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New Zealand Law Society - LawTalk issue 916

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LawTalk issue 916

LawTalk issue 916

LawTalk issue 916

29 March 2018

The April LawTalk looks at sexual harassment in the legal profession. There is an overriding theme of the measures which are needed to change the culture of the profession, the current processes available for reporting unacceptable conduct and whether the Code of Conduct should specifically address workplace discrimination.

Download LawTalk issue 916 (PDF file, 11.94 MB) View as a flip-book ISSUU.COM

Humans are a diverse, different, collection of individuals inhabiting the planet, competing for our share of what’s available. This statement is true, and also not true. To understand this paradox we must examine diversity on two different levels: our experience of being part of a complete whole, and diversity as part…

I just felt compelled to raise with LawTalk the inclusion of a “Notable Quote” in the latest edition of LawTalk [Issue 915, March 2018, page 99]. In particular, the quote from Russell McVeagh HR director, announcing the firm’s sponsorship of gay and inclusive rugby club, the New Zealand Falcons. While I…

Alana Thomas Te Reo Māori is growing in the law sector and we need to grow with it. What’s great to see is that a lot of people are already on board; a lot of people see that there is a need to understand te reo Māori, and a lot of people…

Changes to judges’ summing-up in New Zealand criminal trials have led to jurors getting more helpful guidance, enabling them to focus better on the facts at issue. This was the high-level conclusion of a comparative study, conducted over several years, and supported by the Law Foundation. The study analysed 45 New…

The Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation announced five inaugural grants totalling over $1.7 million in February. The Foundation was established by District Court Judge Ian Borrin shortly before his death in March 2016, in memory of his parents. Judge Borrin left $38 million in his will to the Foundation, to…

By Judge Arthur Tompkins Reviewed by Louisa Gommans Wellington solicitor and founding co-trustee of the New Zealand Art Crime Research Trust Louise Gommans talks to Judge Arthur Tompkins, author of the recently published Plundering Beauty: A History of Art Crime during War. Tell me how you became involved in the study of…

Christchurch’s legal profession is heavily based in the suburbs. Given the city’s recent history this makes perfect sense. The city has 1240 lawyers and, before 2011, most of them were based in the CBD, particularly along and around Durham Street. With more than a thousand buildings within the four avenues demolished following…

Andrew Little was appointed Minister of Justice in the new Government at the end of 2017. He grew up in New Plymouth before heading to Victoria University of Wellington to study law. A diversion into student politics saw him become President of the Victoria University Students’ Association and of the…

One of the perks of practising elder law can be found in the little traditions such as a plate of home baking offered at a meeting. That’s right, scones and slices are not myths nor folklore and can often moderate the tone of a serious conversation. After all, elder law is about…

Update

Fees for ACC reviews and appeals

A recent case has highlighted an issue for lawyers and advocates who charge a fee for representing a claimant in a review or appeal against an ACC decision. Natasha Howell of Christchurch had her weekly ACC payments stopped. In June 2017 she engaged Andrew Cadenhead, an enrolled barrister and solicitor who…

Some issues with restraint of trade or non-compete disputes

This article focuses on the need for economic and efficient resolution of disputes where a restraint of trade has been included in a transaction and is being breached. Since this article was published the United Kingdom Supreme Court has delivered its decision on the appeal in Morris-Garner v One Step…

The employee/contractor distinction is nearly as old as work itself in New Zealand. Even the concepts of a “contract of service” and a “contract for services” have the quaint ring of another era. More recently, the increase in “on-demand” app-based service providers such as Deliveroo, Uber, TaskRabbit, and Lyft are changing…

Housing law has seen a rapid pace of change over the last few years. Various pieces of legislation, case law, and law reform include: The Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas Act 2013, which creates a regime for the creation of special housing areas outside normal RMA processes. The Productivity Commission’s reports…

Having been registered as the beneficial owner of a half share of a property, Ms Potter was entitled to a half share of the sale proceeds regardless of how the initial purchase was funded. On 21 December 2017, the Supreme Court released its decision in Horsfall v Potter [2017] NZSC 196.…

