Startup Lawyers NZ
Investing in the next generation of startup lawyers.
Lawyers: get the experience, mentorship and network to build a startup career.
Founders: get introduced to lawyers who actually understand startups. No fee.
The program
Get the experience
Hands-on startup legal experience, mentored by New Zealand's startup General Counsels.
The network
Join the community
Peer support from the community - CPD, mentorship, and social occasions.
For startups
Find the talent
Connect with startup-capable lawyers, whether full-time, fractional, or ad-hoc.
01The problem
New Zealand needs more startup lawyers.
New Zealand has a growing number of startups and scale-ups. But we don't have enough lawyers who know how to work the startup way.
It's a classic chicken-and-egg problem. You need experience to become a startup lawyer, but it's hard to get that experience without already working in a startup.
Startup Lawyers NZ exists to help solve that problem.
We're building a community of lawyers who understand the fast-paced, high-performing world of startups - and helping others to develop those same skills.
02The Program - get the experience
How do you get experience without experience?
The Startup Lawyer Program gives lawyers hands-on startup legal experience, mentored by startup General Counsels.
Applications are opening soon. Register your interest and we'll let you know as soon as they open.
- Format
- Hands-on in-house legal experience
- Mentors
- NZ startup General Counsels
- Applications
- Opening soon
03The Network - build the community
A network for startup lawyers.
A community for lawyers working (or wanting to work) in and around the fast-paced world of startups - supporting each other to build skills, experience, and careers.
- 01
Aspiring in-house
Lawyers looking to move into a legal career in startups.
- CPD learning and events
- A place on the confidential Recruitment List The pool of members open to a new role. When a startup tells us they're hiring, we introduce candidates from this list - with no referral or placement fee.
- Eligible to apply for the Startup Lawyer Program
- 02
Full time in-house
Lawyers currently working in-house at a startup or scale-up.
- Dedicated CPD & events
- Join the #startup-lawyers Slack channel
- Access to The Lawyer List Our vetted list of external lawyers and firms who genuinely know how to work with startups - who our in-seat members call when they need outside counsel.
- 03
External & fractional
Firm and fractional lawyers who advise startups from the outside.
- CPD learning and events
- Eligible to apply for a mention on The Lawyer List Our vetted list of external lawyers and firms who genuinely know how to work with startups - shared with our in-seat members when they need outside counsel.
The Startup Lawyer Program
Anyone working in or moving towards startup law is welcome in the Network. If you don't have the experience yet, our Startup Lawyer Program is the perfect way to start.
04For startups - find the talent
Looking for a startup lawyer?
Whether you need a full-time in-house lawyer, a fractional General Counsel or help with a one-off issue, you need someone who can do more than give good legal advice - they need to understand the business, move quickly and know how to work the startup way.
Whenever you have a legal issue, talk to us. We'll suggest some lawyers who actually understand startups.
There's no referral or placement fee. We're in this for the community.
Need a lawyer? Let's chatGreat lawyers. Supporting great startups.
New Zealand's startup ecosystem is growing.
We're building the legal talent it needs to grow with it.