Senior Legal Counsel - Litigation

Perpetual Guardian is one of New Zealand’s largest and leading providers of Personal Trustee and Estate Administration services. We’ve helped thousands of Kiwis meet their unique asset protection and preservation needs, from the simple to the complex. Through expert trust and asset planning, formation and management services spanning generations, we’ve established ourselves as industry leaders and, most importantly, as trusted partners to our clients.

We are seeking an experienced Legal Counsel or Senior Legal Counsel (Litigation) to join our award-winning and highly regarded Legal Services Team in Auckland. This is an exciting opportunity for an accomplished legal professional to provide expert in-house legal advice and drafting services across our core services of Wills, Trusts, Estates and Philanthropy, including Personal Trustee and Estate Planning and Administration. You will provide pragmatic, commercially focused advice on complex and potentially contentious matters, ensuring compliance with governing legislation and Perpetual Guardian’s Best Practice standards while helping protect our reputation and manage legal risk.

Reporting to the Head of Legal, you will play an important role in supporting the continued development of our legal services and business strategies. This role offers exposure to challenging and varied legal matters, alongside significant learning and development opportunities within a supportive and accomplished in-house team. You will also have the opportunity to share your expertise, mentor colleagues and contribute to building legal capability across the wider business.

Key Responsibilities

This is a unique and distinct role where the successful candidate gets to: - Provide legal advice and services to a portfolio of internal clients, including new and historic complex matters

• Provide assistance in advising the company’s senior leadership in areas of risk, approach and legal obligations
• Support with litigation-related work for complex matters as required
• Be responsible for relationship management with key stakeholders and participate in project work as allocated by the legal services manager
• Be an ambassador for the legal team and the company both internally and externally; and
• Provide leadership, inspiration, coaching, mentorship and support to other members of the legal team; and
• Participate in creating a positive, collaborative culture and proactively share best practices within the legal team and with the wider business

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• 7 years of relevant experience
• LLB with a current Practising Certificate is essential
• Experience in fiduciary matters, trust and estate law, and estate planning strongly preferred
• Sound knowledge of New Zealand laws, trust structures, and related legal documents
• Expertise in will drafting, trust and estate administration, and legal conveyancing, including proficiency in Landonline searching and e-dealing
• Ability to prioritise under pressure, multi-task, and work independently to meet objectives
• Strong business acumen with an understanding of key business drivers and revenue impact
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with high standards of literacy and accuracy
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
• Commitment to providing a high standard of customer service

Job Benefits

APPLY NOW! Join a highly regarded and supportive in-house legal team where you’ll work on complex and varied matters, enjoy exposure to senior leadership and continue to grow your expertise. You’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, mentor others and help shape the future of legal services within an organisation that makes a lasting difference for generations of New Zealanders.

Applications are open until 11 December 2026, however we will conduct interviews as and when we see suitable applications come through.

Please note that we will not be providing feedback to candidates who are declined before the first interview stage.

Note: Only candidates who are legally entitled to work in New Zealand will be considered. Previous applicants need not apply