Professional help
Getting professional help and seeking advice from a lawyer or employment law advocate, union or employers’ group may be helpful because court procedure is not simple.
Getting legal advice
If you don’t know a suitable lawyer already:
- you can ask friends, family or other people you trust to recommend someone
- you can find lawyers in your area through the Find a Lawyer tool on the NZ Law Society website (external link)
- you can look in the Yellow Pages (external link) under ‘Barristers and Solicitors’, ‘Lawyers’ or ‘employment advocate’
- you can ask at your local community law (external link) centre or Citizens Advice Bureau (external link)
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if you’re eligible for legal aid, you can use the find a legal aid lawyer tool (external link) .
Other sources of legal help
Employment advocates are employment law specialists who are not lawyers. They can help you prepare documentation, give advice and can represent you in court. You will have to pay for these services but their costs are generally less than lawyer fees. To find an employment advocate search in the Yellow Pages (external link) or visit the Employment Law Insititute of New Zealand website (external link)
Pro Bono Legal Assistance Service (Auckland only)
This service (currently provided in person only in Auckland) provides free, limited assistance to people without legal representation with the drafting and preparation of initial court documents (either a statement of claim or statement of defence).
If you are eligible for assistance, the Pro Bono Service may arrange a 45 minute appointment with a lawyer at the Auckland registry.
To apply for the Pro Bono Service you must fill in and send the pro bono service application form [PDF, 296 KB] to the Auckland District Law Society.
Please read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy attached to the form.
If your representation changes
If you currently don’t have a lawyer or advocate, file a notice of change representation when you engage a lawyer or advocate and serve the other party with the notice.
If your representation ceases, file and serve the other party with such a notice.
You will also need to do this if you change your address for the service of documents.
You can find a notice of change representation on our forms and fees page.
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