Helping someone with an alcohol problem

One of the biggest problems with being an addict is that you lie to yourself. I know that only too well from my struggles to give up smoking. I had a friend who was an alcoholic. He lied about it often. He would often say to me: “I’m not an alcoholic.…

The cloud hangs over the new horizon

Technology is, perhaps, the antithesis of law – fast paced, ever changing and without precedent. But, like all business people, lawyers need to utilise technology to provide top, competitive professional services to clients and – after the harrowing tales of files lost in the Christchurch earthquakes – take measures so client…

Defining cloud computing

The “cloud” is a marketing term that seems to have become reasonably cemented in the vernacular of outsourced data storage. While the term is circulated widely, it is often not well understood. For some it paints a clear picture of data stored off-premise and accessible from any location. For others it presents…

Ten considerations

Different cloud services carry different risks and responsibilities. How secure is your current system with handling personal information? Would it be safer stored with a trustworthy cloud provider? Encrypt data so it is protected both while it travels and when it’s at the provider’s end. Make sure your client’s…

Orienting Privacy Act to digital age

In 2012 the Government agreed that the Privacy Act 1993 was in need of legislative renovation. However it was only in late May that Cabinet agreed the principal reforms it desired to make to the Act. While it is anticipated that no bill will be introduced before the 2014 General Election,…

From the Law Society

I am now entering my second two-year term on the New Zealand Law Society’s Board. When I joined the board just over two years ago, the profession was facing the global financial crisis as well as the legal aid changes and grappling with the prospect of new requirements in many…

People in the Law

Sir Mark O’Regan has been appointed a Supreme Court Judge and Justice Ellen France will replace him as President of the Court of Appeal. Justice Mark Cooper has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal to fill the vacancy created in that court. The appointments will take effect…

Lawyer brothers share much

Brothers Fergus and David More share a great many features. Both are lawyers, both are former Law Society branch or district Presidents, and both convene a lawyers standards committee – to name just three things they share. Perhaps it is no surprise, then, to find that Fergus and David come from…

Lawyers need to come up to speed

Law follows society. It is at least four to five paces behind and lawyers need to come up to speed with technological innovation and societal norms to meet this challenge. This was one of the messages heard by attendees at a recent Future of Law event co-hosted by CLANZ and Government…

New Zealand's transparent justice system shines

Presidents of Law Associations in Asia (POLA) summit attendees were impressed by New Zealand’s commitment to judicial transparency. Representatives and leaders of bar associations from Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam attended the summit in Wellington from 10 to 12 June. Informative…

Our Profession, Our People

Super gold law firms Law firms have received a bouquet from Senior Citizens Minister Jo Goodhew. The latest SuperGold recruitment campaign has achieved its aim of signing up more law firms, the minister says in a 10 June media release. This has seen the number of law firms offering a discount to senior…

Women lawyers urged to take risks

Women lawyers were urged to take risks and not shy away from self-promotion at an event run by the Law Society Wellington branch Women in Law Committee and hosted by Kensington Swan on 17 June. Women at Work: Culture Change or Revolution featured three panellists: Greenwood Roche Chisnall partner Brigid McArthur,…

A professional obligation to act pro bono

With the thumb screws most definitely tightening on access to legal aid or, more pertinently, with the noose tightening around the necks of lawyers working under the legal aid system, it somewhat bugs me having to even ask this question: does the profession have an obligation to work for free…

Networking: what it is and why it matters

Recently I spoke at a gathering of lawyers on the topic of influencing and its importance in building and running a successful law practice. A member of the audience asked how influencing tied in with successful networking to create a high profile practice. It got me thinking about what networking is…

Reporting to clients and file closure

This article covers several issues that have been the source of recent inquiries. Reporting to clients Section 111 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (LCA) requires that every practice which holds money or other valuable property on behalf of any person must account properly for the money or other valuable property…

Answers to questions about CPD

Continuing our column with information about Continuing Professional Development (CPD). It follows a “question and answer” format. Do the CPD rules apply to me? The Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Ongoing Legal Education – Continuing Professional Development) Rules 2013 (CPD Rules) apply to all lawyers, both part-time and full-time. If you hold…

Enrolling to vote but keeping personal details confidential

Lawyers with clients who need to keep their details confidential can advise them that they can achieve this when they enrol to vote. Usually, anyone who enrols to vote has their name and address printed in the publicly available electoral roll. This is required by law. However, if recording someone’s name…

Drafting 'cease-and-desist' letters in the online environment and avoiding negative perceptions

The influence of social media, whether through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or the like continues to grow. Social media interactions tend to be more casual and informal. However, this informality does not lessen the legal impact, particularly if these interactions are harmful or damage reputations. This is particularly so if the tweet,…

New way of resolving relationship property disputes

Earlier this year a decision of the Supreme Court concluded another drawn out battle over relationship property. The couple had lived through a series of procedural and interlocutory skirmishes in the Family Court, three substantive judgments in the Family Court, two judgments in the High Court, two judgments in the…

The Chorus decision and the approach to telecommunications regulation

A decision of Justice Stephen Kós in the High Court on 8 April 2014, Chorus Ltd v Commerce Commission and Ors [2014] NZHC 690, highlights the basis on which the Commerce Commission determines regulated prices under the Telecommunications Act 2001, and the different mechanisms available to interested parties to review…

Foundation support for disadvantaged groups

The Law Foundation is a strong supporter of work that improves access to the law for groups that may find the legal process particularly challenging. In past columns I have described our projects that have helped demystify the legal system for groups like children, migrants and the deaf and hearing impaired. Two…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Struck off after failing to account for money

Catherine Marjorie Clarkson has been struck off after she failed to account for money on behalf of a trust and for her conduct during Māori Land Court proceedings. In [2014] NZLCDT 29, the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Tribunal said it “unanimously reached the conclusion that strike off was the only…