Lawyering in the Silicon Valley of New Zealand

Judge Annis Somerville is the only woman among the eight judges in the Tauranga area. A Dunedinite at heart, she came to Tauranga and was appointed a Family Court Judge in 2001, 14 months after her husband Judge Peter Rollo was appointed. Women in the profession is an issue Judge Somerville…

From the Law Society

Tauranga has great promise Tauranga is one of the fastest growing areas in New Zealand. A study by the Motu consulting group and Auckland University released in 2014 showed that Tauranga was the country’s fastest growing town over the last 80 years, with its population increasing by more than 4% per…

First Pacific Islander on law school's academic staff

Helena Kaho has turned her life around. After a very unpromising start to her education, she has become the first Pacific Islander appointed to the Auckland University Law School academic staff. At school, she struggled to focus and lost interest. She had her first child at age 18, and was a…

It's about helping people

"I've always wanted to be a lawyer," Dunedin criminal defender Catherine Ure says. "I told my parents when I was quite young. I was about five or six when I said I was going to be a lawyer. "I think quite realistically at age five or six you don't have much appreciation…

Our Profession, Our People

The Solicitor-General, Michael Heron QC, has decided to step down from the role. “When Mr Heron was appointed Solicitor-General in 2012, he indicated he would serve at least three years in the role,” the Attorney-General, Christopher Finlayson QC said. “His family has remained in Auckland and he has decided it…

Law student competition winners

The honours were relatively evenly spread between the universities at this year’s New Zealand Law Students Association (NZLSA) competitions. Auckland University students won two contests, with Victoria, Waikato and Otago universities winning one each. Canterbury University was runner-up in two competitions. The competitions were held in conjunction with NZLSA’s 2015 Conference,…

'Mission driven' learning & development: beyond technical skills

Mary wears many hats at the fictitious law firm of Smith & Same, a mid-sized law firm located in the mid-sized city of Anywhere, New Zealand. She’s been at the firm for 15 years doing administration, HR and organising learning and development programmes for the lawyers. Bill Same, the firm’s managing…

Where do the new lawyers go?

Each year over 900 people are admitted as barristers and solicitors of the High Court of New Zealand. It appears that just over half of them begin practice in New Zealand law firms or organisations. Analysis of New Zealand-based practising certificates at mid-August 2015 shows that one in five of all…

Sentencing a la Cicconetti

District Court Judge David Wilson was well known in Tauranga in the last decades of the 20th century for what Chief District Court Judge Peter Trapski once described as a pioneering role in sentencing. Judge Wilson, who died earlier this year aged 83, made the news when a young man…

Public security inquiry best option says Law Society

The New Zealand Law Society believes there should be a comprehensive review of all security and intelligence legislation with a view to replacing it with a single act. The importance of the subject matter means the review should start from first principles and be a public inquiry conducted under the…

Lack of certainty in Plantation Forestry rules

Many of the draft rules setting a national environmental standard for plantation forestry lack sufficient certainty, the New Zealand Law Society says. The Law Society has released its comments on the consultation document A National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry. It notes that the draft rules are intended to convey the…

Health and Safety Reform Bill

The New Zealand Law Society has expressed its significant concerns at the last-minute addition to the Health and Safety Reform Bill of provisions for a closed material procedure for court proceedings where national security is involved. The Law Society wrote to the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Woodhouse on…

Minor defendant concept not supported

Introduction of the concept of a “minor defendant” is misconceived and should not be adopted, the New Zealand Law Society says, pointing to further delay, cost, complexity and uncertainty if it were introduced. The Law Society has provided comments to the Ministry of Justice on the provision of relief for minor defendants as…

The great legal reformation

Many commentators have identified that change is a significant factor in the legal services market. Given this, what do law firms and sole practitioners need to do to prepare for the future? To explore this question, LawTalk Editor Frank Neill interviewed recognised legal innovator Mitchell Kowalski. Q: Why do lawyers (from…

Is trading by charities charitable?

The Charities Register in New Zealand contains over 700 entities with the word “limited” as part of their names. However, the activities undertaken by these entities range from the provision of social services, such as Idea Services Limited, an arm of IHC, and Holly Lea Village Limited, a retirement home. On…

Customers satisfied with legal aid services

Most criminal legal aid customers are highly satisfied with the service they receive, whether it was delivered by the Public Defence Service (PDS) or a private lawyer, two surveys of legally aided people have found. “The surveys are part of our commitment to designing services around the people who use…

Latest books cover wealth of socio-legal subjects

Recently-published books funded by the Law Foundation deal with complex and controversial issues in law and society. Topics addressed in our books released in the last six months include the Supreme Court, the Canterbury earthquakes, the neo-liberal economy, intellectual property and New Zealand’s biodiversity. In the last five years more than…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Lawyer loses battle to prevent name publication

Brett Cooper, a lawyer already serving an 18-month suspension from practice ordered by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal on 2 March 2015, has lost his battle to prevent publication of his name after six findings of unsatisfactory conduct dating from 2012 and 2013 were upheld. Mr Cooper initially sought a…