New Zealand Law Society - LawTalk issue 926

LawTalk issue 926

LawTalk issue 926

Our annual Snapshot of the Profession in the March LawTalk shows that the number of lawyers continues to grow faster than our population increase. Other sections of the magazine profile members of the profession, provide updates on various areas of the law, and consider aspects of ADR, Practising Well, the future of law, legal practice and social media and some of the requirements for co-governance.

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Snapshot of the profession 2019

Over 14,000 lawyers now hold practising certificates issued by the New Zealand Law Society. They range in age from 22 to over 90. While there is obviously a lot more than the numbers, the information which the Law Society collects in its regulatory role can provide some useful details on…

Some more characters in the law

Harry ArndtFollowing David Sparks’ memories of characters in the law in LawTalk 925 (February 2019), Don Rennie has cast his mind back in time. Don has had a long career in the law and is the convenor of the Law Society’s Accident Compensation Committee. I was interested to read about some…
Berlin: The sexy city that’s full of quirks and contrasts

Berlin: The sexy city that’s full of quirks and contrasts

Berlin never reached the heights of other imperial capitals in the age of empires. Even today it compares poorly both with other capital cities in Europe and with other German cities like Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologne. As a united country, Germany is young. It only became one country in 1871,…
Beyond the hype: AI and the law

Beyond the hype: AI and the law

To go by some media reports, one might be forgiven for thinking that the lawyer of the 21st century is destined for the same fate as the switchboard operator or the ‘knocker-upper’ in the 20th – rendered superfluous by the accelerating march of automation. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) and…

Unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct?

This article was published in LawTalk 926 with the title 'Principles and practice: Publication, penalties and prosecutions'. Last month the Law Society published a decision by a standards committee which made an adverse disciplinary finding against a lawyer, following two separate instances of sexual harassment towards two employees. Standards committees are independent…

From the Law Society

Kathryn Beck It’s been almost one year since the New Zealand Law Society introduced the Gender Equality Charter to the legal community. There’s been a good response with 112 signatories – including many of the largest firms in the country – committing to this important workplace initiative. We want to see 30%…

People In The Law

Michael Robinson was not struck off

We offer our sincere apologies for an incorrect assertion in the article “Characters in the Law” by David Sparks, which was published in LawTalk 925, February 2019. This stated that Auckland lawyer Michael Robinson was struck off. This is wrong. Mr Robinson was never struck off and we would like…
Tyson Hullena: Battling cancer to become a lawyer

Tyson Hullena: Battling cancer to become a lawyer

Kahui Legal solicitor Tyson Hullena (Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira) has travelled a long and somewhat bumpy road to becoming a lawyer. Raised in Wairarapa, Tyson’s father works in education, his mother works in management and his two younger siblings are in banking and the New Zealand Navy, with the…

Kamil Lakshman: Representing those who have escaped from the worst that life can throw up

Immigration and refugee lawyer Kamil Lakshman was unaware that law was in her family bloodline until she was a teenager. Mrs Lakshman was born in Suva, Fiji, but never knew her father, a lawyer and a University of Canterbury graduate, who died when she was just three months old.

Revamped website heralds new look

Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, the Māori Law Society, will introduce a membership fee and a new website in March. The Society’s executive undertook two rounds of consultation last year about the fee proposal which will mean that practising lawyers and judges will be charged an annual $100 plus GST…

Technology helping to overcome barriers at work

Auckland barrister sole Masumi Scherb has been “pretty much fully” blind since birth. And like other blind lawyers he has found technology a massive boost to his ability to do his work. “We’ve come a long way since I was admitted and I use a lot of Apple technology. I have an…

The Innovators: Renee Knake

Renee Knake LawFest organiser Andrew King continues a series of interviews with key legal professionals with their innovation and technology stories. Renee Knake holds the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Royal Melbourne Institute for Technology University and is Professor of Law and Director of Outcomes and Assessments at…

Update

ACC and the Woodhouse Principles: Real Compensation

ACC and the Woodhouse Principles: Real Compensation

The foundation for our current ACC legislation is found in the recommendations of the 1967 Woodhouse Royal Commission report Compensation for Personal Injury in New Zealand. This proposed the abolition of the common law right to sue for damages for personal injury caused by negligence or breach of statutory duty,…
Competition law and the removal of exceptions

Competition law and the removal of exceptions

In January the Government released an important discussion paper, Review of Section 36 of the Commerce Act and other matters, on which submissions are due by 1 April. The rather bland title is prone to mislead. It diverts attention from the very significant proposed reform to remove from the Commerce Act…

Regulating fake news and video

New technologies offer exciting new channels for effective communication – but their misuse can pose threats to individual rights, and to wider society. The Law Foundation, through its Information Law and Policy Project, is backing two projects that are looking at how to regulate harmful use of two fast-moving technology areas:…

The search for body corporate maintenance

Sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one. By this time, some will be thinking of Spock and Kirk. Some of JS Mill, more or less. And some will be thinking of body corporate maintenance. For that is the key message of recent court…

