Juan Cué - Associate Director / Banking and finance

Where are you from?

I am from Mexico.

What was your legal background and experience in your home country?

Before moving to New Zealand, I practised law in Mexico with a focus on corporate, commercial, banking and finance law.

My work included financing transactions, private equity related matters, commercial arrangements, financial services regulation, licensed financial entities, fintech, start ups and general corporate advisory work. That background matters because banking and finance is not only technical. You need to understand the law, the transaction, the client’s risk appetite, the commercial objective and the regulatory environment around it. That was the foundation I brought with me to New Zealand.

What motivated you to move to New Zealand?

I originally came to New Zealand for a new challenge and a bit of an adventure.

It was not a perfectly designed long term plan at the beginning. It was more a sense that it was the right time to test myself in a new market and do something different. New Zealand was meant to be a chapter. Then, like many people who move here, I slowly realised that the chapter was becoming the story. I liked the pace, the people, the lifestyle and the professional environment. I also liked that New Zealand is small enough that relationships matter, but sophisticated enough that the legal and commercial work can still be complex and high quality.

What motivated you to practice law or work in the New Zealand legal industry?

I have always known I wanted to work in law. Moving countries did not change that.

For me, the question was not whether I would continue in law. The question was how I would translate who I was professionally into a new jurisdiction. I was already a lawyer, qualified in Mexico, and I wanted to keep working in an area connected to my experience.

Of course, every country has its own legal system, regulatory framework and professional culture. I knew I would need to adapt, and I understood that my Mexican legal qualification did not automatically translate into New Zealand practice rights. But I did not want that distinction to define the limit of my career. I wanted to be realistic about the process while still backing myself.

Can you describe the process you went through to become a lawyer or get your current role in New Zealand?

My process was not linear. When I arrived, I thought my banking and finance, corporate, private equity, fintech and financial regulation experience would be easy for law firms to understand. I thought firms would see that I had a specialised background and that I could bring a useful perspective.

The reality was more complicated. I often heard that, because I did not have New Zealand experience, firms could not see how my experience was directly transferable. That was difficult, because from my perspective many of the core skills were transferable. The legal framework was different, but the way you analyse risk, understand a transaction, advise a client and work through a regulatory issue is not completely foreign.

So I changed strategy. I knew I wanted to stay close to the financial sector, so I broadened my search beyond law firms. I started looking at banks, insurers and other regulated entities. I also became more open to what I call legal adjacent roles. That was a deliberate decision.

My first role in New Zealand was as a Compliance Manager at Southern Cross Health Insurance. That role gave me New Zealand work experience, helped me understand local corporate and in house dynamics, and gave me a practical opportunity to study the New Zealand regulatory environment from the inside.

During that time, I became more familiar with the Financial Markets Conduct Act, the Reserve Bank, conduct regulation, the CoFI regime, financial services regulation and how different levels of regulation apply to different types of market participants.

Once I felt I had built the local foundation I needed, I knew I wanted to move back closer to transactional work, legal advisory work and more complex regulatory matters. That led me to my current role in the Banking and Finance legal practice at PwC Legal New Zealand.

What is your current role and what are your main responsibilities?

At PwC Legal New Zealand, my role sits in the Banking and Finance practice at Associate Director level. My work includes banking and finance transactions, financial services regulation, regulatory change, legal risk analysis, commercial legal advisory and implementation support for clients operating in or around the financial sector.

In practice, that means helping clients understand what they can do, what they cannot do, what the real risk is, and what steps are needed to move from legal advice to implementation. The work often sits at the intersection of law, regulation, governance, commercial judgment and execution.

How does your current role differ from your previous roles in your home country?

The core legal skills are largely the same. A transaction is still a transaction. An acquisition agreement is still an acquisition agreement. Financing, security, due diligence, regulatory analysis, contract risk and client advisory all require the same basic legal instincts.

The main difference is the legal framework and the legislation. New Zealand and Mexico may recognise many of the same commercial concepts, but the source of law, local rules, drafting conventions, regulatory expectations and market practice are different.

That has challenged me to relearn a lot of what I already knew. Even where the principle feels familiar, the relevant difference can appear at any level. It can be in the legislation, the regulator’s approach, a drafting convention, a filing requirement, a transaction step or a point of market practice. That has made me pay more attention to things I used to do almost mechanically. It has forced me to go back to basics, which is uncomfortable at times, but also useful. It makes you sharper.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when transitioning to the legal field in New Zealand?

The biggest challenge was getting the market to understand the value of my Mexican experience. I came with technical experience in banking and finance, corporate law, financial regulation, fintech and start ups. But I still had to prove that I could operate effectively in New Zealand. That was frustrating at times, because you know what you are capable of, but the market does not know you yet.

