International Women's Day completes historic week for women lawyers

International Women’s Day completes an historic week for women who practise law, marking 30 years since the first female Queen’s Counsels were appointed, says Law Society President Kathryn Beck. Both Dame Sian Elias and Justice Lowell Goddard were appointed New Zealand’s first women’s Queen’s Counsel on 4 March 1988. “It’s a really…

New Practice Briefing on AML/CFT specimen compliance documents

The New Zealand Law Society has provided to the profession some specimen AML/CFT compliance documents to assist lawyers to prepare for the implementation of Phase 2 of the compliance regime prescribed by the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act). The intention is to provide a…

Ashburton has biggest rise in lawyer numbers

Ashburton, Kaikohe, Havelock North and Queenstown have shown the biggest percentage increase in lawyers over the last seven years. The New Zealand Law Society has published a Snapshot of the Legal Profession in the March issue of its magazine LawTalk. Since the first Snapshot was published in 2011 there has been an…

Law Society announces working group to focus on sexual harassment reporting

The New Zealand Law Society is establishing a working group to consider what improvements can be made to enable better reporting of harassment in the legal profession to the Law Society. “There is no place for a culture of sexual harassment in our profession. It must stop. The Law Society is…

Ban on foreign ownership of residential land will add costs and risks

The New Zealand Law Society says a proposed requirement for lawyer certification in the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill will likely result in an increase in conveyancing costs for home buyers. A key proposed change will require certification from anyone doing conveyancing work for a purchaser, that the purchaser will not contravene…

Property law source of most complaints

Complaints relating to property law made up 23% of all complaints lodged with the New Zealand Law Society's Lawyers Complaints Service in the year to 30 June 2017. This is shown in the Law Society's Report on Regulatory Activities for the year to 30 June 2017. The report was made to…

Law Society outlines complaints resolution process

The New Zealand Law Society has a robust process for investigating and resolving complaints about the conduct of lawyers, Law Society Executive Director Mary Ollivier says. “The allegations relating to sexual harassment and the wider discussion about workplace environment in the legal profession have resulted in a number of inquiries about…

Weapons brokering legislation changes recommended

The New Zealand Law Society says some changes are needed to the Brokering (Weapons and Related Items) Controls Bill to improve the regulation of weapons brokering, consistent with New Zealand’s international treaty obligations. The Bill will introduce more comprehensive controls on weapons brokering between foreign countries and will prevent New Zealanders…

Legal profession must act, says Law Society President

The wide-ranging discussion on sexual harassment and work environments in the legal profession cannot be allowed to die away, New Zealand Law Society President Kathryn Beck says. “The disclosures over the past week will have made every lawyer in New Zealand consider their workplace and also their profession. “We know that sexual…

Guidelines for working remotely released

The New Zealand Law Society has released a Practice Briefing, Working Remotely, which outlines some of the ethical and practical considerations relevant to working remotely as a lawyer. The guidance applies to both lawyers in private practice and in-house lawyers. Working flexibly is increasingly common across all industries, with MBIE estimating that…