New Zealand Law Society - LawTalk issue 910

LawTalk issue 910

LawTalk issue 910

With the General Election on 23 September LawTalk looks at justice policies. There is also a wide range of information on developments in the law, legal practice, mediation, technology, AML/CFT, the NZLII service, areas of practice, and a look at lawyering in Whangarei.

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Equal Justice Project helps practical skills development

Equal Justice project volunteers at the organisation's opening event. The Equal Justice Project’s pro bono initiative gives law students invaluable opportunities to gain experience while working on human rights projects in New Zealand. The team offers support to practitioners, academics, interest organisations and community groups who share the charity’s goals of promoting…

Marking up and signing documents without printing them

Portable Document Format (PDF) files have been around since the early 1990’s, when Adobe had the fantastic idea of creating a standard document format that would allow people to share documents in an ‘as printed’ format that would look the same on every device. The PDF file format was an elegant…
Better conversations part 3: Language, messaging and the lost art of direct conversation

Better conversations part 3: Language, messaging and the lost art of direct conversation

Why is it that when we send a carefully crafted settlement letter explaining why we are right and the other side wrong, the other party does not simply agree with us and settle on our terms? Might our choice of language prevent a reply that leads to an open exchange…

The miracle of NZLII

Every minute 49 successful online requests are made for information from a New Zealand website which provides free access to a wide range of information on our law. The New Zealand Legal Information Institute – or NZLII – is a significant contributor of primary and secondary resources comprising cases, legislation, university…
Emotional eating vs mindful eating

Emotional eating vs mindful eating

Food and eating can occupy a complicated place in our lives. We know we need food to provide us with nourishment and energy and to satisfy hunger but oftentimes we also use food as a way to deal with stress and difficult emotions like sadness or boredom and to reward…

What are we here for? Rethinking the role of the legal function within BT

I first met Dan Fitz when he was being interviewed by Harvard Law School as part of their case studies for the Leadership in Corporate Counsel programme. His approach to organising UK telecommunications company BT’s legal services stood out as truly innovative, in the face of all-too-familiar financial restraint. Afterwards,…

Five money laundering myths for lawyers to avoid

Much has been written about lawyers and money laundering. Some of it alarming, some apprehensive, and some plain wrong. But, as Gary Hughes observed (LawTalk 908), for most lawyers, anti-money laundering is manageable. Gary offered five steps that firms can take now. This article shares five myths that lawyers should avoid.…

Court costs: end of the lawyer-litigant exception

In Joint Action Funding Ltd v Eichelbaum [2017] NZCA 249 the Court of Appeal has concluded that the rule that litigants in person are not entitled to recover costs except in exceptional cases should now extend to lawyer-litigants. The previous exception, that lawyer-litigants can recover their costs of a proceeding,…

The pathway to becoming a judge

How does a lawyer become a judge? Is it a case of getting the nod, being handpicked, or the natural progression for a Queen’s Counsel? Do you even have to be a litigation lawyer? The judiciary is the arm of our democracy that is independent of executive and politicians. The financial rewards…

Victoria Anderson, Wairarapa sole practitioner

An accomplished family lawyer with a passion for children and families, Victoria Anderson has worked mainly as a family lawyer for most of her legal career. Admitted to the Bar at the Hamilton High Court in July 1989, Victoria has been practising for 28 years. She practised in Hamilton, Tauranga and…

Focus on legal practice in Whangarei

Thirty-six years ago Steve Wong got off a bus in Whangarei carrying just a suitcase. He came to town to take up a job at the law firm Johnson Hooper. Mr Wong hadn’t planned on staying long, but two years down the track he was offered a partnership at the…

Pathways in the Law: Claro the health law firm

Claro is a specialist health sector law firm with offices in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Its team has a breadth of experience in this important area of law. “Perhaps what I enjoy most about working in the health sector is the variety,” says one of the two partners, Dr Jonathan Coates. “In any…

Lawyer and best mates hit the road with a lemon for marathon rally adventure

A rally car drives on a dirt road in Mongolia Some people might question why a group of young men would want to travel in a small beaten-up car from London to Mongolia, crossing borders near war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and less friendly to the west nations such as Iran…

