The winners of two of New Zealand's major legal awards have been announced by the New Zealand Law Foundation.
New Zealand Law Foundation Cleary Memorial Prize 2018
Wellington lawyer Laura Hardcastle has won the New Zealand Law Foundation Cleary Memorial Prize for 2018. It is awarded to young lawyers who show the most promise of service to the legal profession.
Ms Hardcastle graduated with a 1st class honours degree in Law and a BSc in Environmental Science and Geology from Victoria University of Wellington. She is a litigation lawyer at Bell Gully's Wellington office.
Laura Hardcastle has done pro bono work for clients in her specialties of medicines and healthcare regulation and has helped with the Wellington Community Law Centre and Wellington West Citizens’ Advice Bureau. She has also mentored two young women law students through Victoria’s Bridging the Gap programme, which pairs practising lawyers with those looking to enter the profession. She has also maintained contact with the University through judging mooting competitions and acting as a marker for two first-year papers.
She has already published three legal articles, and in her life outside of law is a keen writer of fiction, having completed the National Novel Writing Month for the past three years, an international challenge to write 50,000 words of original fiction over the month of November.
The Cleary Prize honours the memory of Sir Timothy Cleary, past President of the Wellington District and New Zealand Law Societies and a Court of Appeal Judge until his death in 1962. It recognises the example Sir Timothy’s own life set for young people entering the profession, namely excellence in the law, humility, unfailing readiness to help others, and strong leadership.
The award was initiated by the New Zealand Law Society, with the Law Foundation taking over administration in 2008. It is valued at $5,000.
New Zealand Law Foundation 2018 International Research Fellowship
Professor Craig Elliffe of Auckland University's Law Faculty has received New Zealand’s leading legal research award, the 2018 New Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellowship Te Karahipi Rangahau ā Taiao.
Professor Elliffe’s research will examine tax problems created by the digital economy and propose solutions to this complex international challenge. Worth up to $125,000, the Fellowship award will enable his research in New Zealand and overseas to evaluate other countries’ plans for dealing with the issue.
He will work with politicians, tax policy officials and academia, and he expects to produce a monograph, symposia and public conference to discuss and debate solutions.