Law Society initiatives

Practising WellLaw Society initiatives to assist lawyers facing issues related to depression and mental health come under its Practising Well programme. Practising Well aims to provide a starting point for any lawyer who is concerned about their own welfare or that of their colleague. The focus is on getting lawyers “practising…

Dealing with mental illness

The death of top defence lawyer Greg King came as a shock in November 2012. In a report by Coroner Garry Evans in 2013, Mr King described himself as “exhausted, unwell, disillusioned, depressed and haunted,” in his suicide note. His widow, Catherine Milnes-King, said Mr King was depressed but too proud…

It's a stressful profession

Lawyers have a higher rate of physical illness such as heart disease and psychological illnesses like depression, anxiety and substance abuse according to international research. One study suggests that this begins in law school, psychologist and managing director of Umbrella Health and Resilience Gaynor Parkin says. In their 2009 paper Stemming…

From the Law Society

Looking After Our Mental and Physical Health One of the aspects of being a lawyer is that we are likely to be subjected to high levels of stress. In fact, as it appears from the research, more stress than most other occupations. As a result, we are more likely to suffer…

People in the law

Auckland Queen’s Counsel Matthew Muir has been appointed a High Court Judge. He will be sworn in on 5 December in Auckland and will sit in Auckland. Justice Muir graduated with an LLB (Hons) from Auckland University in 1981 and became a staff solicitor with Holmden Horrocks & Co in…

A canary in a coal mine

After working in a private practice for two years in Nelson and Auckland’s North Shore, Dunedin Community Law Centre managing solicitor Caryl O’Connor decided she needed a career change because she “wasn’t comfortable with people having to pay for legal advice”. Twenty years in the business and still going, the community…

Women lawyers leaning in

Overcoming unconscious bias is a key factor in seeing more women represented in the senior ranks of the legal profession. More than 200 women (and around a dozen enlightened men) heard this from leading global advocate Mary Cranston, the first woman to lead a global 100 law firm, at two…

Lawyer's role in battle against piracy

In early August 2014 I deployed to Bahrain for four months as part of a New Zealand-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 – counter-piracy operations. CTF 151 is part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF); a multinational naval partnership of 30 nations, which exists to promote security, stability and prosperity across…

Hostility, veracity and propensity

This month I would like to discuss a rather specific aspect of the law of evidence – giving tips on how issues of hostility and veracity may be approached in the context of trial preparation and ultimately the hearing itself. The issue of the relationship between hostility and veracity has recently…

The risk assurance process and related financial matters

Risk management framework Since the commencement of the Financial Assurance Scheme (FAS) in 1998, the Law Society conducted trust account inspections on a timing cycle in order to mitigate identified risks. A review of this cyclical-based framework started in 2011 to develop and implement a revised risk management approach. This commenced…

Principled approach to pecuniary penalties

The recently released Law Commission report on pecuniary penalties accepts that pecuniary penalties are a legitimate tool. However, the Law Commission has made nine recommendations that will mean future legislation invoking penalty regimes will be more principled and uniform. Unfortunately, little has been done about overhauling the pecuniary regimes that…

Are you well?

Some years ago, our dear friend Ernest was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, after receiving treatment, decided to let the disease take its natural course. He lived for about six months more in a remarkably rich, full way. He remained intellectually engaged, was dignified in dealing with his illness and…

Did you see the broken headlight?

Most people working within the criminal courts now accept, in principle, that conventional cross-examination language and tactics need to be modified for children and vulnerable adults.1 What is perhaps less well known is that there is a substantial body of research suggesting that even ordinary, robust adults are far more vulnerable…

One-stop shops

As we begin to emerge from financial recession, lawyers are increasingly looking for ways to add value to the services they offer. This may involve working collaboratively with professionals with different skill sets for the benefit of mutual clients. A “one-stop” shop for clients involved in multi-faceted projects can be an…

Practising Certificates, Renewals and the Register

The Law Society maintains the Register of Lawyers. This is a real time Register of every lawyer who holds a current practising certificate and is publically available on the Law Society’s website. The accuracy of the Register is imperative so that lawyers and the public can rely on it absolutely. The…

Request your disqualification

In a perfect world if a new law is passed, an old law should be repealed; if only to minimise new laws affecting current laws in a way that causes issues or problems. On 10 September 2012 s 65A of the Land Transport Act 1998 was enacted. This section provides that…

Fixing cross-examination from within

The serious problems with cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses can be solved by the legal profession itself, important new Law Foundation-backed research has found. After studying the ongoing reforms to English Court practice during her tenure as 2012 International Research Fellow, Dr Emily Henderson, a former prosecutor with a long-term academic interest…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Strike off follows total failure to protect client

Gerald George McKay has been struck off after he acted for a number of clients in a series of transactions involving strongly conflicted interests. One of the clients lost her home, her sole asset. In [2014] NZLCDT 20, the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal found Mr McKay guilty of…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Barrister not guilty of misconduct

A lawyer who had possession of and access to the eftpos card of a client, M, while the client was a patient at a psychiatric hospital has been found not guilty of both misconduct and unsatisfactory conduct by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal. However the Tribunal, in [2014]…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Suspended for not co-operating with Inspectorate

Stephen Potter has been suspended for three months from 14 August by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Tribunal after he admitted failing to co-operate with the New Zealand Law Society Inspectorate when it attempted to undertake a “new practice” review. Mr Potter also admitted failing to properly respond to the…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for significant delays and acting where there was a conflict

A lawyers standards committee has fined a lawyer, E, $1,500 for significant delays in providing information about an estate to a beneficiary of the estate. The committee also fined E $2,000 for acting for both the estate and the estate administrator in her personal capacity when there was a conflict of…