Online lawyering

In a utopian world, if you have a legal problem it can be settled online and without having to even meet the lawyer who is resolving the issue. Virtual lawyering may sound like an unlikely reality but in the legal sector that style of arbitration is already occurring and is set…

From legalese to reader ease

Bridging the gap between writers and readers of legal documents has never been more relevant, realistic or ripe for rethinking. Law touches almost everything and everyone in some way. Along with necessary clear thinking and quality analysis, plain language writing is critical to building trust and achieving better results for legal…

From the Law Society

Online lawyering“What we have to realise is that we are moving into an entirely different paradigm from that most lawyers are used to,” Judge David Harvey told LawTalk earlier this year (see LawTalk 883, page 13). Judge Harvey was referring to the digital paradigm – one which, he said, “forces…

Our Profession, Our People

Auckland lawyer Sally Fitzgerald has been appointed a High Court Judge. Justice Fitzgerald graduated with an LLB (Senior Scholar) from Victoria University in 1992. In the same year, Justice Fitzgerald joined the Wellington office of Russell McVeagh as a graduate and then solicitor before taking up a position in 1994…

Urgent review of law needed

A report by Dunedin barrister Alison Douglass concludes that an urgent review is needed of New Zealand’s law protecting the rights of people with impaired ability to make their own life decisions. The report, Mental Capacity – Updating New Zealand’s Law and Practice, has been completed after Ms Douglass was awarded…

Practising law in Fiji

Pravesh Sharma moved back to his birth country, Fiji, to help out his brother with his law firm and almost a decade later the practising lawyer is still there, living in a South Pacific paradise. Mr Sharma graduated from Victoria University in 1989 and was admitted the following year. His first job…

New Whanganui branch President

Armstrong Barton partner Harry Mallalieu is the new President of the Law Society’s Whanganui branch. Mr Mallalieu, who is currently the acting Crown Solicitor for Whanganui, succeeds Mark Bullock, who was first elected branch President in 2014. Before studying law at Victoria University, Mr Mallalieu was a police officer for 22 years,…

Mandatory mediation provisions

Many see mandatory mediation as an oxymoron. Mediation is a consensual process agreed to by the parties that provides them with self-empowerment, so any compulsion to attend mediation will destroy that essential consensual character. Does mandatory mediation encourage participation or simply attendance? Is there any point to mediation unless attendees are…

Court of Appeal jurisdiction needs review

It is time to review the jurisdiction – both criminal and civil – of the Court of Appeal, according to Justice Lynton Stevens. “By way of final judicial observations I wish to advance three short propositions,” Justice Stevens said at his last sitting on 5 August. “They are inter-related. They link broadly…

Doping in sport will feature at conference

The lead up to the Rio Olympics has been dominated by the problem of doping and corruption in sport. Both topics will be under the spotlight on the first day of the Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association, to be held in Wellington between 12…

Getting the balance right

Finding a comfortable balance between work, family and looking after your own health and well-being can seem like an elusive dream. The daily treadmill of juggling the demands of clients, timesheets, billing, business development and still leaving some energy for our significant other and children can take its toll if…

Some trends in the make-up of our law firms

Growth in incorporated law firmsNew Zealand law firms have been able to incorporate since the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 came into effect on 1 August 2008. While most law firms still operate as partnerships, there has been a steady rise in the proportion of firms which are incorporated. At…

It’s our problem, not theirs

I am a lawyer. I am also a Leo, a mother, very bad at parking and, (obviously) a woman. None of the factors in the last list should have any bearing on the first statement and on my ability to be a good, competent and effective lawyer. But the results of two…

Pathways in the law

In 1991 the government introduced a Points System of Entry for immigrants to New Zealand. This resulted in increased immigration to New Zealand from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea during the 1990s. Most of these migrants settled in Auckland. At the time lawyers Arthur Loo and Ken…

Sports organisations considering overseas activities

Sports organisations will need to be particularly mindful of the upgraded legislation contained in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (Act). The Rio Olympics have highlighted the importance of specifically providing for health and safety when travelling internationally for sport. While Brazil as a venue is a current and…

A crucial will-making conversation

7.5% and 30%. Two important figures when it comes to bequest gifting in New Zealand. The first figure, 7.5%, represents the number of people who currently leave a bequest to a charity in their will. The second, 30%, represents the number who say that they would leave a bequest if they…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Interim suspension

Napier lawyer Richard Henry Hill has been suspended on an interim basis by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal. This follows Mr Hill being found guilty of criminal breach of trust in the Hastings District Court on 11 July. On 26 July he was sentenced to eight months home…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Censured for misrepresentation

Former lawyer Namlee Kim has been censured by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal for misrepresenting to a client that he had filed applications with Immigration New Zealand when he had not. In [2016] NZLCDT 14, Mr Kim admitted a charge of negligence or incompetence reflecting on his fitness…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for “serious” breaches

Auckland lawyer Elizabeth Purcell has been censured and fined $6,000 for “serious” breaches of the Conduct and Client Care Rules, the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 and Trust Account Regulations. As well as imposing the censure and fine, a lawyers standards committee ordered publication of both the facts and Ms Purcell’s…