World Justice Project Rule of Law Index – NZ slips further down

New Zealand has continued to slip further down the overall world ranking in the 2016 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index. It is currently ranked eighth out of 113 countries, down from sixth in 2015 and sixth in 2014. In 2011 New Zealand was ranked in the top five countries…

A snap-shot of CPD

In May the Law Society sent out a survey to all lawyers on the topic of Continuing Professional Development. What we set out to find was how well understood the CPD requirements were, how and what type of CPD was being accessed by lawyers, how useful CPD was for them…

From the Law Society

Law reformThe Law Commission’s 30th Anniversary Symposium held at Parliament on 3 November was a personal highlight for me this year. “The Law Reform Community in the 21st Century” was the Symposium’s theme, and the celebration attracted members of the Judiciary, past Presidents of the Law Commission and Commissioners, the Solicitor-General,…

Our Profession, Our People

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has appointed New Zealand Law Society President Kathryn Beck to chair its reviews of the policies, processes and programmes that it has in place, and may need to develop, to create a culture of respect and responsibility in its professional rugby game. The review is part…

The times are a-changing

I have a confession to make. Us IT geeks have always enjoyed a bit of a laugh at the expense of lawyers. With law being the profession that technology forgot and all that. We used to snicker at accountants too. But they went and got disrupted by Xero, and they were…

Legal Aid provider gross payment changes over five years

Information on gross payments made to legal aid providers in the year to 30 June 2016 shows that the number of providers receiving payment continues to fall, while the average gross payment rises slightly. The dramatic change in the area of legal aid is shown over the last five years,…

Dirty tactics and what to do about them

We’ve all seen them – most of us have used them – the hard bargaining tactics employed during a tough day at the mediation table. But do they work? Do they help us get a better deal for our clients or do they make the negotiation harder than it needs to…

Differences between written and unwritten constitutions

Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Dr Andrew Butler’s new book, A Constitution for Aotearoa New Zealand, provides a very useful account of many of the key constitutional issues that we face as a country. It deals with a number of perceived shortcomings of our current constitutional arrangements, and provides tangible recommendations for…

Court hours over the 2016-2017 Christmas and New Year holiday period

Urgent Family Court applicationsFamily Courts will provide a national service for urgent applications over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Urgent applications will all be dealt with via the National eDuty platform. Court staff and duty judges have been allocated to deal with applications on the following days: Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri     23 Dec Closed Closed 28…

Electronically Monitored Bail applications over the Christmas period

The following provides for the time frames for filing and processing of Electronically Monitored (EM) Bail applications before and after the Christmas break. The Department of Corrections EM Bail Team has confirmed the dates for the filing and processing of EM Bail applications as follows: The last date for filing EM…

Community Magistrates join Christchurch District Court

Christchurch is the latest District Court to add Community Magistrates to its judicial ranks. Three Community Magistrates from Auckland have been rostered to pilot the service in Christchurch for three days a week. As from 31 October, a Community Magistrate will sit every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Christchurch. The magistrates…

Dealing to pre-trial delay for vulnerable witnesses

The Law Commission’s report late last year on the reform of trials of sexual offences made a series of recommendations for reform for vulnerable witnesses. These recommendations stretched from instituting a new alternative process to simply making greater use of measures already available. (See New Zealand Law Commission 2015 The Justice…

From being a go-getter to a go-giver

In law, a legacy is a gift of property, especially personal property, as money, by will, also known as a bequest. But the romantic idea of legacy transcends tangible assets. Your legacy can be seen as the mark you made on this world. It’s the lasting impression you leave behind…

Using ‘lawfare’ to fight terrorism

The battle against terrorism takes different forms: through diplomacy, intelligence, security forces, cybersecurity and ideologically. Now, increasingly it also takes place through “lawfare”, the use of the legal system as a weapon of war. In July this year, I had the opportunity to visit Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center, which…

Insurance ‘churn’ a growing issue

Insurance companies are continuing to attract the most complaints to dispute resolution service Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), but it is sales of replacement policies by independent financial advisers that is causing FSCL increasing concern. In its annual report released on 31 October, complaints against insurers – predominantly in relation to…

New books

Patent Law and PolicyBy Susy Frankel and Jessica C Lai The authors are legal academics at Victoria University and their book focuses on outlining the law in New Zealand for patents, and what the policy behind the law is. They draw on IPONZ decisions, case law, international treaties, government documents and…

Forum greatly exceeded expectations

The recent Future Firm Forum in Queenstown “greatly exceeded my expectations,” Australian lawyer Joel Cranshaw says. The CEO and founder of Clearpoint Counsel, Mr Cranshaw was invited to the Future Firm Forum to share his firm’s journey on becoming the first law firm to be certified as a B Corporation in…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Fined for unsatisfactory conduct over will

A lawyer, C, who did not ask a client making a will if he had any children has been fined $1,000 by a lawyers standards committee. The committee also determined that C failed to act in a timely manner to revisit his client, Mr A, who was in hospital, to establish…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Lawyer disagrees with judge’s order

The High Court has halved a $2,000 fine imposed on Auckland lawyer Yoon Boo Lee for breaching an order made by a District Court Judge. “This Court’s perception of the merits being significantly different from those findings made by the [Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary] Tribunal, it is appropriate to halve the…

Lawyers Complaints Service: Tax evading lawyer struck off

Raelene Marie Kelly has been struck off following her conviction on 46 charges of tax evasion involving more than $180,000. In [2016] NZLCDT 20, Ms Kelly was charged with being convicted of offences punishable by imprisonment, which convictions reflect on her fitness to practice or bring the profession into disrepute. The New…