Expectations v Reality

Are law school horror stories about the profession true? Sarah McNeill joined Anderson Lloyd’s litigation team in Dunedin at the end of 2011 after graduating from Canterbury University with an LLB and BA in Political Science and Human Services.  The transition from law student to lawyer exceeded her expectations “in every way,”…

From the Law Society

It is interesting casting your mind back to the start of your time as a lawyer, to when you were a recently admitted practitioner. Following graduation, there are a series of hurdles to jump before you can start working as a lawyer. The three main things you have to do is to…

People in the Law

Victoria University of Wellington’s Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Law, Professor Tony Smith, has been appointed to a distinguished legal role at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Professor Smith will become the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor in Legal Science at Cambridge University for the northern hemisphere academic…

Hawke's Bay President re-elected

Carol Hall was re-elected President of the Law Society’s Hawke’s Bay branch at its annual meeting on 25 June. Ms Hall was first elected President at last year’s branch annual meeting. A senior associate of the Napier firm Carlile Dowling Lawyers, Carol has practised law in both the United States and…

Cook Islands lawyers enhance skills

NZLS CLE Ltd and Massey University, in conjunction with the Cook Islands Law Society (CILS), recently held a three day workshop for CILS members. It drew on the partnership between the Law Society and the University which has seen the delivery of over 20 mediation workshops since 2010. The workshop was…

Auckland branch President re-elected

Tim Jones has been re-elected unopposed as the Law Society’s Auckland branch President. A partner of Glaister Ennor, Mr Jones is a former member of the Law Society’s Property Law Section executive. He has been involved with the Property Law Section’s various working parties on the Unit Titles Act and the…

Law lecturer wins teaching award

Auckland University senior law lecturer Khylee Quince has won a national Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award. Ms Quince received one of the 11 awards presented this year at a ceremony at Parliament on 2 July. Ms Quince’s citation describes her as a “real deal” teacher – transformative, radical and supportive of learner…

The narrative of litigation

Chapman Tripp partner Daniel Kalderimis loved The Luminaries. He suspects it could appeal to litigators because it unravels slowly like a complicated case. Mr Kalderimis’s most interesting case was the one where he acted for a Russian oligarch. The oligarch was being sued in a commercial dispute arising in Bermuda by a mutual…

Our Profession, Our People

Corporate Challenge coming soon Lawyers performing well has become a hallmark of a sporting event which aims to encourage participation – the Fidelity Life Corporate Challenge. This year will see the event celebrate its 21st birthday. This annual five-kilometre road race will take place in Christchurch’s Hagley Park on 5 November, at…

Lawyers enjoy ability to move between worlds

Enterprise Law is a niche law firm, a general law firm and, concurrently, aids the sustainable development of te ao Māori in a post-settlement environment. Recently shifted from Albert Street in Central Auckland to Takapuna on the North Shore, Enterprise Law has successfully worked within this unique and multi-dimensional structure for…

Immigration lawyers establish national association

Immigration lawyers now have their own specialist national association, the Immigration New Zealand Lawyers Association (INZLA). Founded recently by leading New Zealand immigration practitioners, the INZLA promotes and improves advice and representation in all areas of immigration and refugee law in New Zealand. It also has its own website, www.inzla.org.nz. “Up until…

Queen's Counsel rank recognises excellence

The 14 New Zealand lawyers appointed Queen’s Counsel last month was the second-highest number appointed at one time, behind last year’s round of 26 new QCs. Since the first appointments, 279 lawyers have become King’s or Queen’s Counsel (43 were first appointed when a King was on the throne). For more…

Practising well - as a matter of habit

Many business advisers trumpet the importance of a systematic approach to doing business. Highlighted less often – but arguably as important – are good personal work habits. If habits warrant a mention, it’s more usually on how to drop them, rather than how to build better habits. The experience for many…

Scambuster

Nishiyo Stryker has been divorced. She’s in Japan and her ex-husband, Jon Stryker, is in Australia. The scam begins with a short email: “I want a legal representative. Can you help me in a settlement claim for a divorce case.” Lawyers who take the bait are sent an email which…

Law Reform Report

Proposed changes make legal aid supervised provider policy clearer The New Zealand Law Society says it considers proposed changes to the supervised provider policy will make the policy clearer than at present and will ensure that good quality legal aid services will be provided. However, the Law Society believes there could be…

Reviewing contempt of court

The Law Commission is seeking feedback from lawyers on the issues and proposals discussed it its issues paper Contempt in Modern New Zealand. Submissions on the paper are now open and submissions or comments should be sent to the Law Commission by 22 August. The purpose of contempt law is to maintain…

Crown proceedings and public interest immunity

The Law Commission has released an issues paper in its review of the Crown Proceedings Act 1950, (NZLC IP35, April 2014). The issues paper proposes a new statute to replace the Act and includes a draft bill. A significant area of possible reform covered in the paper relates to public interest…

District Court Rules 2014 in force

Practitioners will be aware that the District Court Rules 2014 came into effect on 1 July and replaced the previous rules, the District Court Rules 2009. There are significant changes to the processes to be used for civil claims in the District Court with the reintroduction of pleadings from the commencement…

Notification of Judicial Review Lists - June 2014

The High Court instituted Judicial Review Lists (JR List) in Auckland (April 2013) and Wellington (December 2013), to ensure the efficient management of judicial review cases and that urgent cases are promptly heard and determined. Justice Collins runs the Wellington list. In Auckland, Justice Ellis will run the list from…

Lexis Nexis notches up a century in NZ

Multinational legal information provider LexisNexis has celebrated having a presence in New Zealand for a century. Known as Butterworths until 2003, the company’s direct connection with this country began in June 1914 when Butterworth & Co (Australia) Ltd opened an office in Wellington. The Butterworths part of LexisNexis began much earlier, in…

Relationship Dissolution, 2nd Edition

Reviewed by Jennifer Wademan In this book the authors set out to provide the busy practitioner with practical guidance on the issues that are relevant when faced with a client going through a relationship breakdown. With respect to the financial aspects associated with ending a relationship, they achieve this goal excellently,…

Transforming Auckland: The Creation of Auckland Council

Reviewed by Rachael Zame and Sharron Wooler This book details the creation of Auckland Council, largely from the perspective of a variety of key people involved in the creation of the new Supercity. The stated “goal” of the book is to assist Auckland ratepayers to better participate in local government by increasing…

The business value of crowdfunding

By now, most of you have probably heard the stories: entrepreneurs or small business looking for funding, receiving help from total strangers or millions of dollars in donations over the internet. So how on earth did they do it? And is this the future of business? The answer is crowdsourcing or…

Answers to questions about CPD

Is there a specific date that I need to plan by? A Continuing Professional Development Plan and Record (CPDPR) is an ongoing requirement. You will need to have a CPDPR for the CPD year which began on 1 April 2014. If you have not started it, you should do so straight…