Helping lawyers and their families

The Law Society’s Practising Well partner Lifeline Aotearoa has been helping lawyers and their families since the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 31 August 2012. At 3pm on that date, Lifeline Aotearoa became the first organisation to join the Law Society as part of the Practising Well initiative.…

Where water is the oil of the farming industry

An aerial photo of inland MidCanterbury, provided by Argyle Welsh Finnigan client Midlands Seed. A true Ashburton success story, Midlands produce 95% of the country’s Marrowfat peas and 40% of the world’s carrot seeds. “I arrived here in 1970 when the population of the borough and county was about 28,000 people…

Thank you all for giving me such a rich experience

This is my final issue as Editor of LawTalk. Having looked after “my baby”, first as assistant Editor then as Editor for more than 11 years, I am going to very much miss LawTalk.

How lawyers can benefit from LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s biggest online networking site for professionals. We take a look at how lawyers can benefit from using the business networking site.

Access to justice for indigenous peoples

Dr Valmaine Toki, Waikato University and Expert Member of the United Nations, co-ordinated a highly successful round table comprising some of the world’s leading advocates for indigenous justice on 26 October. Supported by the New Zealand Law Foundation and in association with the Māori Indigenous Governance Centre and Griffith University, Australia,…

Clear, plain language powerful in making the law accessible

Language is a “powerful way to make the law accessible,” the Solicitor-General Una Jagose said in her address to last month’s Clarity International Conference in Wellington. Language can, she said, include or exclude. It can advance or hold back progress. Yet for far too long lawyers have reveled in complex, hard to…

Helping communication-impaired defendants and witnesses

Facilitating communication-impaired people to give the most accurate and complete evidence they can, and, where they are defendants, enabling them to participate fully in their own trials, is a major issue for our justice system. However, over the last several years, several courts around New Zealand have been quietly trialling a…

Letters to the Editor

Lawyers becoming politiciansI was interested to read the lead item in LawTalk 900 on “lawyers morphing into politicians” and, in particular, the item on Tim Cadogan. In my own modest way, I have become a “part-time politician” having been elected on to the Kawerau District Council as a Councillor. Kawerau is…

Law Reform

Law Society supports Intelligence and Security Bill, but safeguards could go furtherThe New Zealand Law Society believes legislation to improve the transparency and oversight of New Zealand’s intelligence and security agencies is a positive development, but recommends strengthening some of the proposed safeguards to enhance public confidence. The Law Society presented…

Multiple ground discrimination

A new report by the Superdiversity Centre for Law, Policy and Business, to be published on or before February 2017, examines the need for an intersectional approach to discrimination law.

How banks and financial institutions can use arbitration effectively and efficiently

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on Arbitration Task Force released its multidisciplinary report Financial Institutions and Arbitration on 9 November 2016. The report addresses how banks and financial institutions (and their clients) can use arbitration for efficient and effective resolution of what can be complex disputes. The report’s…

Court Registrars’ powers (or not) to reject documents

A recent survey in the vicinity of Shortland Street 1010 found that the percentage of litigators who are, or have been at some time, aggrieved at a refusal of Registry staff to accept documents for filing, stands at or about 100%. Court staff as a matter of course (and no doubt…

Celebrating a successful year

2016 has been another highly successful year for the Law Foundation. Our projects are having a real impact across diverse areas of law and public policy. The Foundation’s success is creating growing interest among researchers. We currently have around 90 active projects, subject to final decisions on the current round of…