Canterbury Tales - New Zealand Law Society

Canterbury tales
Canterbury tales
Canterbury Westland Branch New Zealand Law Society
September 2013, Vol. 19, No. 8
Selma Scott adds to
her busy workload
By Zylpha Kovacs
Congratulations to Selma
Scott, who has been
appointed as Chair of the
Pacific Trust Board.
Selma, who is principal of her Christchurch law
firm Scott & Co, has been a member of the
board since 2007 and as Pacific Island Affairs
Minister Hekia Parata says, “Selma’s legal
background and long-term membership of the
board offer a perspective which will be of great
benefit to Pacific businesses.”
There is one more thing that will be of great
benefit to Pacific Businesses and that is Selma’s
passion for the work the Trust does and what
they are achieving.
The Pacific Business Trust (PBT) was set up in
1985 and is a not for profit Charitable Trust.
Initially it was set up to improve employment
opportunities for Pacific people in New Zealand.
Over the next 25 years the Trust, while still
improving employment opportunities,
expanded its services to provide training and
assistance for Pacific people to set up their own
businesses and encourage their entrepreneurial
skills. This expansion has led to PBT in the
2010-2011 year supporting 49 business startups, $4,619,832 sales turnover and 109 jobs
created.
The training, practical advice and coaching given
by the Pacific Business Trust Facilitators is one
of the main reasons PBT has had such
successful results but the collaboration with Te
Wananga o Aotearoa is also a very important
factor in the positive outcomes.
Selma Scott....facing some big challenges.
Te Wananga o Aotearoa works with PBT to offer
free NZQA recognised qualification courses.
With Te Wananga o Aotearoa being one of the
largest tertiary education providers in New
Zealand their holistic approach to education sits
well with the goals and aims of PBT.
Some of the courses available are Certificates
in First Steps to Business, Computer and
Business Administration, and Computing, all of
them being NZQA Level 2.
Entrepreneurial and business skills in Pacific
secondary school students are also supported
by PBT’s involvement with The Young Enterprise
Scheme (YES). Pacific students are encouraged
to enter this scheme, which is open to all
schools and students throughout New Zealand.
The challenges for the students are that they
form a company, create a product or service
and then market and sell it. This course is a
one-year programme and in 2012 the overall
winner was one of the teams that PBT had
provided with mentoring support.
PBT also has a joint project with Manukau
Institute of Technology (MIT) and Auckland
University of Technology (AUT) where they
organise a competition for year 13 students.
The students identify a business concept and
investigate its viability.
The concept plan is presented to a panel of
judges with the winners gaining scholarships
to study at either MIT or AUT. PBT also has
programmes with individual schools where
students are given a realistic glimpse into the
business world.
The Pacific Business Awards and other business
events, which are hosted by PBT, acknowledge
and celebrate the successes of Pacific business
and are a reflection of the success that PBT
has achieved out in our communities.
Holding the position of Chair of PBT, which
involves a lot of travel, and running her own
law practice as well as spending quality time
with her family would seem like enough for
any person but Selma also holds two other
Ministerial appointed roles.
The first one is a member of the Human Rights
Review Tribunal, where she is one of 11
members including four who are either
practicing lawyers or who have legal
qualifications. The second is a member of the
State Housing Appeal Authority, where she is
one of nine members.
Selma acknowledges that the support of her
husband Nick, their three children and
extended family allows her the flexibility to be
able to successfully achieve in all these areas
of her life. She is looking forward to the
challenges that will face her in the future.
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Vino Fino
Photo Caption
Each month we have a photo caption
competition where we invite you to submit a
caption. The winner will receive two bottles of
wine sponsored by Vino Fino (www.vinifinoco.nz,
188 Durham Street).
Send your entry to the Canterbury Westland
Branch New Zealand Law Society, P. O. Box
565, Christchurch. Or email to [email protected]. All entries must be
received by October 9 2013. The winner will
be announced in the next edition of Canterbury
Tales.
The winning entry for last month’s picture
(below) was submitted by Grant Tyrrell.
“You wouldn’t believe how good the
president’s column is this month.”
