Legal profession must act, says Law Society President

The wide-ranging discussion on sexual harassment and work environments in the legal profession cannot be allowed to die away, New Zealand Law Society President Kathryn Beck says. “The disclosures over the past week will have made every lawyer in New Zealand consider their workplace and also their profession. “We know that sexual…

Guidelines for working remotely released

The New Zealand Law Society has released a Practice Briefing, Working Remotely, which outlines some of the ethical and practical considerations relevant to working remotely as a lawyer. The guidance applies to both lawyers in private practice and in-house lawyers. Working flexibly is increasingly common across all industries, with MBIE estimating that…

New Zealand Law Society investigations

The New Zealand Law Society is unable to confirm whether or not a complaint has been made related to the allegations of sexual misconduct towards students in a summer law clerk programme at Russell McVeagh. Law Society President Kathryn Beck says while the Law Society will investigate all complaints received, the…

AML/CFT data collection planning recommended

Lawyers who are reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 need to start considering how they will collect information for  their required annual reports, the New Zealand Law Society says. The AML/CFT regime comes into force for lawyers on 1 July 2018. One of the compliance…

Returning Offenders law may contravene Bill of Rights Act

Legislation managing people returned to New Zealand after conviction overseas may contravene the prohibition against retroactive penalties and double jeopardy in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, the New Zealand Law Society says. The Law Society has made a submission to the Justice select committee which is reviewing the…

Review of sole practice attorney arrangements recommended

The New Zealand Law Society is recommending to sole practitioners that the start of 2018 is a good time to review their power of attorney arrangements. Section 44 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 requires sole practitioners to appoint an attorney and an alternate under a power of attorney which…

Law Society provides AML/CFT compliance templates

The New Zealand Law Society has released a bundle of eight sample documents to assist lawyers with compliance requirements for the introduction of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT) on 1 July 2018. Lawyers undertaking specified activities need to ensure they have a programme in place…

Support for Mental Health Roster reform objective

The New Zealand Law Society agrees with the objective of proposed reform of Mental Health Rosters by the Ministry of Justice. A ministry consultation paper, Mental Health Rosters, proposes national implementation of a referral and roster system administered by Legal Aid Services (LAS) in relation to representation of patients involved in…

Women lawyers now in the majority

The New Zealand legal profession now has more women lawyers than male lawyers. The New Zealand Law Society says that of 13,103 lawyers currently practising in New Zealand, 6553 are women and 6550 are men. “I’ve been waiting with bated breath for a couple of years. I’m thrilled that we’re here”, says…

Verify emailed payment instructions, says Law Society

Lawyers and law firm staff should ensure they check and verify all payment instructions received by email, the New Zealand Law Society says. There are now many instances of fraudsters and hackers using internal email in law firms to attempt to steal money through fake transfer requests. The Law Society says it…