Cur Adv Vult
C Otago Library’s heritage collection
5 DECEMER 2014
NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ZEALAND LAW SOCIETY OTAGO BRANCH
Conference noted for its quality
Welcome to the last issue of Cur Adv Vult for 2014.
Conference
It’s been a very busy month culminating in the
Otago/Southland branch NZLS Conference held at
Queenstown on 15 November.
The conference was very well organised by Kim Jarvis
and her team, and ran seamlessly.
The content of the seminars (13 sessions in total)
was excellent and was thoroughly deserving of CPD
hours. My thanks go to the presenters who obviously
put a considerable amount of preparation into their
individual seminars.
We were grateful for the attendance of Justice Simon
Moore, a Judge of the High Court at Auckland who gave
the keynote address, Taking Flight – A New High.
Also present were Chris Moore, President of the
New Zealand Law Society and Christine Grice, NZLS
Executive Director.
Chris led an informative session on the work that the
Law Society has been doing nationally for the benefit of
the profession, and Christine Grice led the “Practising
Well” session.
Both Chris and Christine have relayed their thanks
for the hospitality and collegiality shown during
the conference and both
noted the quality of the
conference.
From
the
NZLS Council Meeting
On 31 October I attended
the NZLS Council meeting
in Wellington. The
proposed amendments to
the Intervention Rule were
passed unanimously and
the amendments have now
been referred to the Justice
Minister, Amy Adams, for
formal approval before
they are promulgated as
part of the Lawyers and
Conveyancers Act (Lawyers:
Conduct and Client Care)
Rules 2008.
David Robinson
The effect of the
amendments is to greatly
increase the scope of the exemptions under which a
barrister may accept direct instructions (ie, other than
from an instructing solicitor).
President
Continued on page 2
Attendees at one of the sessions of the very successful Otago/Southland Conference in Queenstown.
From the President – continued from page 1
NZLS CLE Seminars – use it or lose it!
Recently, two NZLS CLE seminars
have been cancelled in Dunedin
due to lack of numbers. It is
disappointing that an opportunity
for practitioners to engage with
expert presenters is being missed.
There seems to be a trend towards
preferring webinars as the means of
participating in CLE. Webinars in my
experience are generally truncated
forms of the seminar that would
otherwise be delivered in person,
and the opportunities to participate
and ask questions of presenters are
much more limited.
In my view, “in person” seminars are
much more effective for increasing
one’s skills in the subject area.
A minimum of 16 registrants is
required for a seminar to proceed in
Dunedin and there is a real risk that
seminars will bypass Dunedin if the
trend of lack of interest continues.
Fraud Office relating to a “ponzi”
scheme involving some $2.8 million.
Alastair Paterson has maintained
a list of persons directly affected
by the defalcations of Mr Milne.
He has kept those affected persons
appraised of the proceedings to
date and the process to make claims
against the Fidelity Fund.
We as a Council resolved to seek to
establish a panel of practitioners to
advise affected persons as to their
ability to claim against the Fidelity
Fund and, if indicated, prepare and
file claims on behalf of the affected
persons on a pro bono basis.
As a branch, we consider that the
least that the profession can do is
to provide pro bono advice to those
affected by defalcations by a member
of the profession. This will hopefully
in some way restore confidence in
the profession as a whole.
Should you wish to make yourself
available to give advice (we are
aware of 11 affected persons),
please be in touch with David Sim
at Downie Stewart who will coordinate matters. His email address
John Milne
Practitioners will be aware that
John Milne, a former Dunedin
practitioner has pleaded guilty to
34 fraud charges laid by the Serious
is [email protected].
(All identifiable victims were
contacted individually by the Law
Society when the offending was first
detected and provided with relevant
information.)
Farewell to Karl
Karl Hewitt, our branch Manager
has tendered his resignation
with effect in late December.
Karl is moving to Wellington. He
has been very much the unsung
hero of the branch, quietly and
efficiently going about his work
(and making Presidents look good).
Karl’s efficient management of
branch affairs will be sadly missed,
and I know that you will join me
in wishing him well in his new
endeavours in Wellington.
Christmas Greetings
Finally, on behalf of branch Council,
I wish you all the very best for the
festive season. Make sure that you
take time to relax and refresh in
advance of a busy year ahead.
David Robinson
Otago branch President
Whateverittakes… toreachagreement
John Farrow is an experienced LEADR accredited mediator and Court appointed Lawyer for Child.