President’s Column
One of life’s truisms is that you do
not know how much you value
something until you lose it. This
applies as much to the small things
in life as to the big things.
The monthly ritual of receiving Canterbury
Tales in your offices is one of those small
pleasures that we take for granted, but should
not. Indeed, our branch of the NZLS is the
exception to most, in producing a good quality,
hard copy magazine for our members every
month.
While the move to electronic communications
continues unabated, there are some
publications where, at least some of us think,
the tactile satisfaction of a glossy page and a
tangible record is to be preferred over an
electronic page which can be deleted by the
touch of a button.
However, in order to keep receiving your hard
copy of Canterbury Tales, we need our
magazine to be supported by our advertisers.
By using the services of our advertisers and
letting them know that you see and appreciate
their support of the magazine, we can continue
to bring you a monthly hard copy edition of
Canterbury Tales.
Even better, if you know of other compatible
businesses that offer services or goods that
complement the legal audience who read this
publication, then please encourage them to
advertise in this magazine.
Maybe, in the future, there will be a time when
moving to an electronic format is warranted
because that is what our members want, but
my personal view is that we are not there yet.
That said, I invite you to share your views on
this subject.
One of the aspects of Canterbury Tales which
is most enjoyed is its coverage of social
functions held by the profession in the previous
month. In that regard I attended two quite
different, but equally enjoyable functions in late
August.
The first was the Canterbury Women’s Legal
Association annual dinner, which was a great
success. Tickets sold out well in advance of
the event and it was attended by a wide range
of female practitioners from all levels and types
of practice.
We were thoroughly entertained by three
professional women speakers — Pam Clark, a
partner at HFK Limited, Doctor Jane McDonald,
a urologist, and Ingrid Taylor, a partner at Taylor
Shaw.
After each speaker I felt sorry for the person
who had to follow, thinking they would struggle
to maintain the standard set by the previous
speaker of combining humour with a serious
message, but in every case I was proved wrong.
Every speaker was worth listening to and added
to the evening’s enjoyment. I know at our table,
they were the catalyst for animated discussions
on health, happiness, job satisfaction and other
profound subjects.
On the following evening a dinner was held to
honour the appointment of the three new
South Island silks — Jonathan Eaton, Trevor
Shiels and Pip Hall. Again, the evening was
punctuated by speeches from the three newly
appointed QCs and each combined an
appropriate mix of self-deprecating humour,
reflections on their career to date, and tributes
to their mentors and predecessors.
It has been a long time since the last round of
appointments, and an even longer time since
members of the local Criminal Bar have been
recognised for their excellence in this way It was
a wonderful evening to be part of. I am reliably
told this will feature in next month’s Canterbury
Tales. Something to look forward to!
Rachel Dunningham
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3
Enjoyable CWLA dinner
By Melanie Jones
The Canterbury Women’s Legal
Association held its annual
midwinter dinner on August 29 at
the Shilling Club on the University
of Canterbury’s campus.
This dinner, which was sponsored by Chapman
Tripp, Baldwins and Craigs Investment Partners,
is the fundraiser for the scholarship that the
CWLA awards to the top non-honours law
graduate. The recipient, who was awarded her
2011 scholarship at the dinner, this year was
Rachel Forde.
The Committee approached the dinner this
year with a different theme by inviting an
accountant, (Pam Clarke from HFK Ltd), a
doctor (Jane MacDonald from Urology
Associates), and a lawyer (Ingrid Taylor) to
speak on the subject of Do as I say, not as I
do.
Professor Ursula Cheer was the Master of
Ceremonies for the evening and she did a
stellar job of keeping such a large group of very
noisy women under control. Pam kept us all
amused with her enviable strategy of making
full use of her work from home husband.
Her MOTH (man of the house) has been well
trained to cope with the daily demands of their
young children. However, Pam did admit defeat
on the washing front when expensive
white shirts came out the other end a
definite shade of grey!
Jane brought the house down with her
uniquely female viewpoint of a
medical speciality dominated by male
patients and surgeons. Needless to
say, all present will never quite look at
that cut of chicken in quite the same
way again!! Amidst all the laughing,
Jane reminded us of the important
medical test we should prioritise to
keep our health in tip-top shape.
