Business focus vital for law firms

Edmonds Law Principal Tracey Edmonds believes focusing on the business side of a law firm is “absolutely essential”. Lawyers, she says, no longer have a monopoly on information as the landscape of legal services has transformed with the technological advances that have brought knowledge to the masses with a single click…

Perception of value

People are increasingly looking for value in legal information, Otago University marketing lecturer Dr Tony Garry says. Dr Garry says the perceived value of legal information hinges on the speciality of the advice and sophistication of the client. Law is a credence service, he says, where laypeople use proxies to gauge value…

Securing the ongoing health of your practice

“When I was a lawyer I admit to having had a general negative attitude to salesmanship and salespeople. It was only after getting into a selling role for a legal publisher that I realised I needed to challenge my perceptions,” says Law Tune-Up founder and director Paul Steele. Law Tune-Up provides…

From the Law Society

Of the few things that are certain in life, one is change. Those of us who have been providing legal services for a while will be all too aware of this, particularly as it relates to the business side of practice. Change has not only happened, it is continuing to happen. And…

What makes lawyers happy?

A happy life as a lawyer is much less about grades, affluence and prestige than about finding work that is interesting, engaging, personally meaningful and is focused on providing needed help to others. This is what the data from a recent major research project in the United States showed. Law Professor…

NZLS CLE introduces Online CPD

Online CPD – allowing users to learn on demand anytime, anywhere – has been introduced by NZLS CLE Ltd. Around 20 courses on a broad range of topics are currently available, and more are being added each week. The courses are interactive and CPD compliant. Some are 60 minutes long, other 90…

Early Resolution Service proves very successful

The Law Society’s new Early Resolution Service (ERS) has proven very successful. In its first full year of operation nationwide, the ERS was able to conclude more than one third of the complaints the Lawyers Complaints Service received. The ERS was established with the aim of resolving those complaints that are not…

Electronic casebooks for Court of Appeal criminal appeals

The Court of Appeal has introduced a new process for criminal appeals and applications for leave to appeal. The Court of Appeal Registry will now provide counsel with casebooks in electronic form rather than in hard copy, and counsel are encouraged to file their submissions and bundles of authorities in electronic…

Did Coca-Cola get what it wanted for Christmas?

Although Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, as I like to call him, is strongly linked with The Coca-Cola Company thanks to its regular advertising featuring him since the 1930s, the High Court did not give Coca-Cola the Christmas present it was probably hoping for in its decision issued on 10…

Family justice reforms

The Government’s family justice reforms are the most significant change to the system since the establishment of the Family Court 33 years ago. It has been a huge job for the Ministry of Justice to get ready for these changes with new processes, systems, training and information. You all know the…

Transition rules for care of child cases

With the upcoming changes to the family justice system due to come into effect there have been a number of queries regarding the transition of existing cases where a judicial conference has been scheduled. Any COCA applications filed before 31 March 2014 that have a judicial conference set down will continue…

New Zealand Trust Reports Volume 1 (Part 1), 1965-2003

Reviewed by Andrew Butler The recent publication of Volume 1 of the New Zealand Trust Reports (NZTR) is to be welcomed. Published by CCH New Zealand Ltd, the first volume in the paperback report series covers the period 1965 to 2003. At almost 950 pages the volume packs in well over 100…

Immigration powers raise Bill of Rights issues

The Immigration Amendment Bill (No 2) triggers Bill of Rights issues, the New Zealand Law Society says. One of the bill’s key aims is to address the exploitation of migrant workers, with a proposed s277A used to expand the power of immigration officers to do so. The Law Society is disquieted about…

Drink-driving infringement regime lacks fundamental safeguard

The New Zealand Law Society agrees with the Attorney-General that a provision in the Land Transport Amendment Bill is inconsistent with the right to be presumed innocent, affirmed under the Bill of Rights Act 1990. The bill creates new infringement offences, punishable by fines and demerit points, for adults driving with…

New legislation to modernise courts may have unintended consequences

The Judicature Modernisation Bill may unintentionally compromise the public interest in the effective and expeditious disposal of litigation, the New Zealand Law Society says. Law Society spokesperson Liesle Theron has told Parliament’s Justice and Electoral Committee that clause 169 of the proposed bill, which would allow people other than a barrister…

Bill targeting child pornography offenders needs fine-tuning

The New Zealand Law Society has told Parliament’s Justice and Electoral select committee that some aspects of the Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill need further consideration. Law Society spokesperson Graeme Edgeler says the principal aim of the bill is to increase penalties applying to images of child sexual exploitation. “But the…

Growing market confidence through fair conduct and dealing standards

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 for investors. This is the fourth article in a series outlining the key changes, the impact they will have on the future of our financial…

World's largest legal technology event

In February, as most New Zealanders were heading to the beach, I was making my annual trek through the snow and freezing temperatures to New York where all of the legal technology community converge for the annual LegalTech show. Legal Tech is the largest and most prestigious event on the legal…

Making a difference in people's lives

LawTalk spoke to Inna Zadorozhnaya, Community Lawyer with Community Law Wellington & Hutt Valley. Here are her answers to our questions. Why did you choose a career in law: what attracted you to the law? I have always had an interest in justice and the law, but it took me a while…

Honorary doctorate for legal scholar

International law, human rights and criminal law scholar, Professor Roger Clark, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws at Victoria University’s May graduation. The first member of his family to go to university, Professor Clark graduated from Victoria in 1964 with a BA LLB. He added an LLM in 1967, and…

Former Dean given Distinguished Alumni Award

The first woman in 550 years to become Oxford University’s Registrar, Dr Julie Maxton has been presented a Distinguished Alumni Award from Auckland University. Dr Maxton was, while at Auckland University, Professor of Law from 1993 and Dean of the Law Faculty from 2000. She left Auckland in 2006 to become…

People in the Law

The Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) has appointed 12 new instructors. The new Auckland instructors are: Glenn Satherley, a litigator who has, for the past six years, been practising as a barrister sole; Justin Kleinbaum who is a team leader, Legal and Technical Services with the IRD; Stephanie Mead,…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Counsel must always treat court staff with respect

A standards committee found a lawyer, R’s, conduct was unsatisfactory, when he was alleged to have spoken rudely to a Registrar in court, to have grabbed her arm, and to have acted like a bully. R was fined $1,500, and ordered to pay costs of $500. R claimed that he had…

Lawyers Complaints Service: More inquiries needed by lawyer before acting for person with dementia

A lawyer, W, had been engaged to assist an 84-year-old woman, Mrs D, to revoke an existing enduring power of attorney (EPA) and to prepare a new one. Mrs D had Alzheimer’s Disease, but after spending time with her, W decided she appeared to be lucid, and he would accept…

Maybe I shouldn't have done that...

1. Actually, Facebook isn’t all that private In 2013 a Mareva injunction was awarded against lawyer Gabriele Giambrone. This followed proceedings against him related to failed investments made through his law firm. After one hearing Giambrone posted the following comments on his Facebook site: “They thought they knocked me down, now they…