What does a lawyer cost in New Zealand?
Published hourly ranges and 62 fixed-fee items across 16 practice areas. Pick your situation to see a range, what drives the cost, and whether legal aid commonly applies.
You are setting this assumption, not us. A short advice matter might be 2–5 hours; a contested proceeding can run to many times that.
Cost guides by practice area
Detailed fee breakdowns, fixed-fee tables and common questions for each area.
- Business Law $300–$700/hr · 4 fixed-fee items
- Construction Law $350–$700/hr · 3 fixed-fee items
- Criminal Law $200–$500/hr · 4 fixed-fee items
- Divorce $250–$500/hr · 3 fixed-fee items
- Drink-Driving (EBA / DIC) $200–$450/hr · 4 fixed-fee items
- Elder Law $300–$550/hr · 5 fixed-fee items
- Employment Law $250–$500/hr · 4 fixed-fee items
- Environmental & Resource Management $300–$600/hr · 3 fixed-fee items
- Family Law $250–$500/hr · 4 fixed-fee items
- Immigration Law $250–$500/hr · 5 fixed-fee items
- Intellectual Property $350–$700/hr · 4 fixed-fee items
- Personal Injury $250–$500/hr · 3 fixed-fee items
- Property Law $300–$600/hr · 5 fixed-fee items
- Tax Law $400–$800/hr · 3 fixed-fee items
- Tenancy Law $200–$400/hr · 3 fixed-fee items
- Wills & Estates $300–$600/hr · 5 fixed-fee items
This is an estimate, not a quote
These are LawyerFinder estimates (compiled May 2026, reviewed October 2026), here to help you budget and to sanity-check a figure you have been given. Only a lawyer who has heard the specifics of your matter can tell you what it will cost. Under rule 3.4 of the Conduct and Client Care Rules 2008, a lawyer other than a barrister sole must tell you in writing, in advance, the basis on which fees will be charged — ask for it, and ask what is excluded.
LawyerFinder is a directory and lead-generation service. It does not provide legal advice, does not recommend one firm over another, and receives no fee from the ranges shown here.