To round off the evening, Ingrid tackled
the quest for happiness, and the
juggling of partners and children. I am Rachel Forde, centre, with Rachel Dunningham
not sure that Ingrid gave us any golden and Catherine Bibbey.
answers, but she did give some useful
tips and recommended reading. (Lean In by afternoon of 22 November 2013 at the new
Sheryl Sandberg and The Happiness Project Rydges in Latimer Square.
by Gretchen Rubin). Having read both these The CWLA sees the seminar as a way for
women practitioners in Christchurch to
books, I can highly recommend them.
Despite the serious topic, Ingrid managed to reconnect and benefit from the speakers’
make us all laugh, and we now realise it is OK presentations, which will focus on strategies
to desire a designer handbag after all. It may for a successful working life. The line-up of
confirmed speakers includes Helen Clark (via
make you happy.
A most enjoyable evening finished with the video), the Right Honourable Judith Collins, The
announcement of CWLA’s next event, The New Honourable Susan Glazebrook, Carmel Fisher
Zealand Bar Association is co-hosting a seminar (Fisher Funds), Mai Chen (Chen Palmer) and
called Obstacles and Opportunities on the Lisa O’Neil. The registrations will open soon.
The speakers,
left Pam
Clarke, right
Dr Jane
MacDonald
and below
Ingrid Taylor.
Far right,
some of the
diners.
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Untied from the timesheet
By Andrew Nuttall
have reported record years in 2011 and 2012.
Director
Bradley Nuttall Limited
The partnership model
Over the last 25 years I have had
the pleasure of working closely with
a number of lawyers, including
partners both senior and junior and
younger practitioners.
It has been very interesting work as the
profession attracts some of the greatest talent
from our universities and this talent is
accompanied by a strong work ethic, personal
pride, a desire to achieve and a willingness to
help and serve their clients. However, law is
competitive and not without its pressure and
stresses.
The law provides an ability to generate incomes
well above the national average but why is it
that some of the highest earners do not become
the wealthiest and provide themselves with
options and choices during their lives and in
retirement? Why is it that too many are burnt
out, suffer stress and fail to achieve a work life
balance that gives them peace of mind and
contentment?
These questions motivated me to undertake
some research and over the last six months I
have interviewed practice managers,
practitioners, senior and junior partners and
others closely connected to the legal fraternity.
The objective is to better understand the needs
and requirement of members of the legal
fraternity to not only help me to serve them
better but to also provide a basis for thought
planning and discussion.
Series of articles
During my interviews a number of trends and
themes emerged that are likely to influence the
legal community in years to come and more
importantly have an impact on the financial
security of its members.
Over the next few months, I will write a series
of articles covering some of the key findings
from my research and trust that they will be
helpful and constructive. Please be mindful that
some of the views expressed are not necessarily
mine but have been expressed by those whom
I have met with. I will cover the following areas:
1. Challenges faced by law firms.
2. Financial challenges of the individual lawyer.
3. Some thoughts and ideas on how
practitioners may be able to better plan to give
themselves choices and options at a future date
so they can untie themselves from the
timesheet when it suits them.
A number of the partners I interviewed reported
that they are experiencing their most profitable
years. There are cost pressures, primarily with
staffing and rent. However, many are reporting
they have more work than ever and a number
Over the last 20 years or so, the percentage of
principals holding practising certificates has
fallen and this consolidation and tighter control
of equity within firms has enabled partners to
retain control of both decision making and
distribution of revenue and profit.
While partners have generally earned very good
incomes, there is disparity of performance and
the measurement of personal contributions to
the partnership has caused tensions and at
times led to dispute.
Female numbers
Today two-thirds of law graduates are female,
however, only 20% of partners are women.
Although females have historically been well
represented within law firms, 25 years ago there
were only two female partners in Christchurch.
While there are a greater number of female
partners now, will females be proportionately
represented in the future? Will female
practitioners want to and be prepared to do
what it takes to become a partner?