He has conducted over 50 Family Court mediations with a 90+% settlement rate and is now
available to conduct private Care of Children mediations. John is adept at helping people find
practical and cost effective solutions.
John will:
• Performathoroughreviewofallbackgrounddocumentationtoensureheisfullyappraisedofallissues
• Conductpremediationmeetingswitheachpartytoensurethattheyarecomfortablewiththeprocesstobefollowed
• Takethetimetoensurethatbothpartiesareabletopresenttheirperspective
• Ensureallsettlementoptionsarefullyexplored
Webb Farry has quality facilities available to ensure parties meet on ‘neutral territory’ and feel comfortable in the setting.
“Having engaged in trench warfare for many years with her intransigent
ex-partner, my client had every reason to be sceptical that agreement
would be reached. John Farrow won the parties’ confidence by being well
apprisedofthebackground,understandingeachparty’sgrievances,and
maintaining a sharp focus on finding a solution. My client considers the
money spent on mediation to be the best money she has ever spent”
Anita Chan QC
Black
PMS 7530
“Being able to access the right mediator for a particular case is an
integral part of my family law practice. John Farrow’s experience as a
mediator and his proven ability to get results in a timely, cost effective
way, mean he is a mediator I both use and highly recommend”
Nicola Williams, Barrister
Font: Dax Wide Bold
Solutions With Flair
79 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin • 107 Gordon Rd, Mosgiel • 03 477 1078 • [email protected]
2
Cur Adv Vult | 42 | 5 DECEMBER 2014
Justice must be accessible
W
ithout appropriate
access to justice, “we will
live in a society where
the strong will by any
means, including violence, always
win out against the weak.”
Justice Helen Winkelmann stated
this when delivering the 2014 New
Zealand Law Foundation Ethel
Benjamin Commemorative Address
on 7 November.
“For centuries judges and lawyers
have worked together to ensure
that all can enjoy the benefit of the
protection of the law, including
those who are vulnerable by reason
of limited means, limited education,
their minority status or their
gender.
“As I reflect upon developments
within the civil justice sector I see
the weakening of the exclusive
and central role that lawyers have
played in our courts.”
If this continues, the Chief High
Court Judge said, it would be
not just to the detriment of the
profession, but also to the detriment
of civil justice in society.
As a result of the rise in court fees,
For your
diary
for example, there are indications
that far from being viewed as
a democratic institution, civil
courts are “regarded as a luxury
service for which users should
pay”. In addition, people who
come before the courts are called
customers, judges and lawyers are
stakeholders, District Court centres
are franchises.
“We have a very large unmet need
for legal representation.
“The legal profession has to help
meet that need if it is to retain the
central position it now has in our
system of civil justice.
“It has exclusive rights of audience
in court to represent litigants. If the
profession is unable to provide that
representation in a form and at a
price that allows people to use those
services, it will not be long before
the question is asked: ‘why should
that exclusivity be maintained?’”
Justice Winkelmann said.
Her address is available on
the Otago Women Lawyers’
Association website, http://
otagowomenlawyerssociety.com/
ethel-benjamin/.
DEC
Property and Business
Law Committee
Christmas lunch, 1pm.
DEC
New Practitioners Group
Branch office, 1pm.
DEC
Branch office closes for
Christmas-New Year,
3pm.
JAN
Branch office opens for
2015, 9am.
JAN
First Cuv Adv Vult for
2015.
FEB
Past Presidents’ dinner,
date and venue to be
advised.
11
18
24
5
30
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• Liquidations / Receiverships • General Insolvency
Advice • Mortgage Recovery Assistance • Property
Management Negotiations • Litigation Support
Free Phone: 0800 633 343
Auckland
President: David Robinson
9th Floor, West Plaza, 1-3 Albert St.
PO Box 2137
Keith Harris
Websites: http:// my.lawsociety.org.nz
www.lawsociety.org.nz
Branch Manager: Karl Hewitt
Street address: Level 4, John Wickliffe House, 265
Princes Street, Dunedin, 9016
Postal address:
P O Box 1901, Dunedin 9054
Phone: (03) 477 0596
General inquiries email: [email protected]
Cur Adv Vult advertising: Christine Wilson
Phone: (04) 463 2905 advertising@lawsociety.
org.nz
Registry:
Freephone 0800 22 30 30
[email protected]
Christchurch
CLE information:
Freephone 0800 333 111
[email protected]
Website: www.lawyerseducation.co.nz
Printing:
Lithoprint, Wellington
Dunedin
DISPUTE
RESOLUTION CENTRE
 Commercial disputes
 Rural disputes
 Construction
D I S P Udisputes
TE
 Family disputes
8b Homersham Place, Burnside
PO Box 20-009
Wayne Deuchrass
mediation
Level 3 Burns House, 10 George St.
