22 September 2011

Māori under-represented in legal profession

Statistics obtained by the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) indicate that Māori are under-represented in the legal profession.

The latest issue of the NZLS magazine LawTalk says data from the 2006 census showed that Māori made up around 5.5 percent of New Zealand lawyers. The overall proportion of Māori in the New Zealand population is around 15 percent.

To establish if Māori participation in the law was improving, LawTalk analysed law graduates in 2010. This showed that Māori made up 8 percent of 2010 graduates.

“This is in line with general enrolment at these universities where Māori also made up 8 percent in 2011,” LawTalk says.

While NZLS keeps records of the ethnicity of lawyers, this information is provided voluntarily, and only 62 percent of lawyers have elected to do so. Of these, 3.5% have said they are Māori.

The co-President of the Māori Law Society, Tama Potaka, told LawTalk that encouraging Māori participation in law is an opportunity universities should grasp.

“It is important for Māori and New Zealand for there to be a better understanding of the law amongst Māori – at individual, tribal, and community levels,” he says.

There is also a swiftly emerging need for lawyers to be equipped to work with Māori businesses and grow the Māori economy, Mr Potaka says. This is estimated to have reached around $37 billion.

ENDS

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