Generational differences are also imposing
pressure on the partnership model. A high
proportion of New Zealand’s population was
born between 1946 and 1964. Partners in their
50s and 60s today, need to recognise there
are relatively fewer people aged 35-45 and in
addition gen X and Ys have different attitudes
to work/life balance, money and consumption.
tend to have their families later in life and
because of student loans, travel to work in the
UK and the weaker UK pound might not have
the balance sheet and the willingness to buy
into a partnership. Most respondents were of
the opinion that partners should make a capital
contribution and have ‘skin in the game’, but
partners who are looking to retire in the next 5
to10 years, may not be able to release capital
from the partnership that they are hopeful of.
Added attractions
There is a reported skill shortage in the
Christchurch market place and to attract and
retain bright young minds law firms will not only
need to meet their income demands but also
provide good quality office space, up to date
technology, a work life balance and a
harmonious work place.
A number of respondents reported that their
firms were allocating considerable time and
resource to help ensure that their firm was an
“employer of choice.”
I hope this is a helpful insight that stimulates
some discussion and planning. Over the next
few months I will write about additional
challenges facing law firms as well as some of
the financial challenges. I will provide insight to
recommendations and advice from a number
of senior partners who have been successful
in maintaining their desired quality of life as
they transition into retirement and retire from
practice.
Duncan Cotterill moving
back into the central city
Christchurch’s and the South Island’s largest
law firm, Duncan Cotterill, will return to the city
by October next year, signing a lease on a new
building in the Knox Plaza development on
Victoria St.
The firm, which has more than 130 staff in
Christchurch, has been based in Burnside since
the February 2011 earthquake. Chief executive
Terry McLaughlin says the firm is delighted to
be moving back to the city.
“We have always said that we are committed
to moving back into town. The opportunity to
fully lease the office space in this development
means we can be back much sooner than we
might otherwise have been, and within an
emerging professional services precinct.”
He sees Victoria Street as one of several
professional precincts in the central city, home
to the likes of legal, accounting, financial
services, engineering and architecture firms.
The Victoria Street precinct will soon be up and
running and offers excellent parking and access
for our clients at the door. The Knox Plaza
development will be part of an emerging fresh
business face in an entrance to the city.
Construction of the new four-level building,
which will be set behind a “transparent” single
storey structure housing retail and hospitality
outlets, is under way and scheduled for
completion by September 2014.
It has been designed to complement the
neighbouring Knox Church, which is undergoing
restoration work, with a campus-style setting
incorporating a cloistered walkway and internal
courtyard, and architectural features
sympathetic to the church’s Gothic proportions.
The courtyard will feature a 12-metre high
sculpture by leading Christchurch sculptor
Graham Bennett.
Terry McLaughlin says Duncan Cotterill will
occupy all of the building’s office space, with
some 2,800 square metres over three levels.
“It means we will have our own building, with
our own naming and signage rights. We will be
making a highly visible commitment to
Christchurch, our clients will enjoy easy access
and on-site parking, and our staff will be working
in an excellent environment.”
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THE GREAT DEBATE
So who does do it better?
By Madeleine Thwaites
and Stephanie Mann
This article was written by members
of the Junior Practitioners’
Committee and accordingly
presents a biased report of the
evening as we recall it.
On Tuesday 3 September the Junior
Practitioners’ Committee successfully hosted
“The Great Debate” for the second successive
year. More than 100 people attended to see
the female junior practitioners take on the
elderly — we mean, senior — practitioners to
argue Who does it (the law) better?
Judge Neave had the honour of presiding over
this much-anticipated event, setting the tone
and jokes at an appropriately low level before
the debaters kicked off.
For the young females, Renee Powell, from
Helmore Bowron & Scott, was up first to
convince Judge Neave that, of course, females
do it better on top. Renee outlined the history
of female involvement in the practice of law
and named the many females in some of
the top legal jobs in the country.
Jeremy Johnson, of Wynn Williams, himself
nearly eligible to represent the junior
practitioners, was first speaker for the seniors.
Jeremy took the moot further by arguing that
Judge Raoul Neave.....his opening remarks
set a suitably low tone. Other photographs on
this page show some of those in attendance.
although men did the law better, gay men
did the law best of all.
