Hon Christopher Finlayson QC

I feel a little like Lord Sumption who began his recent address to the Friends of the British Library by saying: “It is impossible to say anything new about Magna Carta, unless you say something mad. In fact, even if you say something mad, the likelihood is that it…

Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias GNZM

Magna Carta, 800 years old this year, is a foundation of the New Zealand constitution. It is part of the heritage that came to these islands with the Treaty of Waitangi. And, as Sir Robin Cooke once said of that foundational document, sometimes referred to as “the Māori Magna Carta”1…

Hon Sir Grant Hammond KNZM, LLD

Magna Carta is an odd but iconic legal document. It still retains some legal force today. And its central philosophy is of central importance. It can only be understood in terms of its own peculiar history. King John was a quarreller, not least against the Pope, his older brothers Henry, Richard…

Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG, AC, QC

New Zealand lawyers do not apply Magna Carta to their problems on a daily basis, although one provision of Magna Carta forms part of New Zealand law. What is its legacy for us? The original 1215 text was drafted in Latin. Translations are available and the original was a long document…

Hon Margaret Wilson DCNZM

The Magna Carta today reads much like a coalition agreement to form government and in some ways in its historical context of the standoff between the King, the Barons and the Church, it was a political compromise. It was a list of accumulated grievances, many of which related to a…

Philip A Joseph, LLD

The Magna Carta is an enigmatic and alluring instrument. It was a practical response to needs – to rein in the excesses of King John and his zealous officials. The King agreed to meet with his barons on 15 June 1215 at a meadow called Runnymede, situated on the banks…

Austin Forbes CNZM, QC

The mythology of Magna Carta is more important than the reality – what might be described as the magnification of Magna Carta. Hence the view that it is the most important constitutional document in English history.1 Although no clauses in it actually so provided, Magna Carta became a symbolic assurance…

Matthew Smith

Ours is an organic constitution. As we grow and mature as a society, so the rights and responsibilities we call ‘constitutional’ grow and mature. But in doing that they remain anchored to certain constitutional pillars. Magna Carta is one of those. Measured narrowly in terms of its operative reach (clause 29…

From the Law Society

Celebrating the Magna Carta This issue of LawTalk is dated 19 June 2015 – exactly 800 years after King John of England fixed his seal to the Magna Carta. LawTalk is celebrating this significant anniversary with a special feature on the great charter. This 800-year-old medieval document is a foundation stone to…

Passionate about working with people

Wellington and Hutt Valley Community Law Centre rōia hapori (community lawyer) Julia Whaipooti was working at Fresh Choice in Blenheim when a regular customer told her not to start a new job at Mitre 10 but to instead work for her as a legal secretary. Two years later she decided…

New Hawke's Bay branch Prersident

Alison Souness was elected President of the New Zealand Law Society Hawke’s Bay branch at the branch’s annual meeting on 19 May. She succeeds Carol Hall, who became branch President in 2013. Ms Souness is a partner of the Hastings firm Souness Stone Law Partnership, which she established with her husband…

New name for in-house lawyers' body

The Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand (CLANZ) has changed its name to In-house Lawyers Association of New Zealand (ILANZ). One of the New Zealand Law Society’s three sections, ILANZ agreed on the name change at the CLANZ annual meeting on 22 May. The new name was ratified by the Law…

Returning after parental leave - a roadmap for success

Over the years, I have spoken with many lawyers who are returning to the practice of law after parental leave. The common theme I heard was that returning to the law after having been home for a while with a child is, not surprisingly, hard work. But, that said, it does…

Hopeful signs for relief of LCRO backlog

Frustrations arising from the substantial backlog of matters before the Legal Complaints Review Officer (LCRO) could be addressed soon, New Zealand Law Society Executive Director Christine Grice says. The independent LCRO reviews decisions of lawyers’ standards committees. The LCRO has reported problems with its resourcing and this has contributed to delays…

Financial Markets Conduct Regulation: A Practitioner's Guide

Reviewed by Rebeca Sellers It is a widely held opinion that deep and strong capital markets would bring significant benefits to New Zealand’s economy and people. Business would have access to capital to fund growth, creating jobs and paying taxes; New Zealanders would have savings to fund their retirement. Industry and…

Consumer Law in New Zealand, 2nd Edition

Reviewed by Nic Scampion I recently took my children – impressionable 4- and 7-year-olds – to America. American advertising can be simple, but it is effective. It dawned on me while we were there that, if it’s going to be a fair fight, consumers need protection. That’s why “consumer law” exists. And…

Recently published

Burrows and Carter Statute Law in New Zealand, 5th edition By Ross Carter First published in 1992, this updates the 2009 fourth edition. Parliamentary Counsel Ross Carter is sole author for the first time. The work is a guide to statutory interpretation and also the preparation and presentation of legislation in New…

Our Profession Our People

Queen’s Birthday Honours The following members and former members of the legal profession were awarded honours in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Sir Jim McLay, of Matakana, has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and the…

Open and transparent billing

Are your current billing practices potentially misleading? Examples of potentially misleading practices include: conflating an “agency fee” or other firm charges with a disbursement such as a LINZ fee when there is no agent; charging an additional fee (such as an agency fee) whether or not recorded as a disbursement when…

Claims for breach of good faith unjustified

There has been speculation recently on whether breach of good faith could be the basis of a claim against insurers in Christchurch. The possibility of a funded group legal action has been mooted. In New Zealand, we should be sceptical about the existence of a general duty of good faith1. Insurance policies…

Jury vetting in the digital age

Trial by jury has come a very long way in the past 200 years. In 1798, the British Crown tried Father James O’Coigly for treason. Following a finding of guilt, the Roman Catholic Priest was sentenced to be hung, but while still alive to be taken down still breathing to have…

Letters to the Editor

Forced adoption I would like to add a personal perspective to the feature article on adoption law in LawTalk 865 (22 May 2015). Consent given under duress is not consent. Consent given when no other option or support is offered is not consent. Consent given with only token legal support or advice…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Censured for misleading billing practices

Paul Brian Currie has been censured by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal for charging office expenses as a set percentage of the fee value and adding an uplift to Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) disbursements without disclosing this to clients. In [2015] NZLCDT 15, the Tribunal also ordered…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Order not to employ

Linda Nalder is not to be employed by a practitioner or incorporated law firm in connection with their practice for 18 months from the time she resigned as a law firm employee, the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal has ordered. Ms Nalder resigned from her role as an employed…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Censure follows assault conviction

Former lawyer Dugal Matheson, of Thames, has been censured by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal after he was convicted on a charge of male assaults female. A majority of three Tribunal members considered a very short period of suspension would have been proper to mark the seriousness of the matter.…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Suspended for misleading the court

Brett Cooper has been suspended for 18 months from 2 March 2015 after the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal found that he misled the court. In [2015] NZLCDT 7, Mr Cooper – a barrister who was practising in Rotorua – faced two charges of misconduct, which were also laid…