What's in a name?

Canterbury University law Professor Ursula Cheer says the main purposes for suppression orders are to protect victims or those connected to the accused, and to ensure an accused gets a fair trial. In order for suppression orders to be granted, those factors must outweigh the rule of open justice. “When I…

From the Law Society

Need for legal representation The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment 2014, “Occupation Outlook for Lawyers” report said that employment growth for lawyers would be around 1.6% until 2016 and thereafter, from 2016-2021, growth would continue at 1.1% per annum. That outlook has improved. In its 2015 Occupation Outlook report it projects…

Our Profession Our People

New Year’s Honours The following members and former members of the legal profession were awarded honours in the New Year’s Honours List. Justice Graham Panckhurst QC, of Christchurch, was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the judiciary. Peter Williams QC, of Auckland, was made a…

Otago researcher wins Harkness Fellowship

Dr Jennifer Moore, from Otago University’s Law Faculty and the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, has won a prestigious Harkness Fellowship in Healthcare Policy and Practice. As the recipient of the Commonwealth Fund-endowed Fellowship, Dr Moore will spend one year in the United States researching alternatives to medical malpractice, starting…

CLANZ scholarship winner headed for Harvard

Wellington in-house lawyer Tania Warburton – the inaugural winner of the research scholarship established by the Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand (CLANZ) – is heading to Harvard University Law School and London to examine legal services to the Crown. Ms Warburton, who is the Deputy Chief Legal Counsel at the…

Jury finds Minnie Dean not guilty

Minnie Dean was not guilty of murder, a jury found in the Old High Court in Wellington on 4 December. It was no ordinary jury, however. The 12 jurors were year 10 social studies students from Wellington High School. The novel idea of the students running a trial was developed by their…

Stop using free email services, expert says

Recent reports in the media about lawyers’ emails being “hacked” raises the question as to whether some lawyers are doing enough to protect privileged information via third party email providers. Aura Information Security CEO Andy Prow says free email services are commonly used in the profession and that it’s time to…

Reflection: look backward, move forward

“Many workplaces are awash with experience and action. Between the crevices is anxiety about the past and worry about the future, but little real reflection on the experience and action itself.” So writes Georgeanne Lamont in The Spirited Business (2002) in describing “soul-friendly” companies such as Microsoft UK, NatWest and Bayer…

Jennings decision welcomed

The Supreme Court’s recent unanimous decision in Jennings Roadfreight Ltd (in liquidation) v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2014] NZSC 160 was welcomed by insolvency practitioners up and down the country. The Commissioner probably had the opposite reaction. The point in issue was whether or not monies held in the bank account…

Lawyers ending their love affair with paper

Lawyers and paper have a long and mutually rewarding (enabling?) relationship. Walls of paper carefully hole-punched and filed (or more probably still waiting to be filed two months after the transaction is over) seem to make us feel safe. Even so, I managed to convince my colleagues in the legal team…

Court of Appeal weighs in on pay equity

The Court of Appeal has issued a landmark judgment considering the provisions of the Equal Pay Act 1972 (Act): Terranova Homes and Care Ltd v Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Inc [2014] NZCA 516. The appeal related to a preliminary judgment of the Employment Court from August 2013…

New books

Balancing Work and Life: A Practical Guide for Lawyers By Julia Batchelor-Smith Commercial litigator Julia Batchelor-Smith explores issues which impact on the work/life balance of New Zealand lawyers and provides practical and constructive managing and coping techniques for practitioners at any stage in their career. The book includes over 90 personal insights…

How to win a mediation in a commercial setting

Granted, the title is not “PC” as in politically correct. Mediators prefer to talk in terms of win-win or compromises where both parties leave the mediation positively disposed to one another and happy with a compromised outcome. But in my experience the reality is somewhat different. Disputants, particularly in the commercial…

Be prepared: Incorporated societies law reform

According to comic Tom Lehrer, “Be Prepared” is the Boy Scouts’ marching song. That clarion call should now be resounding in the ears of all New Zealand lawyers as replacement of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 looms. All lawyers, whether or not in private practice and whatever their legal specialty, are…

First CPD year ends 31 March - Eight weeks to go

In just eight weeks, all Continuing Professional Development (CPD) declarations will be due. Declarations are made online in the Law Society register. All lawyers with outstanding declarations will be sent a personalised email with a link to the Law Society Lawyer Login. Declarations can be made at any time. If your…

Re-examination of New Zealand Patents: Proceed with caution

New Zealand patents can now be challenged by any party in a re-examination procedure, but it is worth thinking carefully before using this procedure as the outcome could have some unwelcome consequences. New Act, new opportunity On 13 September 2014, the Patents Act 2013 came into force in New Zealand, replacing the…

Enduring power of attorney

Establishing an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) can be a complex area for legal professionals and clients alike. In New Zealand, Part 9 of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 (PPPR Act) sets out the law for EPAs. Under an EPA a person (the donor), gives another person1 (an…

.nz domain name changes

Any person or business can now get shorter .nz domain names – for example, anyname.nz – in addition to all existing registration options like ‘.co.nz’, ‘.org.nz’ and ‘.net.nz’. Those with a domain name should already have heard from their provider about this change and what it means. We don’t want…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Suspension follows drink driving conviction

Jason Miles Pou of Rotorua has been censured and suspended for two months from 13 December 2014 by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal [2014] NZLCDT 86. This followed Mr Pou’s conviction for a third drink driving offence and an offence of driving while disqualified. Mr Pou admitted one charge…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Lawyer fined for conflict of interest

A lawyer, C, has been censured and fined $10,000 by a lawyers standards committee for acting where there was a conflict of interest and for not disclosing his full interest in the matter. Mr and Mrs F engaged C to advise them in respect of their purchase of shares in a…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Undertaking must be within lawyer's control

A recent decision from the Legal Complaints Review Officer has illustrated the importance of only giving an undertaking when the undertaking is and will remain within the control of a practitioner. In LCRO 322/2012, a lawyer, B, acted for the vendor of three properties in a subdivision. C acted for the…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Acting for clients against former client 'unsatisfactory'

A lawyer, E, acted for a client from 2008 in relation to Family Court proceedings about the client’s contact with his daughter. The client’s parents had some considerable involvement in the proceedings in support of their son. Then in 2011, E ceased acting for the client, and referred him to a…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for failing to provide receipt

Delay in issuing a receipt to a client who paid a $1,500 lump sum towards fees and failure to provide the client with terms of engagement for 22 months has led to a $1,000 fine for a lawyer, A. As well as imposing the fine, the lawyers standards committee ordered…