Sarah Hoffman, also from Wynn Williams,
spoke second for the ladies. Threatened with
a performance review from Jeremy, she
retorted with a threat of a personal grievance.
Silencing the boys, Sarah took the junior girls’
argument through until Duncan Webb took
to the lectern.
Doctor Professor “I-want-to-be-a-juniorforever-so-I-won’t-leave-law-school-for-17years” Webb talked about something for a
good wee while and managed to be rather
entertaining, before fellow Lane Neaver Fiona
McMillan ripped the boys to shreds.
If the insults were not personal before, they
certainly were by this stage. Entertaining,
engaging, and a highlight before the men put
their last, and certainly not their best, foot
forward.
Phil Shamy, well, what can we say? Some of
us thought we had filthy minds but even we
could not understand Phil’s jokes. We are not
sure it added to the men’s argument, and by
that stage, the junior female practitioners had
stamped their claim as the winners of the
debate (in the eyes of the writers).
All in all, the evening was incredibly
entertaining. We had a fantastic new venue
in the Elmwood Theatre in Aikmans Road,
Merivale.
Drinks and nibbles provided a g reat
opportunity for both junior and senior
practitioners alike to mix and mingle, and the
debate itself provided many laughs and much
food for thought.
The Committee would like to publicly thank
Judge Neave and the debaters for putting on
a fantastic show. We would also like to thank
the caterer, Jenny Dodd from Culinary Capers,
for the excellent food.
We hope to be able to bring this event back
for a third year next year, and hope to see
even more faces come along to enjoy the
friendly banter on offer.
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Jeff Goldstein goes on an
By Zylpha Kovacs
For those of you who don’t know,
Jeff Goldstein was a seriously good
football player.
At 18 years of age he was playing at a semiprofessional level in Sydney, Australia. While
working hard as a footballer he was also
studying law. The time came when he had to
make a decision between the two and as
football was not a high paying profession back
then Jeff chose a career in law. He continued
to play at a highly competitive level in Australia
and this was continued when he made his
move over to New Zealand.
Jeff’s football playing career was bought to a
sudden halt in New Zealand when he fell and
severally damaged his knee. This injury left Jeff
unable to even kick a football let alone play a
competitive game. To fill the void that football
had left behind he took up playing golf and
this became a sport that he both excelled in
and enjoyed.
While golf was not as physical on his knee as
football, the knee still deteriorated over the
years to the point that in 2012 he had to have
replacement surgery. The surgery was such a
success that Jeff found that he could now not
only kick a football but he thought he might be
able to take to the pitch in an actual game.
While on a visit to Australia a footballing friend
who was organising a team to play in the 2013
World Masters Games asked him to join and
Jeff signed up!
Now that he was on his way to Turin (also
known as Torino) in the northwest of Italy for
the Masters Games, his son Michael said they
should organise a father/son golfing trip
through the UK while he was over on that side
of the world.
Now as many of us know it is very hard to say
no to our children even when they have grown
up and left the nest, consequently, Jeff said
yes and the golfing/soccer trip was underway.
Michael was to organise the golfing sector of
the trip as he had extensive experience in this
field. In 2010 Michael and his friend Jamie set
themselves the challenge of playing a game of
Michael and Jeff Goldstein on the famous Swilcairn Bridge at the 18th hole on the Old
Course at St Andrews.
golf every day for a year! They called the
challenge Puregolf 2010 (you can look at their
website www.puregolf2010.com.) They left
their jobs as lawyers and set off over the world
playing golf and raising funds for and awareness
of the New Zealand youth programme, “The
First Tee”.
This program teaches life skills to young people
through the game of golf and Michael and
Jamie raised significant funds for them as well
as completing their goal of a game of golf every
day for a year. With this success under his hat
organising nine games of golf in 10 days for
him, his dad and their friend (also Michael)
‘would be a walk in the park’!
While maybe not a walk in the park, the golfing
trip, which saw them travel from The Old
Course St Andrews Golf Links in Edinburgh right
down to Dover in the South of England was a
memorable trip albeit lots of travel and lots of
golf. A great time had by all!
