Restorative Justice: A fundamental change to the legal system

The new s 24(a) of the Sentencing Act 2002 came into force on 6 December 2014. The new provision means a court must adjourn proceedings to enable enquiries to be made by a suitable person whether a restorative justice process is appropriate in the circumstances of the case, taking into…

What's the problem? A perspective from the inside

Nelson Restorative Justice Service co-ordinator manager Mark Rutledge says the recent introduction of s 24(a) of the Sentencing Act 2002 means courts are now required to “opt out” of restorative justice rather than the previous “opting in”. If the offender pleads guilty and there is an identifiable victim, restorative justice…

From the Law Society

Law Society watching developments closely Research indicates that restorative justice benefits society in a number of ways. The victims of crime can be beneficiaries of this process. Some offenders also benefit, as does society as a whole, with the reduced reoffending that comes with restorative justice. This has been highlighted in research…

Our Profession, Our People

Christchurch lawyer Gerald Nation has been appointed a High Court Judge. He will be sworn in on 20 February in Christchurch and will sit in Christchurch. Justice Nation graduated with an LLB (Hons) from Canterbury University in 1974 and started work with Wynn Williams, where he had been employed as…

A cause worth fighting for

A typical day for Shaun Kennedy would include going to his nice little office set up in Dunedin. Unlike other law, English and linguistics graduates, that same typical day would include trying to find domestic and international law alternatives in a bid to stop the Australian government from repealing the…

New Law Reform Committee convenor

Liesle Theron has been appointed convenor of the New Zealand Law Society’s Law Reform Committee. A partner of Meredith Connell in Wellington, she was appointed to the committee in 2007 and became its deputy convenor early last year. Ms Theron completed her first degree in South Africa. She was awarded the…

Tremendous contribution to law reform

Professor Paul Rishworth QC has made a “tremendous contribution” to law reform in New Zealand, those who have worked with him say. Professor Rishworth has stepped down as chair of the New Zealand Law Society’s Law Reform Committee after almost a decade in the role. He will be continuing as a…

Day of the Endangered Lawyer

Last month, on 23 January, lawyers in Manila marched to the Supreme Court to mark the “Day of the Endangered Lawyer”. The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers released figures showing that since 2001, 41 lawyers and 18 judges have been murdered in the Philippines while carrying out their work.  Law is…

NZ Supreme Court outcomes right on average

The Supreme Court delivered 28 publicly available decision on 30 appeals during 2014, allowing 16 appeals – or 53%. This was the same proportion of appeals allowed as the average for the highest courts in New Zealand and the five main English-speaking common law jurisdictions. Of the six compared jurisdictions, the…

Crowdfunding and public interest litgation

Provocative title, yes I know, but with public interest issues dominating the legal horizon and increasing problems over access to justice I thought it an opportune moment to raise an issue that everyone else seems to have decided is a great idea; crowdfunding. I know little to nothing about crowdfunding although…

How to keep mentally sharp

Keeping mentally sharp is very important for people in professions such as lawyering. Staying at the top of your game cognitively requires some attention. It won’t just continue to happen unless you take some steps, most of which are relatively simple. Those who have aspirations for an Olympic gold medal will go…

The Retirement Vortex

When I have had conversations with myself or other lawyers about retirement, an image of a swirling vortex comes to mind. It has a hollow centre with lines that move around its midpoint. It is circling rapidly, but sometimes it slows down a bit. I suppose this image comes to mind…

New employer assumes liabilities, Supreme Court confirms

The Supreme Court decision in LSG Sky Chefs NZ Ltd v Pacific Flight Catering Ltd and anor [2014] NZSC 158 is the finale in a long running dispute over the apportionment of employee entitlements under the restructuring provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA). The Supreme Court dismissed LSG’s appeal…

Swimwear designer battle continues

Last year I wrote about a protracted dispute between Leah Madden and Seafolly – both Australian swimwear designers (Madden v Seafolly Pty Limited [2014] FCAFC 30 (24 March 2014)). This article, entitled What you say on social media is not just social, appeared in LawTalk 847, 1 August 2014, p…

Law Reform

Law Society welcomes changes to Terrorist Fighters Bill The New Zealand Law Society has welcomed the changes to the Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill recommended by the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade select committee. “We are pleased that the more extreme elements of the bill have been pulled back. Many of the…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Compensation for incorrect advice

A lawyer, C, who advised his client to take his two children to Australia in breach of a Family Court parenting order has been ordered to pay $25,000 compensation and reduce his fee by $8,000 by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal [2014] NZLCDT 69. C pleaded guilty to…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for nominee company rule breaches

A lawyer, D, has been censured and fined for breaches of both the Solicitors Nominee Company Rules 1996 and the Rules of Professional Conduct for Barristers and Solicitors in force before the implementation of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006. In [2014] NZLCDT 70, D admitted two charges of negligence in…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Solicitor on the record must fulfil duty to the Court

A lawyer, E, was censured by a lawyers standards committee for not fulfilling his duty to the Court in his role as instructing solicitor. “By his own admission, [E] acted as the solicitor on the record for [the barrister],” the committee said. However E claimed he and the barrister were not lawyer…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Struck off after misappropriating client funds

Anthony Vincent Ram has been struck off after he was found guilty of three charges of misconduct, including misappropriating more than $150,000 of client funds. In [2014] NZLCDT 76, the former Auckland lawyer was also ordered to pay the maximum $25,000 compensation on each of two charges he was found guilty…