General Election 2017: 5 questions on justice policies

As an organisation at the forefront of law reform, the New Zealand Law Society has a major interest in presenting the policies and proposals for changes in New Zealand’s justice system. Parties which are registered to contest the 23 September General Election were sent five questions related to the justice…

Update

Company and not for profit auditing – a changing landscape

Company and not for profit auditing – a changing landscape

Lawyers who advise companies and not for profits are familiar enough with annual reports, financial statements, and auditors’ opinions. Many will also have advised boards and audit committees on the negotiation of audit engagement letters and audit fees, and the preparation of letters of representation – processes which can be…
Subcontractor direct payment provisions

Subcontractor direct payment provisions

As the value and complexity of construction work has increased over the last few years, there has been a corresponding increase in concern over the diversion of project cashflows away from the work for which payment has been claimed to other projects demanding immediate attention. In a booming market, like…

Greater awards of reparation for significant life changing harm

Victims of offending may now be eligible to receive greater awards of reparation following the amendment of section 32 of the Sentencing Act 2002 to allow for recovery of consequential loss not covered by the Accident Compensation Act 2001. The amendment effectively overturned the majority decision of the Supreme Court in…

Helping Muslim travellers deal with authorities

A Law Foundation-backed project is helping ease concerns among New Zealand’s Muslim community about their treatment by security authorities. The Human Rights Foundation project has been prompted by complaints about the treatment of Muslims in airport security checks and in their interactions with the SIS in particular. They claim to have…

Decision-making bound by policy: a damming verdict?

Sally McKechnie and Charlotte Doyle comment on the ramifications of the recent Supreme Court decision Hawke’s Bay Regional Investment Company Ltd v Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc [2017] NZSC 106 (the Ruataniwha decision) for public and statutory decision makers. The Supreme Court’s decision on the proposed…

Social enterprises and legal structure options in NZ

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to. Alice: I don’t much care where. The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go. - Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland Last…

Trust deed audits: a reminder of regulatory change

The auditing requirements for issuer trust deeds are in the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014 and previously in the Securities Regulations 2009 and the Deposit Takers Regulations 2010. Under the old regulations, a number of terms were implied into, or required in, trust deeds. These included requirements to provide separate audit…

Practice

What it’s like to start your own law firm?

What it’s like to start your own law firm?

The idea of starting her own business percolated for about two years before Helen Mackay decided to make the move out on her own. “I’ve always been an in-house lawyer, so the idea of opening a traditional law firm never appealed to me. But the emerging demand for an alternative…

Pricing and the ‘Dunning-Kruger Effect’

When working with partners to assist them on a specific pricing proposal, all too often the conversation goes something like this; “So what levels of resourcing will be required for this and how long do you think it’ll take?” “Well, with a fair wind and assuming all goes well and the other…

Why specialisation is only part of the answer for lawyers

When I worked in London in the early 90s, I worked in a small two partner firm in the Inner Temple. We had a wide client base who had all sorts of problems. We were what some might call a ‘generalist’ firm. The rule was that we took anything on,…

We are the Lawyers of NOW: A Manifesto

Do you know what I’m excited about? The change in the air. The buzz. The nervous energy. The sense that something epic is happening. Can you feel it? The last 6 months or so has seen a flurry of innovative activity in the legal industry in New Zealand and overseas.…

Do you love your job?

Are you one of the minority who loves their job and goes the extra mile, or are you coasting along with the disengaged majority of workers? According to global research company Gallup, just 24% of employees in New Zealand and Australia love their job. The rest are not that fussed, with…

Lawyers Complaints Service

Censure and fine for failing to pay barrister

Keith Jefferies who was acting as an instructing solicitor has been censured and fined $3,000 for failing to pay the fees of a barrister. The barrister complained that Mr Jefferies did not pay her fees promptly and in full as required under rule 10.7 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers:…

Be very clear if you are not acting

A lawyers standards committee has assessed the actions of a lawyer as “not particularly wise”, serving as a reminder for other lawyers. The lawyer did not believe she had been instructed and the committee could not find persuasive evidence she had been engaged. However, the lawyer met with a party…
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