President from 2013 to 2014
Angela Hansen is a litigation partner at Heimsath Alexander.
Angela was encouraged to join AWLA by Anna Fitzgibbon and the late Allison Adams, who were both longstanding members at the time.
“There were several senior members, including silks and judges who took it upon themselves to talk to young/new lawyers and provide encouragement and advice. This can have a big impact on young lawyers starting out.”
Angela was fortunate to be involved in engaging the Gender Diversity team at AUT University to undertake a research project and report on the reasons for scarcity of women in partnerships, which started when Rachael Reed KC was president. There was resistance from some of the firms and their leadership, and the Law Society, but with time and persuasion, eventually the firms allowed the participation of staff and partners, and the large law firm group which at the time was a subcommittee of the New Zealand Law Society, contributed to the fund required to commission the project.
Angela says this research was incredibly useful as it gave valuable insights into the experiences of women in large firms including the actual or perceived roadblocks to partnership.
“I believe it helped with the changes we later saw. For example, some of the firms agreed to document what was required to get into a partnership. Some of the large firms also started placing advertisements showing the gender split, to demonstrate their commitment to change. We saw the numbers improve in the next couple of years following release of the report.”
Angela says it also became an issue that the NZLS started to actively address, by publishing statistics and articles on the topic. The Auckland District Law Society (now The Law Association) did too.
Reflecting on the changes in the legal profession since Angela was president, she notes that the number of women in partnerships has improved, “but not to where it should be.”
Angela’s message to all women lawyers, especially those starting out is to join and for existing members to encourage other women to join AWLA.
“It is fun and supportive network of lawyers who are at different stages in their careers, and who work in a variety of occupations. Its membership offers support, a safe haven to discuss issues and you can gain valuable insights.”
She encourages members to actively participate to get the full benefits, by regularly attending events, getting involved with the mentoring programme, helping with submissions on upcoming legislation or law changes, and if you can, getting involved in the committee.