Legal executives soar sky-high

When Pam Harliwich’s sister got married and moved away, she was given her sister’s legal secretary job in a Central Otago firm. “I didn’t even have a job interview,” she laughs. “I always remember my first day at work. It was the day the office re-opened after the Christmas break. My…

Jumping the fence

Growing up, Sandy Van Den Heuvel never considered that one day she would go to university. “It wasn’t encouraged. It wasn’t something my family had done,” she says. So, when after two decades as a legal executive Mrs Van Den Huevel decided to embark on a law degree “it was a bit…

Efficient practice management pays off

Legal practice management is becoming increasingly recognised as a career in its own right. Practice management is a “really unique thing to do and it is really hard to find people who have experience in every area that you need to have experience in,” says Lowndes Jordan’s general manager Sheryll Carey. However,…

From the Law Society

When awards for lawyers are handed out, you won’t find any people from these groups among them. Yet they are time and time again the unsung heroes of legal practices throughout New Zealand. They are the staff of firms and sole practices who are not practising lawyers. I call them “unsung heroes”,…

Thoroughly enjoying her new role on the Bench

Justice Dunningham recalls a moment during a high school career week where she was a teacher helping wide-eyed students decide what job they would be suited to. It dawned on her that if she were in their shoes, she would ask herself why she had never pursued a career in law. Now,…

New Otago branch President

David Robinson is the new President of the Law Society’s Otago branch, succeeding Gerard DeCourcy. A partner of Gallaway Cook Allan Lawyers, Mr Robinson was born in Otago and has lived in the province all his life. After graduating from Otago University with an LLB, he worked at Wilkinson Adams for about…

People in the Law

Justice Sir Grant Hammond has been reappointed President of the Law Commission. Sir Grant was a partner in the Hamilton law firm of Tompkins Wake & Co. He was then a Professor of Law in American and Canadian Universities, and Chairman of a Canadian law reform agency, before becoming a…

Richmond Chambers launched

A new barristers’ chambers has launched in Auckland. To be known as Richmond Chambers (www.richmondchambers.co.nz), the new set is a calculated response to the increasing number of complex disputes demanding specialist representation. It is named after Sir Clifford Parris Richmond KBE (1914-1997) who was President of the Court of Appeal of…

Our Profession, Our People

New PLS Officers Andrew Logan was re-elected unopposed as chair of the New Zealand Law Society’s Property Law Section at the section’s Executive meeting on 8 May. This is the second year in a row he has been elected the PLS chair. Mr Logan is a partner of Mortlock McCormack in…

Lawyers generally confident about economic outlook

More than one-third of New Zealand lawyers who responded to a New Zealand Law Society survey saw an improved economic outlook for their legal practice over the next year. Just over 10% thought things were going to get worse. Most believed there would not be much change. The survey was sent…

Life in the law

The judge who refused to hear from Texas criminal defence lawyer James Lee Bright because he was wearing shorts may herself be leaving court. Bright couldn’t wear long pants as he had a large knee brace from recent surgery. Wearing a jacket and tie (and Bermuda shorts), he asked Dallas…

That was the law

Punishment of High Treason Act 1870 “2. From and after the passing of this Act the [Imperial Act 54 George III c146] shall be deemed not to extend to or be applicable in the administration of justice within the Colony of New Zealand.” The Imperial Act referred to required the…

The Most

New Zealand holds the world record for the fastest jury decision. On 22 July 2004 a jury in Greymouth District Court took one minute to find Nicholas Clive McAllister not guilty of a charge of cultivating 23 cannabis plants. According to the Guinness Book of World Records the jury left…

Scambusters

Lawyers working for a New Zealand law firm received phone calls from an individual calling herself Anne Brown and claiming to work for “Snowden Executive Search”. Reports from other countries have also noted the use of “SnowdenExec”. Those phoned are told their name has been put forward for a senior…

Grow your career

Gerry*, legal services manager for a government agency, is being groomed for corporate services leadership. He’s expected to trial another leadership role – in an ad hoc way. His confidence is high after a recent morale-boosting offer of partnership from a highly respected law practice. Yet he plays it safe.…