PO Box 1058
Iain Nellies Gus Jenkins
www.insolvency.co.nz
Email: [email protected]
arbitration
adjudication
employment
investigations
R E S O Ldisputes
UTION 
C ERelationship
N T R E property
 Employment
 Debt disputes
 Challenges to wills
Call: 479 4400
www.disputeresolutionservice.co.nz
Dispute
Resolution Centre
Jim Guest
Gerard DeCourcy
FAMINZ
AAMINZ
David Sim
AAMINZ
Cur Adv Vult | 42 | 5 DECEMBER 2014
3
Message from the branch Manager
A
s you will know I have resigned from my role
as Branch Manager. This takes effect from 24
December 2014. Over the last three and half
years I have come to know a great deal more
of the members from both Otago and Southland from
when I worked for the Ministry of Justice.
I will miss your friendly smiles and hellos when you
come to the branch or attend a function.
I have enjoyed my time with the Law Society, although
it has been a short time. The timing is just right for our
family to move to Wellington. At the time of writing this
piece, the role had been advertised and interviews were
being arranged for a replacement.
I am sure that you will all welcome the new manager
with open arms as you did with me, and make them feel
at ease, knowing that you are a great bunch to work for.
May you have a wonderful Christmas break with family
and friends – a break filled with love and laughter.
Otago barrister nets research fellowship
D
unedin barrister Alison
Douglass has been awarded
the 2014 New Zealand Law
Foundation International
Research Fellowship. Mental
Capacity: Updating the Law and
Practice is the title of her research
project.
The aim of her research, which she
will conduct in New Zealand and England, is to review
the law concerning mental capacity in New Zealand.
“In New Zealand, there is no specific guidance for
medical or legal practitioners and others in this field, yet
incapacity permeates all aspects of law and healthcare
practice,” Ms Douglass says.
“Despite the importance of mental capacity and the
issues at stake, there has been no review or analysis of
the legal framework as it affects people with diminished
capacity in the health system.”
This research is “particularly important” now because
of the aging population and the increasing prevalence of
dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
To date there has been no analysis of how patients’
rights under the Code of Rights fits within the adult
guardianship law under the Protection of Personal and
Property Rights Act 1988.
“There is a clear need for New Zealand law and policy
to catch up with current thinking and practice in this
area,” she says.
People
Stephanie Pettigrew has joined Marks & Worth
Lawyers as an associate.
Joanna Rolfe has left Jenny Beck Law to pursue her
career in Melbourne.
Paulette Cavanagh (formerly Petelo) has joined Jenny
Beck Law.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Lynne Harrison LLB, AAMINZ, RGON
Jim Guest FAMINZ (Med Arb) BA LLB P G Dip (Law)
Arbitrator, Mediator, Conciliator
Commercial, Rural & Relationship Property
David McCaskill FAMINZ(Arb)FCIArb LLB MPP
Dip Public Law
Mediator
Family, Health, Relationship Property
Ph 03 477 2262
[email protected]
Ph 021 0254 5009
Arbitrator
P O Box 8155, Dunedin 9041
Commercial, Building, General Disputes
Ph 03 477 5005
Doug Harvie AAMINZ Bcom
Arbitrator, Conciliator & Chartered Accountant [email protected]
Primary Sector, Commercial Business & SME Disputes
Ph 03 477 2262
Gerard De Courcy AAMINZ LLB
Mediator
[email protected]
Family & Commercial
0800 426 469
4
Cur Adv Vult | 42 | 5 DECEMBER 2014
Ph 03 477 9305
[email protected]
Chris Steven AAMINZ LLB
Ph 03 443 8286
Mediator
[email protected]
Building, Commercial, Education, Resource Management, General
Trevor Shiels QC FAMINZ (Arb) LLB
Ph 03 477 4030
Arbitrator
[email protected]
Company, Commercial, Relationship Property, Resource Management
Ph 03 482 1840
Dr Clive Trotman FAMINZ (Arb) DSc PhD FIBiol
Arbitrator & Mediator
[email protected]
Science & Technology, Rural, Health & General Disputes
Ph 03 467 5731
Les Williams AAMINZ NZCB
Arbitrator, Mediator & Expert Witness
[email protected]
Building Disputes
www.aminz.org.nz