When Jeff moved on from England to Turin
the great time continued. The World Masters
Games consisted of 30 different sports and
18,000 competitors. Jeff’s football team was
playing in the over 45 years age group and
Canterbury tales
7
nother sporting odyssey
of the best. It is the highest museum in the
world at 167 metres high and has a huge
collection ranging from the very beginnings of
magic lantern shadow shows through to current
film technology. It contains paintings, books,
posters and movie reels.
There are three movie theatres running movies
constantly and hosts several film festivals each
year. The highlight is a panoramic glass elevator
that covers its 75-metre ride up to the top in
59 seconds. The ride is in the central open
space of the building and goes up to the “Small
Temple” at the top where you then have a 360degree view of the city.
After all this sport, sightseeing and travel Jeff
was happy to get back to Christchurch to
oversee the 2013 Employment Conference
and possibly consider where to next!
Jeff Goldstein at the opening ceremony of the Masters Games in the piazza in Turin.
had a number of players over 50 and 60 years
of age (Jeff included!).
The team had 20 players in the squad but was
only able to have a team list of 18 for each
game. Rolling subs were the order of the day.
There were six teams in their pool, two from
Brazil and four from Australia. They made it
through to the quarterfinals where their game
was 0-0 at full time and required a penalty
shoot-out, which they lost. Still Jeff and his team
were very happy with their result.
The games were played early morning or late
afternoon/early evening as the temperatures
in the middle of the day were 35-40 degrees.
This left the middle of the day for sightseeing
around Turin. Jeff said that while Turin was
largely an industrial town it had a number of
outstanding places to visit. Three that Jeff would
recommend are the Egyptian Museum,
National Car Museum and the National Cinema
Museum.
The Egyptian Museum is rated as the 2nd most
important in the world after the Cairo Museum
and is the only place you can see an
unwrapped mummy along with many other
outstanding Egyptian exhibits.
The National Car Museum, which naturally
features a large number of Fiats, has one of
the largest collection of cars in the world and a
must see for all car enthusiasts but the highlight
for Jeff was the National Cinema Museum.
Jeff has travelled extensively and visited many
of the popular attractions around the world and
he rates the National Cinema Museum as one
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CCCL spring seminars
Following the very successful 2012
conference “Legal issues arising
from the earthquakes” held by the
Centre for Commercial and
Corporate Law, Inc, the Centre is
pleased to announce its 2013
“Spring Seminar Series”.
The series of three one-hour seminars, will be
held in October and November at the James
Hight Library Undercroft 101, University of
Canterbury. Each seminar will commence at
5:30 and will be followed by drinks and nibbles.
The dates, topics and presenters are as follows:
10 October — White-Collar and Blue-Collar
Crime in New Zealand: Investigating the
different treatments of tax evasion and
welfare fraud (Dr Lisa Marriott, Associate
Professor, Victoria University of Wellington)
This study investigates the extent to which
similar offences are treated equally in the New
Zealand justice system. Specifically, the study
compares white- and blue-collar offending,
using tax evasion as a proxy for white-collar
crime and benefit fraud as a proxy for bluecollar crime.
These offences are conceptually similar: both
are nonviolent and financial in nature.
Importantly, they have the same ‘victim’ (the
government and society) and both reduce
government resources available to provide
services for society.
However, an important distinction is that tax
evasion is typically undertaken by individuals
in privileged positions, while benefit fraud is
typically undertaken by those less advantaged
in society. Findings of this study to date indicate
that higher proportions of investigations and
prosecutions will take place for those engaging
in welfare fraud as compared to those engaging
in tax evasion.
This study highlights the differences in
treatments of tax evasion and welfare fraud at
a range of junctures. The ultimate objective of
the study is to challenge what appears to be a
differential system for the treatment of
conceptually similar financial offending in New
Zealand.
24 October — Insurance Law, an update
following the Christchurch earthquakes (Dr
Duncan Webb, Partner, Lane Neave).
It is a pleasure to welcome Duncan to back to
the University to present one of the Spring
Seminars. Duncan specialises in insurance and
liability work. In recent times he has become a
well known advocate for insureds in the wake
of the Canterbury Earthquakes.
