consultants, not external consultants.

Salaried Partner

Also known as Non-Equity Partner or Fixed Draw Partner. They do not receive a profit share but are subject to liability as a Partner. This is often an intermediary step to a full Equity Partner or may be recognition of seniority and prestige.

NOTE: The term Partner or Salaried Partner is used throughout the survey but also applies to Directors or Non-Equity Directors.

Managing Partner

Usually performed by an Equity Partner who has been given authority from the partnership to have overall responsibility for the firm’s partnership matters, practice management and other operational matters.

Equity Partner

A Partner that shares in the profits and losses of the business, but who is not involved in its management.

Legal Executive

Undertakes specialist legal duties under the supervision of a lawyer, usually in a very defined and process driven area; e.  g. Conveyancing, Mortgage, Debt Collection, and Personal Injury.  They are frequently considered Fee Earners but are not qualified as a lawyer. They may have completed a Legal Diploma or Certificate. Salaries to be entered by years of experience:

• Legal Executive (less than 5 yrs experience)
• Legal Executive (5+ yrs experience)

Law Clerk

Students recruited, often in their penultimate year, to assist and gain experience within the firm. Students undertake a range of tasks including simple legal tasks supervised by a lawyer, research or assisting on specific projects. Usually work on a part time basis or as a Summer / Winter Clerk.

Chief Executive Officer / Chief Operating Officer

A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acts autonomously at a senior level within the firm (more senior than the General Manager), reporting to the board on significant issues. Usually, a CEO would act in a firm of 100 staff and over.  A Chief Operating Officer (COO) may handle the day-to-day operations in a significantly larger firm, but not the overall strategy. These roles vary significantly across firms.

General Manager

A General Manager usually supervises other specialist areas of the firm such as Finance, HR, IT, Marketing and has the overall responsibility of managing revenue, costs and growth. A General Manager is given authority and autonomy to act in the role and liaises and reports to the Partners or a Managing Partner.

Practice Manager

Generally, in a smaller firm, a Practice Manager is responsible for the supervision of specialist areas such as Finance, HR, IT, Marketing and the overall responsibility of managing revenue, costs and growth, under greater supervision from managing partner, less autonomy.

Legal Secretary

This person performs all secretarial duties for a lawyer or a small group of lawyers. Requires knowledge of policies, procedures, precedents and specialised terminology and maintains a working knowledge of a lawyer’s area of practice. Salaries to be entered by years of experience:

• Legal Secretary (less than 5 years’ experience)
• Legal Secretary (more than 5 years’ experience)
• Legal Assistant
• Trainee Legal Assistant

 Word Processor

An experienced operator dedicated to document production with a good understanding of the work practice and precedents, often working for many areas of the firm.

Office Manager / Administration Manager

Responsible for all day-to-day administration and office co-ordination tasks for the firm. This is a varied role and typically has direct responsibility and supervision for the Administration, Secretarial and Accounts departments. An Office Manager could also be responsible for IT and HR functions within a smaller firm.

Office / Services Supervisor

This person is responsible for managing staff and delivery of service across the print or copy room, mail room, safe custody and archiving functions.

PA

Provides high level administrative and confidential secretarial support, may attend partner or Board meetings, has strong communication and organisation skills and usually works for the Managing Partner, CEO, COO or CFO.

• PA (less than 5 years’ experience)
• PA (more than 5 years’ experience)

Receptionist

A client-facing role, meets and greets clients in reception, manages meeting room bookings and refreshments, attends to the telephone switch board and other office duties.

• Receptionist (less than 5 years’ experience)
• Receptionist (more than years’ experience)

AML Administrator

Ensures the firm complies with Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws, handling client due diligence (CDD), transaction monitoring, reporting suspicious activity, maintaining records, and often managing trust accounts and related financial admin for law firms or financial institutions, requiring strong attention to detail, accuracy, and computer skills to support regulatory obligations and internal processes.

AML Office Manager

An AML Office Manager (often titled AML/CTF Compliance Officer or AML Manager) is the management‑level person responsible for coordinating a business’s day‑to‑day compliance with AML/CTF laws and its internal AML program.

Administration Assistant / Office Junior

Provides assistance and support with general office administration and other duties as needed. This is a varied role and could include such tasks as basic administration, stationery ordering, data entry, meeting refreshments and general errands.

HR Manager

Responsible for recruitment, career planning, performance reviews, grievance and disciplinary issues, compensation and benefits, professional and technical learning and development, policies and procedures, legal compliance, and instructs payroll. Works closely with the leadership team in the business.  May lead a team or work autonomously in smaller practices. Usually appointed in a firm with over 40 staff and responsible to the Managing Partner.

