Firm says its work in support of community partners averages 33 hours per lawyer
Simpson Grierson has announced the launch of its 2025 Invested for Good Pro Bono Report, which seeks to confirm the New Zealand law firm’s commitment to and investments in pro bono initiatives in support of its communities.
In a news release, the firm said it invested almost 7,000 pro bono hours in backing its community partners, averaging 33 hours per lawyer, within the last 12 months.
The firm shared that it continues to draw inspiration from founding partner Max Grierson, who believed that lawyers should apply their skills for the community’s benefit and assisted in establishing the Auckland Sheltered Workshops and the Multiple Sclerosis Society in the 1920s.
Shan Wilson has been Simpson Grierson’s pro bono partner since 2020. In her introduction to the report, she noted that more than 80 percent of the firm’s partners and lawyers dealt with pro bono matters this past year.
Wilson added that the firm was celebrating its two-decade-long partnership with Youthline, which seeks to support young people across New Zealand.
According to the firm’s news release, its pro bono efforts this past year also included collaboration with the following community partners:
In the report, Wilson called it a privilege to work with these organisations over the past year.
In November 2024, Te Ara Ture, a Community Law Centres Aotearoa Incorporated division, and a small group of law firms, including Simpson Grierson, launched the framework for collaborative pro bono in Aotearoa.
The firm’s report described the framework as a first-of-its-kind national network that “aims to enhance access to justice for all New Zealanders by fostering collaboration and supporting a growing commitment in Aotearoa to provision of pro bono legal services.”
The report said Simpson Grierson was one of the framework’s founding signatories. Simpson Grierson collaborated with the firms DLA Piper, Gilbert Walker, Holland Beckett, Luke Cunningham Clere, and Russell McVeagh.
Wilson shared that the framework included an aspirational annual target of 25 pro bono hours per lawyer to align New Zealand with other jurisdictions.
Under the framework, firms would annually report their progress on this target to help with benchmarking and planning initiatives. Participating firms would also exchange ideas and insights and facilitate efforts to help enhance the pro bono ecosystem.
In the report, Wilson expressed her hope that legal professionals across New Zealand would increasingly embrace this framework.
