Regulatory strategy paves the way forward
We are focused on ensuring we embrace the opportunities we have ahead of us to shape and build a modern, inclusive and world-class profession.
Over recent years, there has been a spotlight on regulation within the legal system, with significant changes and challenges in the legal profession, in broader society and in approaches to regulation. A strong focus has been on improving the culture of the legal profession. In particular, tackling sexual harassment, bullying and other unacceptable conduct, which came to the forefront in 2018.
We know there has been significant work across the profession over the past couple of years to change and respond to these issues. The focus on this work has to continue and it will take all of us working together and each playing our part. We want to assure you that the Law Society is committed to playing our role, making sure we are always striving to be the best regulator we can be.
Today we are publishing our Regulatory Strategy 2022 – 2025 “Navigating into the Future”. This is a significant step forward on our transformation journey to modernising the regulatory functions of the Law Society and making sure our services are responsive.
Our future path will be informed by the Independent Review (the Review) of the statutory framework for legal services in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Review will identify potential barriers to a modern and well-functioning legal framework and recommend future changes.
But we aren’t waiting to act. We are moving forward to improve how we operate within our current legal framework and we’ve made a number of improvements already over the past 12 months.