Michael Allan

Principal Solicitor: Environmental Protection Authority

I currently work as an Acting Principal Solicitor at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).  

I currently work as an Acting Principal Solicitor in the legal team at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).  The legal team supports the EPA to deliver on its responsibilities and strategic direction by identifying and managing legal risk, providing specialist legal advice, and by promoting good regulatory practices across the EPA. I feel incredibly privileged to be part of a team of dedicated professionals who are passionate about the EPA’s role in protecting the environment.

With a LLB and BA in Geography from the University of Otago, I started my career at a large accounting firm. While the experience was a great introduction to the world of commerce and consultancy, my desire to make a meaningful difference in the world and my interest in the environment led me to work at the EPA.

Working as an in-house public sector lawyer appealed for two main reasons: the opportunity to learn from a highly capable and experienced team and the chance to gain exposure to a wide variety of work. Both have exceeded my expectations.

I’ve been fortunate to have tremendously supportive colleagues who regularly go out of their way to share their in-depth public law experience and legal expertise. I’ve found that working in a collaborative team where bouncing ideas off each other and debating complex issues is encouraged has multiple benefits, both in terms of improving the legal advice output, but also from a personal development perspective through learning about the different ways the same problem may be resolved. It’s worth noting that the opportunity to learn from colleagues is not only limited to time spent with your immediate team. The Government Legal Network plays a key role in providing access to the vast amount of experience that sits with lawyers in the public sector. Whether it’s through opening communication lines on cross-agency issues or taking advantage of the regular practice group seminars on offer, it often makes sense to tap into this network.

For those of you who are just starting out in your careers, my advice is to seek out as many opportunities as you can to work on a range of complex and challenging public law matters. Many people will seek out that diversity through changing organisations or taking up secondment opportunities – both of which I would highly encourage. The nature of work you might be exposed to can vary a lot between agencies, but also within the same agency. My experience has been of the latter as the EPA has provided me with plenty of opportunities to take on stretch assignments and grow as a public lawyer over the past 8 years - facilitated by the diverse range of legislation that the EPA is responsible for administering. If there is one thing I’ve observed, it’s that no one path fits all and that there are many different ways to approach your career.

While there are plenty of good reasons to consider a legal career in the public sector, the most compelling to me are the opportunities gain exposure to a wide range of work early in your career and having the agency to choose an area of law that is meaningful to you. There is no doubt in my mind that an in-house role in the public sector is a great way to grow your career and leave Aotearoa in a better place than before.