I'll check you out on the web

It is estimated that 49% of New Zealand law firms have a dedicated website. The bigger the firm, the more likely it will be online, but that leaves over 900 law practices without a planned internet presence. For many law firms and businesses the issue is no longer one of whether…

Staying relevant & interesting

There are some key things that law firms need to do to ensure their website gives them the best value possible: Easy contact methods Get that phone number up front and preferably prominent on the home page. People get really irritated when firms don’t make this easy, especially with the ever-increasing use…

What the web designers say

The development and maintenance of websites is now a big business. Statistics New Zealand’s 2012 Business Operations Survey identifies 9,610 computer system design and related services enterprises, employing 22,350 people. Internet and web design consulting services are included within this. Many web design companies have been established for at least…

New Law Society website launched

The New Zealand Law Society’s new website went live on 17 July. The new website was around 10 months in development, involving teams in three different locations in two countries. Drivers for change included the fact that the old website was very hard to navigate, that many visitors could not find the…

You're still online even if you don't have a website

Law firms and barristers which have chosen to do business without a website will still pop up in internet search results. The amazing search functionality now available on the internet has driven the development of many online directory sites. Most of these make it easy to find local businesses, which…

From the Law Society

Here’s an old joke: where’s the best place to hide a body? The second page of Google. Haven’t heard it? Maybe you need to look at your web presence. It means if you aren’t in the first page of results on a Google search it’s most likely that no one will…

New prosecution approach for Corrections

The Criminal Procedure Act 2011 has heralded a new prosecution approach for the Department of Corrections. The department is now managing its defended prosecutions through a new prosecution support team based in Wellington. Led by Shannon Dobson, the team members share expertise in prosecutions, and in relation to relevant legislation such…

Making a difference to the law

One of the chief benefits of serving on a New Zealand Law Society specialist committee is that “you are basically forced to keep very up to date with the law”. So says Margo Perpick, who chairs the Law Society’s Environmental Law Committee. “It is very easy when you are a practitioner to…

Law Society has significant role

The wider benefit of the work of the New Zealand Law Society’s Law Reform and specialist committees is quite significant, says Andrew Beck, convenor of the Civil Litigation and Tribunals Committee. “This is where the Law Society gets to respond on matters of importance and it is only with those committees…

New Zealand Law Firm Practice Comparison moves online

The University of Waikato is about to conduct its biennial survey of New Zealand law practices. The survey is run in association with the New Zealand Law Society and the 2013 survey will be the first to be run online. The survey has been carried out regularly since 1982 and aims…

How to handle workplace gossip

Most of us know it is wrong to take part in it so why does it bring us that small feeling of pleasure when we do? Gossip has been shown to help build the social bonds between colleagues. It is the shared dislikes which bring people together more so than sharing…

Strengthening of human rights protection mechanisms urged

The New Zealand Law Society has advised the United Nations’ Human Rights Council that mechanisms protecting human rights in New Zealand would benefit from further strengthening. In a submission to the council for the second Universal Periodic Review of New Zealand’s human rights record, the Law Society identifies a number of…

Expansion of GCSB intelligence gathering instrusive

The Government Communications Security Bureau and Related Legislation Amendment Bill is intrusive and no clear justification has been provided for the extraordinary extension of powers of the GCSB to conduct surveillance on New Zealand citizens and residents, the New Zealand Law Society says. The Law Society presented its submission on the…

Telecommunications Interception Bill 'secret evidence'provisions cause concern

The Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill contains inadequate safeguards and risks breaching defendants’ rights to natural justice in enforcement proceedings, the New Zealand Law Society says. Law Society spokesperson Jason McHerron told Parliament’s Law and Order Select Committee that changes are needed to the provisions of the bill designed to…

New Zealand Law Society has continuing concerns with Family Court bill

The Justice and Electoral Select Committee’s report to the House on the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill fails to clarify court processes and rules, says the New Zealand Law Society. The Family Court bill was released with a number of amendments, but the Law Society says there are continuing concerns. Justice Minister…

Recent submissions

The Law Society recently filed submissions on: New Zealand’s 2013/14 Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council; Government Communications Security Bureau and Related Legislation Amendment Bill; Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill; Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill; Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993:…

US Supreme Court rules human genes unpatentable

Granting a patent is always a balancing act: there must be enough invention to warrant the reward of a limited term monopoly over that invention. The patent system aims to encourage innovation and at the same time not stifle it. This balancing act has been clearly demonstrated in the recent…

Moving towards CPD

What do I need to do to verify that I have completed CPD activities? Documentation verifying your attendance at CPD is a required part of your CPD Plan and Record (CPDPR). CPD providers and your organisation will often assist you with this, but you are ultimately responsible for verifying your attendance…

Online Regulatory Toolkit up and running

An important new weapon in the ongoing battle to achieve effective regulation in New Zealand was launched in Wellington earlier this month. The New Zealand Law Foundation Regulatory Reform Toolkit provides anyone interested in quality regulation with easily available, free online information to help analyse regulatory problems, as well as user-friendly…

The bookshelf

Book Of The Month: Account of Profits by Peter Devonshire In a foreword, Justice Michael Kirby says as far as he is aware there is no exact equivalent of this book among published legal texts. Auckland University Associate Professor of Law Peter Devonshire draws upon English, Australian and New Zealand case…

Accident Compensation Law

Doug Tennent’s book is the latest of a handful of texts which have been generated over the years about ACC law. According to the cover, the book has a practical focus that allows practitioners to use it as a quick reference book when faced with an ACC issue. In his…

Advocacy

This well organised and easily read book on advocacy is a welcome addition to the New Zealand focused law library on litigation skills. There are several books on advocacy for overseas jurisdictions. The most notable in the New Zealand context were the New Zealand edition of Mauet’s Fundamentals of Trial…

People

The Governor-General has appointed former High Court Judge Justice Andrew McGechan as Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Prime Minister John Key announced on 1 July. Justice McGechan, who took up the role on 1 July, has had a distinguished career as a High Court Judge and in various legal, public…

Top Auckland mooters for 2013

Auckland University law students Nupur Upadhyay and Tim Conder won the Stout Shield Moot for 2013. The competition was held at the High Court before Justice Priestley, who won the event himself in the 1960s, competing alongside David Lange and Jim McLay in the final. The two issues in the 2013 moot…

News points

Judge Brown wins Blake Medal New Zealand’s first Principal Youth Court Judge Michael (Mick) Brown won the supreme award, the Blake Medal, at the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards on 5 July. Lady Pippa Blake, patron of the Sir Peter Blake Trust, presented the medal. Judge Brown is considered to be one…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for paying out more than specifically authorised

A lawyer, C, who failed to follow client instructions about the amount of money to be paid to a bank on settlement of a property sale, and consequently paid out more than instructed, has been fined $500 by a lawyers standards committee. The complainant, D, said that as part of the…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Lawyer suspended following thefts

Leonard Hemi of Gisborne, who has been convicted on two theft charges, has been suspended for 18 months by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal ([2013] NZLCDT 23). While employed by a law firm, Mr Hemi carried out legal services for two clients. Without the knowledge of the firm and without…