He has a comprehensive knowledge of law
after many years in practice as well as a
distinguished academic career as a professor
of law who has taught insurance law at both
Canterbury and Auckland universities.
He has also written extensively in insurance
including the book Insurance Law Practice
Policy and Principles (2004) and has been a
contributor to the New Zealand Insurance Law
Association presenting papers to the
Association’s annual conferences.
Duncan and Lane Neave have assisted a
number of clients, including major insurers, with
insurance work of all kinds. Recently Duncan
has been invited by The Press to its Live Chat
Show to answer earthquake insurance queries
and has also contributed articles in the
newspaper.
7 November — Charity Sector Update (Dr
Michael Gousmett, Public Historian). In this
presentation Michael will consider (i) the
disestablishment of the Charities Commission;
(ii) shortcomings in reporting by Charities and
Continued Page 9
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the need for Public Benefit Reports; (iii) tax
issues including, deregistration and its
consequences as well as defining “gift” for the
purposes of the Income Tax Act 2007; and
provide (iv) an overview of charity tax history:
Pitt, Pemsel, Ballance, Grey, and Holyoake.
Michael’s 2009 doctoral thesis is a study of
the origins of the charitable purposes
exemption tax from its inception in England in
1799 to the seminal charity lay case, Pemsel,
in 1891.
This has since been followed up by a study of
the history of charity tax concessions in New
Zealand, which is about to be published in the
New Zealand Journal of Taxation Law and
Policy.
Dr Gousmett also presents an annual guest
lecture on charity taxation to the senior tax
students at the University of Canterbury. He is
a regular contributor to the New Zealand Law
Journal, as well as a presenter at national and
international conferences. As a practitioner
since 1989, and a public historian, Dr Gousmett
is able to bring a perspective from those
experiences to his work. He is also a co-author
with Susan Barker and Ken Lord, of The Law
and Practice of Charities in New Zealand,
the first comprehensive text of its kind in New
Zealand which was published by LexisNexis this
year.
To register your interest to attend any of these
spring seminars please email [email protected]. There is no charge
for attendance at these seminars.
Comings & Goings
Joined firm/organisation
Alison Daly (Ministry of Social Development), Jennifer Goldsmith (PayGlobal Ltd), Tiffany McRae
(Russell Moon & Fail), Jennifer Miles (Lumley General Insurance (NZ) Ltd), Donald Matthews
(Public Defence Service), Michael Mayman (Heartland Law Ltd), Deborah Moore (CERA), Thomas
Nation (Timpany Walton), Leigh Rodgers (Community Law Canterbury), Glen Ryan (White Fox &
Jones), Harry Shaw (Wynn Williams Lawyers), Mikaela Taggart (Community Law Canterbury).
Moved
Craig Hock (Geddes & Maciaszek to Argyle Welsh Finnigan), Lisa Smith (Te Runanga o Ngai to
Rooney Group Ltd), Gemma Woods (Goodman Tavendale Reid to Anderson Lloyd).
Change of status
Purnell Creighton, relocated to 35 Leslie Hills Drive, PO Box 9307, Christchurch 8149. All other
details remain the same.
Rebecca Morgan Barrister, postal address 62 Riccarton Road, Level 1, Canterbury Chambers,
Christchurch 8011.
David Stringer, postal address 62a Woodbury Street, Avonhead, Christchurch 8042.
Katherine Ewer, postal address 3 Hackthorne Road, Cashmere, Christchurch 8022.
New attraction coming to Tekapo Springs
Tekapo Springs will soon have the world’s
largest inflatable water slide and the first
location outside the USA to have the
attraction. The multi-award winning South
9
Island tourism attraction will unveil its brand
new Trippo Slide on November 1 2013 in time
for the busy summer season.
The oversized inflatable water slide with three
slide chutes spans an impressive 11 metre
high and 53 metres in length and will be
located on Tekapo Springs’ outdoor skating
rink during the summer season.
The slide will be permanently inflated
throughout summer until end March 2014
and will replace the company’s roller-skating
attraction, which normally operates in
summer.
Tekapo Springs General Manager Cathy
Hemsworth said the company had been
looking for “an iconic and fun” summer
activity for some time and that the Trippo
Slide had literally “jumped out” as a perfect
fit.