HR Consultant / Advisor

Assists the HR Manager in the broad spectrum of the HR function. Takes an active role with recruitment and change management projects, advises staff on policies and procedures, has involvement with performance reviews and professional development. In smaller practices where no HR Manager has been appointed, works closely with the Managing Partner to fulfil the needs of the business.

HR Assistant / Administrator

Assists the HR Manager/HR Consultant across a variety of paper based and data entry activities.

Recruitment Manager

Oversees the full recruitment lifecycle, from workforce planning and role scoping through to offer and onboarding, ensuring hiring aligns with firm strategy and budget. Manages employer brand, candidate experience, and relationships with agencies; advises partners and managers on selection decisions, diversity goals and market conditions. Tracks recruitment metrics and refines processes for improvement.

Payroll

Responsible for accurate and timely processing of employee pay, including salaries, allowances, overtime, superannuation, tax payment obligations, and other statutory deductions.

IT Manager

Oversees the firm’s IT strategy, and the computer systems, software and facilities to support the firm’s strategic objectives and goals. Tasks carried out within this role will vary greatly between firms. In smaller firms the role would be mixture of hands-on daily tasks combined with project-based tasks whilst larger firms would involve a mixture of high-level planning with project-based tasks.

IT Trainer

Designs and delivers training to staff on the firm’s core systems (practice management, document management, time‑billing, collaboration tools, security tools), tailored to different roles and skill levels.

IT Project Manager

Plans and works with external vendors and internal key stakeholders for the timely and efficient introduction of significant upgrades, additions to the IT infrastructure or outsourced facilities.

Helpdesk / Desktop / Support Officer

Attends to daily issues raised by users, sets up new users, monitors security and daily backups etc.

Programmer / Data Analyst

An IT professional who can write code across multiple software platforms and specialises in analysing and designing information systems.

Financial Controller / CFO

Qualified CA/CPA. Develops and implements the firm’s strategic financial goals and objectives, operational and legal team budgets and the firm’s financial KPIs. Supervises finance team, preparation of accounts, cash flow management and works at a high level and closely with the Managing Partner. Has overall responsibility for the firm’s finance.

Finance Manager

Usually CA / CPA qualified. Accountant or an individual with relevant / significant financial experience. Responsible for hands-on supervision of the accounts team in daily transactions including Trust, Accounts Receivable (Debtors) Accounts Payable (Creditors) Billing, Reconciliations, Statutory and Tax reports.

Trust Accountant

Usually qualified. Assists the CFO / Financial Controller with the preparation of quarterly and yearly accounts and assists with the production of specific financial reports and other tasks as required. Can assist the Partners with their individual and family trust tax returns, including management of private investment portfolios for accounting/tax implication purposes. Can assist with the production of client accounts during the billing cycle.

Assistant Accountant

Assists the Finance Manager / Accountant as required. Can be undertaking external study in Finance / Accounting.

Accounts Staff

Administration staff assisting the Finance Manager with the daily processing of accounts. Eg. Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Bank Reconciliations, Billing.

Credit Control Staff / Accounts Receivable

Responsible for managing account reminders and collection of the firm’s debtors’ ledger including telephone reminders.

Precedent Manager

Often a qualified lawyer who writes, reviews and standardises precedents across the firm. Responsible for momentum and quality of documents produced. Could also be involved in KM system design or maintenance and training of the firm’s lawyers in the use of the precedent database and KM systems. May also be responsible for managing the firms Risk Management policies and procedures.

Librarian / Records Manager

Responsible for selection and upkeep of firm library resources whether written or online. May also maintain a Knowledge Bank of cases, articles, training information, barristers’ opinions etc. that can be resourced by lawyers. May holds an applicable qualification. Responsible for the accurate entry, maintenance and retrieval of any Safe Custody and Archived documents held, physically or digitally, by the Firm.

Marketing Manager

Develops and implements the firm’s marketing plans including website development and management, development of marketing material, preparation of tenders, social media, event organisation and staff training.

Marketing Coordinator

Assists the Marketing Manager or Business Development Manager with tasks, as required.

Events Coordinator

Works with the Partners, Business Development Manager, Marketing Manager and external vendors to coordinate and manage all internal and external client events.

Digital / Graphic Designer / Desktop Publisher

Proficient in the use of specialist programs and software to design and produce brochures, flyers, infographics and marketing material for the firm.

Business Development Manager

Responsible for building and implementing business development activities to grow market position in conjunction with the Partners and senior lawyers within the firm. Often works with the HR Manager to develop individual BD plans. Generally, works at a high level and closely with Managing Partner to identify BD opportunities. In larger firms the BDM can be responsible for generating new business for the firm and actively engages with clients to foster relationships and develop new opportunities. This role may include marketing activities.