International Women’s Day ideal time to create better workplace balance with Law Society initiative

The New Zealand Law Society says International Women’s Day is the perfect time for workplaces to show their commitment to equality and sign up to the Gender Equality Charter. Friday 8 March is International Women’s Day. The theme is #BalanceforBetter – in other words, treating gender balance as a business issue,…

Law Society outlines ways to reduce Family Court delays

A significant reduction in delay in the Family Court could be achieved by implementing a number of measures, the New Zealand Law Society says. Details of the measures are provided by the Law Society in additional feedback to the Independent Panel examining the impact of the 2014 family justice reforms. The Law…

New Zealand lawyer numbers continue to grow

The number of New Zealand lawyers continues to grow, with over 14,000 lawyers now holding practising certificates issued by the New Zealand Law Society. The Law Society has released its annual Snapshot of the Profession, providing information on lawyers at 1 February 2019. It shows that New Zealand has one lawyer for…

Preservation of fair trial process essential when assessing victim rights

Moves to improve victims’ experience of the criminal justice process must always come in the context of ensuring a fair trial process for anyone charged with a crime, New Zealand Law Society Criminal Committee convenor Steve Bonnar QC says. Commenting on the release by Chief Victims Adviser Kim McGregor of the…

Law Society confident profession is embracing the challenges

The New Zealand Law Society is confident that New Zealand's lawyers are embracing the workplace culture challenges and will continue to work towards healthy, safe, respectful and inclusive legal workplaces, Law Society President Kathryn Beck says. In her introduction to the New Zealand Law Society Annual Report for 2017/18, Ms Beck…

Property matters biggest source of complaints against lawyers

Matters related to property law were the biggest source of complaints lodged with the Law Society's Lawyers Complaints Service in the year to 30 June 2018. The latest Annual Report of the New Zealand Law Society has been tabled in Parliament. It shows that property matters made up 18.1% of complaints,…

NZ Law Society supports better protection for death penalty prisoners

The New Zealand Law Society has joined lawyers’ organisations around the world in calling for the drafting and adoption of standards to ensure better protection for death row prisoners. The Law Society’s Board has agreed that the Law Society support a resolution which calls on all lawyer organisations to assist in…

Law Society not seeking review of unsatisfactory conduct finding

The New Zealand Law Society is not seeking a review of a finding by a lawyers standards committee that a lawyer was guilty of unsatisfactory conduct after he sexually harassed two of his law firm’s employees. The decision was published recently. The Law Society has stated its position in response to…

Lack of consultation on rustling law concerns

New Zealand Law Society President Kathryn Beck has written to the Minister of Justice to express concern that legislation creating significant new criminal offices related to livestock rustling has been progressed without the opportunity for public consultation and select committee activity. "In the Law Society's view, this is an undesirable and…

Law Society focused on signing 30% of profession up to Gender Equality Charter by April

The New Zealand Law Society is renewing its push to get 30% of the legal profession signed up to its Gender Equality Charter by April. By the end of 2018, it had been adopted by 100 legal workplaces across the country. The charter was launched to the profession by the Law Society…