The bookshelf

Recent publications Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand, 4th Edition By Philip A Joseph First published in 1991, this provides a detailed and comprehensive critical analysis of New Zealand public law. The third edition was published in 2007. Professor Joseph has updated and revised the material to include all relevant post-2007 legislation…

Butterworths Introduction to Commercial Law, 4th edition

Reviewed by Jenna Riddle The 4th Edition of Butterworths Introduction to Commercial Law provides commentary and relevant case law on a broad range of subsets within the commercial law field. While the target audience of the text is students of law, it is equally likely to be helpful for practitioners as…

Proceedings ban follows vexatious litigation

Lawyers and the New Zealand Law Society are among a list of parties that Vincent Ross Siemer cannot institute any proceedings against in the High Court or any inferior court without High Court leave, the High Court has ruled. In The Attorney-General v Vincent Ross Siemer [2014] NZHC 859, the Attorney-General…

High Court favours parity in sentencing

In halving a District Court sentence from four to two years on charges of driving with excess blood alcohol causing death and injury, the High Court has outlined useful guidelines on parity in sentencing. The judgment also increased the credit given for the restorative justice process and for genuine remorse. In…

Scholarships - closing dates approaching

Closing dates are approaching for applications for most of the Law Foundation’s offering of legal scholarships and awards. The foundation is New Zealand’s major funder of legal scholarships. The awards are structured to provide a variety of support options for post-graduate legal study, to suit practising lawyers and legal academics at…

Courtroom Practice

Court of Trial Protocol update  The Chief Judges of the High and District Courts of New Zealand have a statutory obligation to establish a Court of Trial Protocol which they may revise (s66 Criminal Procedure Act 2011). The protocol lists offences or classes of offence which go to the High Court for…

Law Reform Report

Recent submissions The Law Society recently filed submissions on: Less Admin, More Business – New Zealand Business Number, MBIE discussion paper March 2014; Tax: draft Standard Practice Statement ED0162: Requests to amend assessments; Kaikoura (Te Tai-o-Marokura) Marine Management Bill; Environmental Reporting Bill; Education Amendment Bill (No 2); and …

Money laundering: beyond cash-stuffed briefcases

Discussions with lawyers, accountants and real estate agents – all subject to legal obligations to report suspicious transactions – reveal persistent myths and misunderstandings about application of anti-money laundering legislation to their day-to-day work, what money laundering is, how it occurs, how it can affect their businesses, how to identify…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Costs orders against regulators

The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal has accepted the New Zealand Law Society’s submission that no costs order be made against the Law Society in respect of Donna Hall’s legal costs following the dismissal of charges brought against her, [2014] NZLCDT 17. In [2014] NZLCDT 1, the tribunal dismissed…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Struck off for gross overcharging, breach of confidence and unprofessional dealings

Eion Malcolm James Castles has been struck off by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal after being found guilty of professional misconduct, [2014] NZLCDT 8. This follows an earlier decision of the tribunal, which found Mr Castles guilty on five charges, [2013] NZLCDT 53 (see LawTalk 834, 31 January…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Struck off for stealing from clients

Richard Holland has been struck off by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal for misappropriating client funds, [2014] NZLCDT 13. Ms H, who was also a friend of Mr Holland, complained to the Law Society in March 2013 that he had misappropriated about $200,000 from her. The funds were…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Suspended for breaching solicitor's certificate terms

Auckland lawyer Mohammed Faiyam Khan has been suspended from legal practice for three months by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal. Mr Khan, whose suspension began on 25 March 2014, admitted a charge of negligence or incompetence in his professional capacity and that that negligence or incompetence has been…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Suspension follows conviction on Securities Act offences

Robert Barry Whale of Auckland has been suspended for 12 months, beginning on 20 March 2014, by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal, [2014] NZLCDT 22. Mr Whale admitted a charge of having been convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment where the conviction tends to bring the legal…