Governance and leadership

The Law Society is governed by a council and a board. The president is the head of the Law Society. The management, administrative functions and day-to-day operations are the responsibility of the Law Society’s Chief Executive.

Law Society President

The President heads the Law Society, acting as the main ambassador for the legal profession and representing and speaking for the Law Society at home and overseas. The President is also the chair of our Board and the Council and is elected by the Council. They hold office for a term of one year and are eligible for re-election for two further consecutive years. The role of president is part-time.

Law Society Council

The Council is made up of the President and the four Vice-Presidents (who also form the Board), one member from each regional branch of the Law Society, the chair or president of each of the Law Society’s sections, the chair or president of the New Zealand Bar Association, the leaders of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa (The Māori Law Society); the President of the Pacific Lawyers Association and a representative of the large law firm corporations.

The Council also has an observer representative from the New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives.

The Council is the oversight governance body for our organisation. It has delegated almost all governance functions to the Board, although it has retained the following functions and powers:

election of the offices of president, president-elect and vice-presidents;
the power to amend or replace the Constitution;
the power to establish sections;
election of an auditor;
the powers under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act to make practice rules; and
any functions or powers which in terms of the Act, the Constitution, or any regulations or practice rules under the Act which must be exercised by a resolution of the Council (this includes fixing fees, levies and subscriptions payable by lawyers).

The Council also has an observer representative from the New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives.

President

Frazer Barton (taking a leave of absence)

Vice-Presidents

David Campbell – Auckland
Jesse Savage – Central North Island
Ataga'i Esera – Wellington
Taryn Gudmanz – South Island

Branch presidents

Misha Henaghan – Auckland
Lana Paul – Canterbury-Westland
Michael Gordon – Gisborne
Pamela Fairbrother – Hawke's Bay
Cailin Broadley – Manawatu
Rob Harrison – Marlborough
Andrea Halloran – Nelson
Dale Lloyd – Otago
Richard Smith – Southland
Sean Maskill – Taranaki
Melissa Campbell – Waikato Bay of Plenty
Megan Kennard – Whanganui
Julius Maskell – Wellington

Section representatives

Benjamin Jacobs – In-house Lawyers' Association of New Zealand
Lauren Pegg – Family Law Section
Mark Sherry – Property Law Section

Other representatives

Martin Thomson – Large Firm Corporation
Paul David KC – NZ Bar Association
Salavalasi Su'a – Pacific Lawyers Association
Tai Ahu – Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa

Observers

Carmen Franich - Legal Executives New Zealand
Katie Rusbatch - Secretariat

Law Society Board

Board consists of the President, four Vice-Presidents, two lawyer observers and an independent observer. The Board is the executive body elected by the Council to govern the affairs of the Law Society. Under delegation from the Council, it carries most of the Law Society’s governance and oversight responsibilities.

Frazer Barton – President (taking a leave of absence)
David Campbell – Vice-President, Auckland
Jesse Savage – Vice-President, Central North Island
Ataga'i Esera – Vice-President, Wellington
Taryn Gudmanz – Vice-President, South Island
Baden Vertongen – Independent Board observer
Michael Mills – Independent Board observer

New Zealand Law Society - Governance and leadership