An important consideration for lawyers in advising clients subject to Commerce Commission investigations is how to deal with requests made by the Commission for the client to provide information on a voluntary basis or to attend a voluntary interview with the Commission. Depending on the particular case there can be significant…

It is incumbent on lawyers and conveyancers to carry out their duties to their clients in a “spirit of co-operation”. This was stated by the Legal Complaints Review Officer (LCRO) in upholding the decision of the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers (NZSoC) Standards Committee to take no further action on a…

A lawyer has been censured for advising clients at the same time as lending them funds. The lawyer’s conduct relating to the lending “constitutes unsatisfactory conduct,” the Legal Complaints Review Officer (LCRO) said. The lawyer, Tressell, was a trustee of the H Family Trust. Mr and Mrs H were the other two…

A lawyer, Lennox, has been censured for breaching his fiduciary duties to a client both as her lawyer and as her attorney. Lennox’s conduct was “derelict to such a degree” that it satisfied the test of what was expected of “competent, ethical and responsible practitioners,” the lawyers standards committee said. It…

About 99% of the work the lawyers at Cooper Legal do is around historic abuse and associated human rights claims. And they’ve reached at least 700 settlements for victims of abuse who were in state care as children. “That figure would be a conservative estimate,” says Cooper Legal principal Sonja Cooper. The Wellington-based…

A lawyer who failed to respond to his client’s enquiries in a timely manner has been reprimanded and fined $1,000 by a lawyers standards committee. The lawyer, Woodville, was acting on immigration issues for a client, Mr J, and the client’s partner, Ms K. Woodville applied to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) for…

A lawyer who failed to complete a retainer and comply with directions from a court has been censured and fined $2,000 by a lawyers standards committee. This fine is the maximum provided in the Law Practitioners Act 1982, which covers penalties for conduct before 1 August 2008. The lawyer, Gadshill, acted for…

Two lawyers have been censured for failing to act in a timely manner for the same client. A lawyers standards committee determined that this failure by each of the lawyers was unsatisfactory conduct. The client contacted the first lawyer, Coleville, in December 2014 about a debt of $16,200 owed to the Ministry…

A lawyer has been censured and fined $8,000 by a lawyers standards committee for sharing his Landonline digital certificate password. The Registrar-General of Land asked the Lawyers Complaints Service to investigate the lawyer, Seyton, after he shared the password four times. Seyton accepted that he breached the digital certificate terms and that…

A lawyer credited with playing a leading role in solving a funding crisis for Community Law o Aotearoa (CLCA) is stepping down as its co-chair. Cameron Madgwick is ending his work with Community Law Centres o Aotearoa after over 20 years involvement with the organisation. He’ll also cease being co-chair of…