Leading with Trust and Momentum: Inside TVNZ’s Legal Team

TVNZ’s Legal & Content Compliance team is lean but effective. It includes four permanent senior legal counsel, currently a fixed-term lawyer who’s been supporting capacity as the team advises on new growth areas, and a content compliance team of three experts who work diligently to support broadcasting and media council standards and complaints, and advertising standards. Most of the team work full-time, with a couple on four-day schedules.

“The work we do can be complex and sensitive, often high-profile. How we spend our time is achieved by constant focus on the most effective strategic and commercial growth game changers, while supporting our ‘always on and live’ business to thrive,” Claire explains. “While TVNZ is a Crown entity company, it’s required to operate commercially under the TVNZ Act. Our work requires careful balanced judgement, delivering commercial and practical solutions to legal risks, juggling high profile outcomes, and staying on the right side of the law within a low-cost model.  I have a high-trust model with my team, and they reciprocate. They operate at a senior level, are open to change and feedback, and while focused on supporting smart decisions, they are also hungry to learn, and deliver great legal work. Most of the team choose to work some of their time flexibly, and I don’t need to micromanage their hours because of the high volume and quality output I see them deliver every day.”

In TVNZ’s high-pressure legal environment, expectations are high, but so is trust and care. Claire focuses on building a supportive team where lawyers can thrive professionally and personally. “I’m a strong believer that culture drives growth – it takes trust, belonging, engagement and then great execution to deliver results” she says, “The team needs headspace to be creative, solve complex problems, do the heavy lifting and, at times, deal with sensitive issues when advising on our stories.  I need to be open and create an environment where the team feels trusted and safe to surface issues when they need.  My role as leader is to help them bring their best selves to work every day, provide pragmatic advice to our business, head home feeling fulfilled, and return the next day ready to keep momentum high and deliver on TVNZ’s strategy for New Zealanders.”

Flexibility Meets Accountability

Caroline Herbert, a Senior Legal Counsel at TVNZ, joined the team after Claire persuaded her during parental leave with her second child. “It’s my dream job,” Caroline says. “When Claire rang I knew what I wanted: not to start until months later, and to work specific hours, with some from home. I thought she might say no – but she made it happen. When I started, it was exactly what I hoped.”

Caroline structures her work to suit both personal life and what the TVNZ business needs. “High trust is the key. I can be there for after-school activities, drop off and pick up my kids, and have a rich, full life while being effective and efficient at work.” Caroline says that trust, and having strong boundaries but knowing when to flex them, is what makes part-time work, workable. “Claire, and the teams I support, know that I’ll get the job done.”

Her role focuses on business partnering with the content division and advising on TVNZ’s new pay TV offering, launching in June with the FIFA World Cup 2026™. She handles music rights, content acquisitions, content production advice and IP, and at times supports technology and advertising sales deals, or media law work in the newsroom. Like others in the team, she advises on AI, data, privacy and consumer law, depending on business needs.

Collaboration, Generosity, and Variety

TVNZ’s legal team thrives on collaboration, with the business and each other. “Our team’s engagement word this year is Empower. We’re generous when it comes to sharing knowledge – we acknowledge each others’ wins, challenges and hard work.  There’s little ego, high integrity, and a lot of laughs.” Claire says.

The team handles an extraordinary diversity of work from providing legal advice on news and content stories, strategic rights arrangements, advertising, data and AI innovations, commercial partnerships, key tech procurements and transformation initiatives, or in the court defending a defamation trial (sometimes all in one day).

Caroline adds, “Any job in our team could be a contender for the best legal role in the country. The expertise across the team spans commercial and litigation from various sectors, as well as regulatory and media law skills.  Claire’s up for allowing everyone to gain exposure across legal areas. She’s incredibly supportive, helping us pursue opportunities or creating new ones”.

Flexible Legal Resourcing

To manage capacity and workload in a fast-moving environment, at times TVNZ supplements its legal team with secondees or fixed term contractors, supported by an  ever-evolving legal operating model. Claire appreciates partners like SHIFT, which provide flexible, project-based support. “I love what SHIFT does – it helps NZ businesses maintain momentum with extra resource across shorter periods,” she explains.

She adds that for this approach to succeed, temporary team members need to feel fully integrated rather than isolated. “We work together in the office a few days a week, meet in person as a team once a week, with fortnightly meetings to focus on enhancing our engagement model. Then on Fridays we catch up more personally over a quick morning coffee, so we can check in and make sure everyone ends the week on a good note.

We all love having new lawyers in the team. We look for what expertise and style TVNZ needs most to support its digital strategy and culture across a short period. Contractors quickly become part of the team and the TVNZ culture, and get clear on how best to deliver for TVNZ. We have a lot of fun, and it’s always hard to say goodbye.”