What's your job about?
BNZ serves individuals and businesses for all their banking needs. I am an intern in the Legal Services Team at BNZ. The team ensures BNZ banking products, documents, and marketing communications comply with the relevant legislation and regulation. Legal Services also assist with bank projects and governance. The team gives advice on claims, disputes, and any court-related matters involving the bank. I am a floater and assist team members when they need help. I attend meetings with my buddy and get assigned work from there. Usually, the work involves researching into unclear areas of the law, helping to form legal advice for the bank, assisting in answering internal legal inquiries from other teams, review and summarising any changes to the law. In between work I catch up with team members for a virtual coffee and complete online training modules. As an intern, I get to do fun learning experiences with my cohort and tuakana. This year I was also privileged to participate in BNZ response to the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai eruption and tsunami – Tokoni ki Tonga.
What's your background?
I am Tongan, my dad is from Kolovai and my mum is from Fasi moe Afi. I am the middle child. My brother is 8 years older than me, and my little sister is three years younger – we grew up in South Auckland. My sister and I went to AGGS together. After high school I went to the University of Auckland to study Korean and Japanese. During university, I worked part-time in a duty-free store at the airport. There I learned a lot about make-up, wine, and practised speaking Korean and Japanese with staff and customers. After giving birth to my son and graduating with a BA, I enrolled on law school at AUT. A team from TupuToa came to speak at AUT. TupuToa is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at getting more Māori and Pasifika into the corporate sector. I applied for the programme in 2020 and completed a summer clerkship at a boutique commercial law firm. I applied again in 2021 and was matched with BNZ. I have been at the bank since November 2021 and will finish in February 2022 to start my new graduate role at another law firm.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Law is a regulated profession so studying law is imperative to being a legal intern and becoming a practising lawyer. Beyond the qualification requirements, as a legal intern, it is important to have a positive attitude, be a team player, be open to instruction and feedback, can work independently, and provide value in all areas of work. If you have those traits, you can work as a legal intern. Those traits are not necessarily derived from having a certain background but making conscious decisions to be a better person and therefore better lawyer.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
Legal services are involved in multiple areas across the bank from marketing to regulation to day-to-day banking processes. The coolest part of my job is offering my own thoughts on some of those projects and processes. I gave my opinion on a matter which resulted in an evaluation of a bank process and a review about how we could make that process better for customers. I saw how my work affected the entire bank and how it will bring positive change for customers.
What are the limitations of your job?
This year the biggest limitation was working from home. I liked avoiding the commute and having a flexible schedule to pick up my son from daycare. However, working from home it is a bit more difficult to connect and collaborate with the team, even more so when you are a new member joining the team. I also did not come from a background in Banking or Finance so picking up banking terms and concepts was difficult at first.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
Start creating good habits for yourself – exercising regularly, eating well, and handing in assignments on time.
Don’t fret if you don’t have your career (or life) planned out down to a tee. If anything, embrace flexibility and be receptible to all incoming opportunities
The relationships you have with friends, tutors, and lecturers at university will be just as important, if not more, as having good grades. Cherish them well.