Snapshot of the Profession

LawTalk has published an annual round-up of information on the New Zealand legal profession since 2011. The information is obtained from a number of sources, including practising certificates issued by the New Zealand Law Society. The objective is to give an idea of the make-up of New Zealand’s lawyers at…

From the Law Society

Selecting pre-eminent advocates We are currently in the initial stage of the 2016 Queen’s Counsel appointment round – the stage where the Attorney-General has called for applications. In just a few days’ time, on 14 March, applications will close, marking the beginning of the actual appointment process. The rank of Queen’s Counsel, or…

Our Profession, Our People

Wellington lawyer Tom Gilbert has been appointed an Acting District Court Judge with a jury warrant. Judge Gilbert will be sworn in on 15 April in Wellington and will sit in Christchurch. Mr Gilbert has been a partner and Senior Crown Counsel with the Wellington Crown Solicitor’s office, Luke Cunningham…

Auckland students reach world finals of mediation advocacy

Auckland University took silver at this year’s International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris. The team of law students narrowly lost the final of the contest to the University of New South Wales in a final problem involving an international sale of goods dispute. The competition, run by the International Chamber of Commerce,…

A really wonderful space to be in

Auckland lawyer John Barker finds that practising in the highly unusual specialty of food and beverage law "really gets me out of bed in the morning". "I get motivated by doing things that I'm very interested in and care about and certainly in New Zealand, if you look at the wine…

A conference for all lawyers

Such is the importance of technology in legal practice today and into the future that every lawyer, particularly those who are leaders in their firms, should seriously consider attending the upcoming Cyber Law Conference, says the conference chair Judge David Harvey. Run by NZLS CLE Ltd, the conference will be held…

Protecting your business from storm clouds

Are you considering a shift to the cloud for your organisation’s IT services? You’re not alone. Kiwi businesses are increasingly moving their operations or data to the cloud, with a Horizon Research survey of 200 local IT managers in 2014 confirming that over two-thirds of businesses use cloud services. You don’t…

Healthy living fatigue

At the start of the year, there’s always an urge to reform ourselves, commit to living a healthier lifestyle and take better care of ourselves. We gym, we run, we juice, smoothie and detox. But how do you decide what “healthy” is and how do you get there? More often I’m…

The scams keep coming

Attempts to defraud New Zealand lawyers by email continue. The scammers continue to use trusty old “templates” and – more alarmingly – new tricks which involve using the names of law firm’s members in emails to other lawyers. The names used by scammers (unless they’re pretending to be a particular person)…

Genetics, Crime and Justice

Reviewed by Chris Macklin Genetics, Crime and Justice aims to explore the use of genetic information both in criminal investigations and during the trial process. According to its own promotional summary, the book “discusses current scientific understanding and considers some potential legal, ethical and sociological issues with the use of genetic…

Immigration detention in Australia – what’s going on?

On 30 September 2015 2,044 people were in immigration detention in Australia. About half of those people were illegal arrivals, about one quarter overstayers and about one quarter people whose visas had been cancelled. The number of people in immigration detention peaked in 2013 when around 13,000 people were in immigration…

Stimulating public debate – the TPPA

The Law Foundation has an established track record of supporting projects that shed light on controversial issues. Over the years, we have backed many projects that give new, sometimes challenging perspectives on topical subjects. I listed four current projects of this nature in my first column this year; on surrogacy law,…

Letters to the Editor

Access to justice I noted the reported comments of New Zealand Law Society President Chris Moore concerning lack of justice and the rise of self-represented litigants. I absolutely endorse your comments and as a lawyer practising in the Family Court with legal aid clients, I am increasingly concerned at the difficulty clients…

Lawyers Complaints Service: No threat was made, LCRO rules

A lawyers standards committee finding that a lawyer, B, was guilty of unsatisfactory conduct after the committee found he had made a threat for an improper purpose has been reversed by the Legal Complaints Review Officer. A fine of $1,000 and costs of $750 therefore no longer stand, the LCRO said…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for breach of undertaking

Two lawyers from the same firm, who were found to have breached an undertaking, have each been censured and fined $750 by a lawyers standards committee. The complainant was a lawyer, C, who was acting for the purchasers in a property transaction. C stated that on settlement date, the firm acting…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Censured for breaching judicial order

Auckland lawyer Yoon Boo Lee has been censured and fined $2,000 for breaching an order made by a District Court Judge. The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal, in [2015] NZLCDT 33, found Mr Lee guilty of unsatisfactory conduct. While he was acting on behalf of a client during lengthy litigation…