Another challenge was entering the market at a more senior level as a lateral hire. You may have more years of legal experience and may have worked on more complex transactions, but there will still be basic local things you do not know yet. A junior lawyer with one year of New Zealand experience may know a local process, form, convention or expectation that you have not encountered before. That can be humbling. It also means your authority is not assumed automatically. You have to earn it in the local context.

How did you overcome these challenges?

With patience, consistency and a fairly thick skin. I accepted that I needed local experience, so I found a role that gave me exposure to a regulated New Zealand business. I studied the local regulatory framework. I learned how New Zealand organisations make decisions. I watched how the market works in practice.

I also had to become comfortable with not knowing some basic local points while still trusting my broader legal judgment. That is not always easy. You need to ask questions without undermining yourself. You need to take feedback without losing confidence. You need to let people see your experience through the work. My experience is that good experience eventually shows. It may not be recognised on day one, but if you are patient and gracious enough to let it come through, people do start to see it.

Can you share a memorable experience or achievement in your legal career in New Zealand?

A memorable achievement has been moving from my first compliance role in New Zealand into a senior banking and finance legal role. That transition matters to me because it reflects more than just getting a job. It reflects a deliberate process of adapting, learning the local market, building credibility and finding a way back into the kind of specialist work I wanted to do.

I am proud that I was able to take a step that made sense at the time, use it properly, and then move forward again.

What do you consider your biggest success since moving here?

My biggest professional success has been becoming an Associate Director in the Banking and Finance legal practice at PwC Legal New Zealand. For me, that role is recognition of my specialist background, but also of the work I have done to adapt to New Zealand. It reflects technical upskilling, language, communication style, local market understanding and persistence. It did not happen because the system made it easy. It happened because I kept chipping away at it, step by step. I studied, adapted, worked hard, took feedback, learned how to present myself better and kept looking for the right opportunity.

That is probably the message I would want other Mexican qualified or overseas qualified lawyers to take from my story. There are no handouts. But there are opportunities if you are prepared to be patient, intentional and persistent.

What advice would you give to other foreign lawyers considering moving to New Zealand?

Be ambitious, but be practical.

Do not assume your overseas experience will be understood immediately. You may need to translate it for the New Zealand market. That means explaining not just what your title was, but what you actually did, what skills you developed and how those skills apply here.

Also, do not be too rigid about your first role. A legal adjacent role can be a very good strategic step if it keeps you close to your area of interest and helps you build New Zealand experience.

At the same time, do not lose sight of your long term objective. A pivot is useful if it is intentional. It should help you build a bridge, not take you permanently away from where you want to go.

Are there any specific skills or qualifications that you found particularly valuable?

Technical skills matter, and they need to be continuously developed. But the most valuable skills for me have been adaptability, resilience, patience and communication. You need tolerance for frustration. You need to be willing to work hard and show that you are working hard. You need to be open to feedback without letting it affect your confidence too much.

You also need to learn how to create visibility. In New Zealand, it is not always enough to quietly do good work and hope everyone notices. You need to build relationships, explain your contribution and take opportunities to show what you can do.

Visibility is not showing off. Done properly, it is part of building trust and helping people understand where you can add value. And yes, coffee and small talk are an art form here. Learn them.

What are your professional goals for the future?

One of my key professional goals is to obtain my New Zealand practising certificate.

Pink Fern has been very helpful in making those steps easier to understand. When you are qualified overseas but not yet qualified in New Zealand, the process can feel technical and overwhelming at first. Having someone explain the pathway in practical terms makes a real difference.

For overseas qualified lawyers, the process generally involves an assessment by the New Zealand Council of Legal Education, completing any required papers or professional requirements, applying for admission to the High Court and then applying for a practising certificate. The exact requirements depend on each person’s background.

How do you see your career progressing in New Zealand?

I want to keep building a strong specialist practice in banking and finance, financial services and regulatory advisory work. Long term, I want to become the kind of adviser clients trust with their most important and complex issues. That means being technically strong, commercially sensible and clear in my advice.

I also want to keep growing into leadership. For me, that means developing others, contributing to the profession and building a practice where clients feel confident that the advice they receive is thoughtful, practical and reliable. The honest answer is that I think there is a lot of room to grow in New Zealand if you are willing to do the work.

How do you find the work life balance in New Zealand compared to your home country?

Work life balance in New Zealand is much better than what I was used to in Mexico.

There is more respect for personal time, family, annual leave and life outside work. That is one of the things I value most about living here.

What do you enjoy most about living and working in New Zealand?

I enjoy the people, the nature and the sense of space. Kiwis are generally friendly, practical and approachable. The culture is more informal than what I was used to, but that informality should not be confused with lack of sophistication. New Zealand professionals are sharp. They just do not always need to make a performance of it.

I also love how easy it is to be close to nature. You can finish work and be near the water, a park, a walk, a golf course or a completely different landscape very quickly. That changes your quality of life. Professionally, I enjoy that New Zealand is a small market where reputation matters. If you do good work, build trust and treat people well, that follows you.