Practice

It's not that bad, except that it is

[Names used in this article are fictious] I am a nerd about a weird thing: complexity theory. I get very excited about it, and it is a hopeful salve for me. When a system is complex it means many factors interact from within and without the system in ways often unknowable in…

Changing the culture of a profession

The New Zealand Law Society is now developing a range of measures and processes to confront sexual harassment in the legal profession head on. Preventing and dealing with harassment in workplaces had been one of several directions identified by the Law Society’s Women’s Advisory Panel over 2017. The move towards…

Recent events have shone a light on harassment and unacceptable behaviour in our profession. It has rightly provoked a conversation about how to eradicate behaviour which has no place in the practice of law and is contrary to the values we stand for. Essential work is being undertaken to help create…

The intense media focus on sexual harassment and other inappropriate sexual behaviour in law firms has forced us to confront the issue of sexual harassment within our profession. The Law Society is considering taking a number of steps to address this issue as part of its wider commitment to gender…

“Finally, we are talking about it” is being chanted all over the country. I have been amazed by the outpouring of support since writing my LinkedIn piece We Need to Talk About Law’s Dirty Little Secret. “You are very brave for speaking out” is what I have been told over and…

Almost daily a client will say something along these lines to me: “[name of a lawyer] would make a great partner in this firm if (s)he could only develop and manage a successful partner level practice. Unfortunately, however, (s)he lacks those skills. Can those skills be learned and, if so,…

The Law Society has embarked upon a plan of action which addresses any structural or systemic problems in reporting and outing incidents of sexual harassment. It is also implementing a range of actions which have the objective of being practical means to openly and fully address the issue of sexual…

Policies, open discussion, good processes and a supportive environment may still not mean that staff in legal workplaces feel comfortable approaching their managers or colleagues. The Law Society is working to establish an outside alternative and some organisations also have arrangements for outside assistance. Two other alternative, the New Zealand…

Future of Law

Predicting or speculating on future developments is fraught with danger. So many things can intervene. It can also be unfair to ask someone to look forward, with a myriad of possible influencers always ready to take things in new and unexpected directions. At the same time, marshalling current themes and…

Developments

Lawyers vs AILawGeex is a software company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Early in 2017 it released software that uses artificial intelligence to study contracts, pinpointing any language or requirements that seem unusual. The company’s Contract Review Automation software is marketed as the quickest and easiest way for businesses to review…

Rise of the Machines: Artificial Intelligence in Law

There have been tremendous advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) over the past decade. Where these will take us no one really knows, but it is becoming increasingly clear that AI will have a profound impact on industry and on our everyday lives. Just to be clear, we’re not talking about sentient…

Lawyers Complaints Service

[Names used in this article are fictitious] A barrister has been censured and fined $1,000 for failing to provide documents to a lawyers standards committee. The committee was considering a complaint about the barrister, Carstone, from a former client. The committee emailed Carstone on 18 May 2017 requiring production of various documents by…

[Names used in this article are fictitious] A lawyer in a firm that was acting for an estate should not have provided advice on possible claims against that estate, a lawyers standards committee has said. This was a breach of rule 6.1 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client…

[Names used in this article are fictitious] A lawyer’s failure to comply with the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Trust Account) Regulations 2008 caused direct loss to a client, a lawyers standards committee has found. The committee ordered the lawyer to pay the client $8,500 compensation and $3,000 towards the client’s legal costs. The…

John Revans Eichelbaum has been censured and fined $10,000 for unsatisfactory conduct that a lawyers standards committee has described as “serious”. One of the breaches – threatening, bullying, insulting and intimidating a person he pursued court action against – was sufficiently serious that the committee considered whether the matter should be…

[Names used in this article are ficticious] A lawyer who unintentionally breached an undertaking has been fined $4,000 by a lawyers standards committee. The lawyer, Bunsby, applied to the Legal Complaints Review Office (LCRO) for a review of the decision. Bunsby claimed the decision was incorrect because he had made a genuine mistake…

John Revans Eichelbaum has been censured and fined $10,000 for failing to treat another lawyer with courtesy and respect. In finding unsatisfactory conduct on Mr Eichelbaum’s part, the lawyers standards committee said that it considered his conduct “was of a serious nature”. “The committee further considers his conduct to be at the…