Introducing the Laws of Best Practice

The extent to which the Criminal Procedure Act’s (CPA) implementation will change the lives of lawyers on 1 July depends on their current practice. The CPA is the biggest legislative change to criminal procedure for 50 years, placing an emphasis on “front ending” proceedings (ie, doing as much of the work…

Law change a drawn out process

Reform of New Zealand’s criminal procedure laws has been a drawn-out and sometimes contentious process. A Law Commission study paper in 2001 recommended simplification of criminal procedure legislation. The government sought further input and a 2005 Law Commission paper, Pre-Trial Processes: Justice Through Efficiency was produced. The result was the launch…

Criminal offences

Scope to increaseLawyers should be aware that the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) will also extend the scope of a number of criminal offences, according to criminal barrister Graeme Edgeler. Under the changes the CPA will bring, the intention requirements of many offences will change from “with intent to…

From the Law Society

Lawyers and members of the Government have already expressed their concern at the launch of a website called “Judge the Judges” by the Sensible Sentencing Trust earlier this month. I must add the voice of the New Zealand Law Society to those of the Attorney-General, the Minister of Justice, Chief District…

Ethel Benjamin scholarships awarded

Two lawyers, Sally Trafford and Emma Peart, are the 2013 winners of the New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Scholarship. Ms Trafford will use her scholarship towards studying for an LLM at Harvard University. The topic of her research project is Economic Inequality in New Zealand: A better future by bridging…

Business mentoring available to lawyers

Professional mentoring is now available to New Zealand lawyers as part of the Law Society’s Practising Well initiative. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Law Society and Business Mentors New Zealand on 30 April. This new agreement means that qualifying Law Society members gain access to mentoring…

How can you plan to have a psychologically healthy organisation?

No matter what your place in a professional services organisation, it’s worth thinking about how the workplace you are in could be more mentally healthy. The first question to ask is why would you need or want to have a mentally healthy workplace? Here are three of the main reasons: 1. There…

Reserve Bank policy - impact on lawyers trust accounts

The Reserve Bank’s proposed Open Bank Resolution (OBR) policy would allow a distressed bank to be kept open for business while placing the cost of a bank failure on the bank’s shareholders and creditors. It should not apply to lawyers’ trust accounts, according to the New Zealand Law Society. The Law…

Definition of 'the Crown' a difficult matter

Providing a standard default definition of “the Crown” in the Interpretation Act 1999 is a difficult question and the Law Commission should consider the matter before further steps are taken, the Law Society says. A Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) discussion paper on the Interpretation Act 1999 asks whether there should be…

Effect of repeal on existing rights and proceedings

In the same submission to the PCO, the Law Society also says that a proposal to amend the Interpretation Act 1999 could cause some unintended problems with existing rights and proceedings. The PCO discussion paper proposes to include the Interpretation Act in the Legislation Act 2012, and the Law Society supports…

Proposed changes to RMA principles may not help

Proposals to change the principles contained in ss6 and 7 of the Resource Management Act 1993 (RMA) may not achieve the significant changes expected by the government. This is the view of the Law Society in its comments on the Ministry for the Environment discussion document Improving our resource management system. The…

Consistency in environmental protection penalties sought

The Law Society is calling for a consistent approach to penalties in all legislation protecting or managing aspects of the natural environment. The Law Society has told Parliament’s Local Government and Environment Committee that there should be a review of all such legislation to ensure there is consistency in the penalty…

Members comments on constitution sought

Members will be aware that a review of the New Zealand constitution is under way. Entitled Consideration of Constitutional Issues, the review comes about because it was a term of the 2008 confidence and supply agreement between the National Party and the Māori Party. The Constitutional Advisory Panel, appointed by the…

Moving towards CPD

What is the CPDPR?The CPD Rules require each lawyer to develop and maintain a written CPD plan, and to record, document, reflect on and verify their CPD activities. These documents are known collectively as the “CPD Plan and Record” – the CPDPR. Start your CPDPR by identifying your learning needsThe first…

Update on district court Rules review

Following the meetings with practitioners held throughout the country in 2012, the sub-committee of Judges Susan Thomas, Brooke Gibson and Paul Kellar has been working with co-opted members of the profession on the review of the Rules. The sub-committee remains of the view that the best way forward is to…

Some information on New Zealand law firms

Over one-fifth of New Zealand lawyers who work in a law firm can be found in this country’s 10 biggest firms. New Zealand Law Society information shows that the rest are found in 1,811 law firms with an average of just over three lawyers per firm. Sole practices make up half of…

New Zealands longest established law firms

We have a lot of smallish law firms, but we also have a lot of old law firms. Research from a wide range of sources has shown that at least 50 New Zealand law firms have been in existence for over 125 years. Because they were partnerships (until the rules changed…

The case for electronic verification

With the looming 30 June deadline of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT), many financial institutions are in the process of finalising their compliance programmes and ensuring their policies and procedures meet the safe harbour provisions of the Identity Verification Code of Practice 2011. For many,…

Potential Fair Trading Act liability for website material

In February, the High Court of Australia upheld an appeal by Google against the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia holding Google liable for misleading and deceptive conduct. The Google case suggests that a website owner will not be liable for misleading advertising placed on its…

Regulatory reform project work unveiled

A suite of resources for tackling the challenges of effective regulation was unveiled at a special conference at Victoria University last month. The conference enabled participants from New Zealand and overseas to review the outputs of the Law Foundation’s Regulatory Reform Project, a multi-year, multi-disciplinary study on improving regulation in New…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Censure follows Bridgecorp convictions

After pleading guilty to Securities Act charges in the High Court, relating to acts while board chairman of Bridgecorp Ltd and Bridgecorp Investments, Bruce Davidson has been censured by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal ([2013] NZLCDT 14). Mr Davidson pleaded guilty to 10 charges under the Securities Act 1978 in…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fine for providing erroneous orders for sealing

Deliberately providing a court with orders for sealing which did not reflect the orders made by the court has led to a fine of $3,000, costs of $1,000, and a reprimand for unsatisfactory conduct for an Auckland lawyer, A. A’s conduct was the focus of an “own motion” investigation commenced by…

The bookshelf

Book of the month: Company and Securities Law in New Zealand, 2nd EditionJohn Farrar and Susan Watson, General Editors A treatise on New Zealand company and security law, this makes an in-depth examination of all aspects of the subject. Looking at the theory behind the major reforms in 1993 it then…

News points

New Practising fees and levies approvedThe Minister of Justice has approved the practising fees and levies for the year 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 as set by the New Zealand Law Society Council. This means that the fees and levies will not increase this year. The new fees…

People

Manaia Paki King has been recently appointed to the board of the JR McKenzie Trust for a five-year team as the New Zealand Law Society’s representative. An Auckland-based public sector lawyer who specialises in public health law, Manaia is currently a national manager with the National Health Board, Ministry of…

Law firm news

A commercially-focused new law practice opened its doors in Hamilton on 1 May. Davidson Twaddle Isaac Lawyers (www.dtilawyers.co.nz) is formed through an alliance of three local lawyers, with a combined 30 years’ legal experience. The firm will focus on serving the legal needs of rural, business and individual clients. Most…