Bethell v Bethell

Third party ante-nuptial trust amounts to nuptial settlementThe most recent High Court decision on s 182 of the Family Proceedings Act 1980 provides an interesting example of trust-busting in the post-Clayton era. Section 182 allows a court to make an order to vary an ante-nuptial or postnuptial settlement at the same…

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Dispute prevention: Using mediation as a business tool, Part One

Dispute prevention: Using mediation as a business tool, Part One

“We are used to thinking about competitions in which there is only one winner… But the world is not really like that… The key to doing well lies not in overcoming others, but in eliciting their cooperation.” – Robert Axelrod Mediation is often effective if the parties can engage in person…

Families at war (and not in the Family Court)

As lawyers, we often receive instructions from clients who are in dispute with family members. This could be about a variety of issues, from disputes over distribution of estates, to fallings out over joint business enterprises. How do we, as lawyers, actually help such clients? Sure, we can provide legal advice…

Practice

What does it take to be a partner or a director… And is it right for you?

What does it take to be a partner or a director… And is it right for you?

Being a principal in a law firm (whether as a partner or director) is, in my opinion, more of an art than a science and definitely not for everyone. Working out if it’s for you can be stressful, but in my experience, there are some key personal attributes that you’ll…
Why co-operating with media is usually the best advice

Why co-operating with media is usually the best advice

The advice lawyers give their clients around dealing with the news media during negative events often conflicts with the views of public relations professionals (PRs). The reason for this is obvious. Lawyers are focused on the court of law and fear that talking to reporters could weaken their clients’ case in…
Lawyers and social media

Lawyers and social media

In July 2013, an article in LawTalk 812 entitled “Social media’s legal criteria”, quoted figures showing that about 2.3 million New Zealanders, or roughly 51% of the population, were on Facebook alone. By January 2018 this figure had grown significantly, with statistics company Statista estimating that 73% of the population,…

How gold and grog made Oamaru a thriving criminal capital

In the mid-1800s, when Oamaru was the gateway to the Otago goldfields and bigger than Dunedin, more than 13% of the town’s population appeared in court. The port town was called a drunken metropolis “full of inebriated sailors and prostitutes” and with the highest crime rates in Otago. After the gold mining…

An innovative approach to school property investment

How the Ministry of Education is managing its forward construction programmeThe Ministry of Education’s Infrastructure Service (EIS) is responsible for managing the Crown’s investment in school property, school transport, ICT infrastructure and the schools’ payroll system. Our $28.7 billion property portfolio includes more than 15,000 school buildings across more than…

He aha ngā mea nui o te ao nei? Ngā awa, ngā roto me te kotahitanga

What’s important in this world? The rivers, the lakes and collaborative frameworksThe field of “co-governance” of some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s key natural and physical resources has for many years been thought to be reserved for specialist Treaty lawyers — but that is evolving and requiring new skills and diversification…

Practising Well

Eating healthly: No one size fits all

Eating healthly: No one size fits all

Recent research out of Australia indicates that, in comparison to other professionals and students in other disciplines, lawyers and law students may experience consistently higher levels of psychological distress. There is also a demonstrated positive association between psychological distress, disordered eating, weight and shape concerns and maladaptive eating habits. It’s…

Talking about mental health: A utopia of lawyer mental health

Work should not injure you or make you sick, but sometimes it does. There are types of work that need to be done that make you subject to higher risks. If you’re a forestry worker, you’re at risk of logging accidents. If you’re an electrician, you’re at risk of electric shock…
Mindfulness for New Zealand lawyers

Mindfulness for New Zealand lawyers

Become a switched-on, focused, resilient and joyful lawyerImagine being able to fully concentrate at work without constant nagging thoughts. Imagine being able to stay calm in stressful situations. Imagine being productive at work the entire day. Imagine being a lawyer with a razor-sharp focus. Imagine being able to leave work…

Complaint Decision Summaries

Fined for overcharging

[Names used in this summary are fictitious] Two lawyers who overcharged a client have been fined $2,000 and ordered to reduce their fees by a lawyers standards committee. The client, Ms Quilp, had separated from her former partner. When her former partner learned that Ms Quilp had booked overseas travel for her…

Lawyer took satisfactory steps after error

[Names used in this summary are fictitious] A lawyers standards committee has resolved not to impose a disciplinary finding against a lawyer who breached her professional obligations when she disclosed information she shouldn’t have. The lawyer, Noggs, was contacted by Ms Wemmick in relation to her separation from her husband, Mr Hexam.…

Made threat for improper purpose

[Names used in this summary are fictitious] Informing two real estate agents that his clients would complain about them to the Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA) unless they paid $50,000 compensation was unsatisfactory conduct by a lawyer, a lawyers standards committee has found. The real estate agents acted for the vendor of…

Client should have been told about legal aid eligibility

[Names used in this summary are fictitious] Failure to alert a client that she may have been eligible for legal aid constituted unsatisfactory conduct by a lawyer, a lawyers standards committee has found. The lawyer, Omer, acted for Ms Wegg in an action against her employer. During the course of the case,…
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