The beginnings of community law

The Auckland District Law Society’s pilot neighbourhood law office, opened in 1978, was hailed a success. The office, located at Grey Lynn, was the first of its kind in the country, and is chronicled in the New Zealand Law Society 1978 Annual Report. The glowing report says the government of the day…

36 years on

Community Law Centres o Aotearoa CEO Liz Tennet says the community law philosophy of meeting unmet legal need remains paramount, with the national body striving to deliver national quality standards of work, advocacy and the promotion of shared resources of its centres. “That philosophy is as strong as it ever was.…

Community law elsewhere

United Kingdom Across England and Wales there are some 50 law centres which are registered with the Law Centres Network. Each centre must comply with a set of minimum requirements, which includes employing at least two lawyers, although some centres employ over 20 lawyers. Each law centre is accountable to a local…

From the Law Society

I am coming towards the end of my two years’ service as the New Zealand Law Society’s Wellington Vice-President, one of the five members of the Law Society’s Board. It has been a great privilege to serve on the Board, and to help watch out for the interests of our…

Scarcity of women in senior roles in large Auckland law firms

Almost all of the women (95%) who responded to a recent survey endorsed the proposition that there was a trend for women to leave law firms or the profession. In contrast, 30% of the men who responded queried or disagreed with this proposition. The research project into the scarcity of women…

It's not just a practice. It's a business

Some years ago, I interviewed several of the most successful lawyers I knew. They had consistently robust practices that generated enough work to keep themselves and others busy. They were the “go to” lawyers in their fields, and they earned good incomes. I asked them how they envisioned, built and sustained…

Demeanour evidence as the backbone of the adversarial process

One of the real pleasures of working at a university is the thoroughfare of constant student enquiry where students challenge preconceptions about the law and its structure, its form, its provenance and its legitimacy. This is particularly so in the context of postgraduate supervision where I have had the privilege of…

A sabbatical - to be had, not worked out

To support my professional development, I worked with a career/leadership coach 10 years ago. Here is an extract from one of our conversations: Me: I feel tired … as if I am always ‘redlining’ it. This is in spite of being fit, sleeping well and reducing my workload. I…

Growing market confidence through clear information for investors

2014 marks the start of a new era for New Zealand’s financial markets – an ambitious and exciting period of change for market participants and investors. This is the third in a series of articles by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) outlining the key changes, the impact they will have…

Lawyers in Practice

This article covers several issues that have been the source of recent inquiries. Bureau services One alternative for maintaining the required trust accounting records is to use a recognised bureau service. Although available as a solution for all sizes of legal practice, this is particularly well suited to sole practitioners or firms with…

Proprietary rights and settlor intentions

The rule in Saunders v Vautier (1841) 41 ER 482, which has long been a part of New Zealand’s common law, provides that an adult beneficiary who is sui juris and who has an absolute, vested and indefeasible interest in the capital and income of property, or an aliquot share…

Important conference for family lawyers

Family lawyers should seriously consider attending a cutting edge conference next month. Adoption with an international flavour, often involving a surrogacy arrangement, is becoming more and more commonplace. Any family lawyer, anywhere in the country, is likely to be required to advise a client on what can be a complex…

Wide-ranging role keeps lawyer on his toes

Te Puni Kōkiri solicitor Rama Chadwick relishes working alongside people who are passionate about developing and advancing Māori issues. Mr Chadwick graduated with an LLB from Victoria University in 2009 and was admitted in the same year. His role as an in-house solicitor for Te Puni Kōkiri involves providing legal advice on…

Chance meeting leads to research award

A chance meeting on Robben Island, outside the prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 27 years, has led to a profitable and rewarding collaboration for Waikato law professor Neil Boister. Professor Boister has been awarded a Freidrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award by the German-based Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in recognition…

People in the Law

Auckland Crown Solicitor Simon Moore QC has been appointed a High Court Judge. Justice Moore graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1980 and was employed as a law clerk at Meredith Connell in Auckland, becoming a staff solicitor in 1982. In 1985 he became a partner of that…

Foundation brings top speakers to NZ

Law Foundation support will enable many eminent international legal experts to visit New Zealand and speak at conferences, seminars, lectures and other venues this year. Perhaps the most prestigious event on the 2014 legal calendar will be the World Bar Conference in Queenstown in September, the first time this biennial event…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for failing to follow tribunal orders

A former lawyer, D, was the subject of orders of a District Law Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal following a misconduct hearing in 2008. The orders prevented him taking steps in any court proceeding against certain named individuals. Mr D had performed duties while an employee of a firm in proceedings brought by…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Censured for breaching nominee company rules

A lawyer, A, who was “responsible lawyer” for a lawyers nominee company has been censured and fined $5,000 for failing to adhere to the rules applying to nominee companies. The lawyers standards committee found that A had been guilty of misconduct under the Law Practitioners Act 1982 for conduct before 1…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Cost revision reduces bill

An Auckland barrister, B, has had his bill of $34,260.31 for administering an estate and negotiating settlement of a challenge to the will reduced to $19,860.31 by the Legal Complaints Review Officer (LCRO). B was acting for a New Zealander living in Australia who had been his client for more than…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Payments must be made as client instructs

C was a lawyer whose client instructed him to pay a commission to a third party (an agent) from the proceeds of sale of the client’s property. Instead of paying the money directly, C made a journal transfer. The agent happened to be a client of C’s firm. C deducted unrelated…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Struck off for making unsuitable allegations

Evgeny Orlov has been struck off by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal after it found him guilty of making allegations about a High Court Judge that were either false or made without sufficient foundation. In [2013] NZLCDT 45, delivered on 18 October 2013, the tribunal – by a…