Law Society applauds Coroner gender parity

The New Zealand Law Society says the swearing in of Brigitte Windley as a Coroner on 23 November will mean a majority of New Zealand's coronial bench are women.  "From 23 November nine of New Zealand's coroners – including the Chief Coroner – will be women and eight will be men," Law Society President Chris…

Cellphone incident involving Crown Prosecutor a serious issue

An incident involving a Crown Prosecutor in the main Nelson courtroom was a very serious breach of courtroom security, the New Zealand Law Society says. A Crown Prosecutor reportedly received concussion when a member of the public gallery allegedly threw a cellphone at her head during a bail hearing. The phone broke on impact and the…

Anthony Bernard Joseph Morahan suspended

Auckland barrister Anthony Bernard Joseph Morahan has been suspended from legal practice for three months from 2 November 2015 following three misconduct findings against him by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal. One misconduct finding was for misleading the Court, opposing counsel and the New Zealand Law Society's standards committee that Mr A was…

Law Society has serious reservations about emergency response inquiry feasibility

In response to the Christchurch Earthquakes and the Pike River Coal Mine tragedy, the New Zealand Law Society has serious reservations about the feasibility of an inquiry into Parliament's legislative response to future national emergencies. The inquiry, which is being carried out by the Regulations Review Committee, aims "to provide a framework to legislate the powers…

Law firm email fraud uses lawyer names: Warning

The New Zealand Law Society is warning law firms to watch out for an attempted email fraud which uses a fake internal email purporting to be from one of the lawyers in a firm. While details vary slightly, the fraud sends an email using the name and email address of a…

"Zero hours" change may not work, says Law Society

Clauses in the Employment Legislation Standards Bill which are intended to prohibit "zero hours" contracts are unclear and appear to enable zero hours contracts, subject to a requirement to pay compensation to the employee, the New Zealand Law Society says. In a submission on the bill to the Transport and Industrial…

Law Society supports Turkish lawyers

New Zealand Law Society President Chris Moore has written to the President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, expressing sympathy for the loss of Turkish lawyer Uygar Cosgun in the terrorist attack on the Ankara peace rally on on 10 October 2015. Turkish Bar President Metin Feyzioğlu wrote to Mr Moore…

Law Society submits on family violence review

The New Zealand Law Society has welcomed the government's review of family violence legislation and supports initiatives to address domestic violence, but believes the scope of the discussion should be broader to include analysis of all relevant laws. In its submission on the Family Violence Review discussion document, released in August by Justice Minister…

David John Graeme Cox censured

The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal has censured Auckland barrister and solicitor David John Graeme Cox after finding him guilty of one charge of unsatisfactory conduct. The Tribunal dismissed an alternative charge of negligence or incompetence and a further alternative charge of misconduct. As well as the censure, the Tribunal ordered Mr Cox…

Law Society identifies problems with "bright-line test"

The New Zealand Law Society is concerned that the proposed two-year "bright-line test" for sales of residential property will unfairly catch ordinary taxpayers who need to sell property within two years of purchase because of changes in their personal circumstances. While the proposed Taxation (Bright-line Test for Residential Land) Bill is intended to target speculators who are…