“We came across this via a contact in the
USA and thought it looked fantastic. It’s
exactly what we’ve been searching for,” said
Mrs Hemsworth.
The Trippo Slide is currently only being used
by three other operators in the USA and has
not even been officially launched to market
yet.
Pricing for the slide will be $20 for an adult
(16yrs and over) and $15 for a child (3yrs15yrs). Family passes will be available and
the price covers an all-day pass.
Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism Chief
Executive Tim Hunter said the new attraction
was “an exciting and welcome addition” to
the Mackenzie region’s tourism offering.
“It’s imperative that we continue to expand
and grow the Mackenzie District’s tourism
economy and the addition of such a fun and
quirky new product will attract a lot of interest
from a broad range of visitors,” said Mr
Hunter.
Advert
2
10
Canterbury
Canterburytales
tales
Requirements under CPD
By Julie Hutton,
Solicitor, Notary Public and Director
of Plain English Law Ltd
Under
the
Lawyers
and
Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Ongoing
Legal Education — Continuing
Professional Development) Rules
2013 (“Rules”), there are two
important dates to n ote:
1 October 2013 — the optional date from
which lawyers can begin to record their
Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”)
hours and activities and
1 April 2014 — the mandatory date from
which lawyers are obliged to record their CPD
hours and activities for the twelve-month period
ending on 31 March 2015.
Although the responsibility for complying with
the Rules rests with each individual lawyer, one
aspect of the Rules that has not received
Canterbury Westland
Branch/NZLS
Education
Programme
Proudly sponsored by
significant publicity is the ability of organisations
to apply for approved self-audit status (“ASAS”).
Under Rule 8, the New Zealand Law Society
(“NZLS”) has the power to audit any lawyer to
verify compliance with the Rules. However, if a
lawyer is part of an organisation with ASAS, then
the audit responsibility shifts from the NZLS to
that organisation.
The provisions enabling ASAS are set out in
Rule 9 (and are further clarified in the NZLS
Guidelines for the Rules). The essential terms
are:
• An organisation seeking ASAS is required to
make an initial approval application to the NZLS;
• Eligibility is dependent on the organisation
satisfying the NZLS that it:
— “has effective policies and procedures in
place for ensuring all lawyers in the organisation
comply with these rules” (Rule 9.2 (a)); and
_ “appoints a lawyer, of sufficient seniority and
standing, who is approved by the Law Society,
as a CPD officer to monitor compliance with
these rules” (Rule 9.2(b)).
21 — IT Projects and Disputes, Webinar.
22 — Criminal Appellate Advocacy.
22 — The NZLS CPD Rules, a practical guide.
24 — Financial Markets Conduct Reforms,
Webinar.
November
5 — Update on Contract.
12 — The Role of the Trustee (also Webinar,
20 November).
20-21 — Reading accounts and balance
sheets.
26 — Immigration and Protection Tribunal.
27 — Trust Account Supervisor Training.
Out of Christchurch
NZLS Continuing Legal Education (CLE
Limited)
To register and for other information check
the CLE website,
www.lawyerseducation.co.nz
Christchurch
October
7-8 — Intro to Family Law Advocacy and
Practice.
15 — The Difficult Property File.
15 — Trusts can survive a relationship
breakdown — myth or reality? Webinar.
18 — Seminar, The Honourable Justice Young
and The Honourable Justice French give
overviews of their respective roles in The
Supreme Court and The Court of Appeal.
Watch for flyer.
Commerce Act reforms: cartels and
criminalisation, Auckland 8 October.
Takeovers Intensive, Wellington 23 October,
Auckland 24 October.
Introduction to High Court Civil Litigation Skills,
Auckland 14-15 October, Wellington 29-30
October, Auckland 25-26 November.
Family Law Conference, Auckland 21-22
November. Pre-conference workshop 20
November
Mediating Dangerously, workshop, Auckland
15 November, Wellington 18 November.
Negotiation Masterclass, Auckland 27
November.
Social
Quiz Evening — 16th October 2013. Watch
for flyer.
Informal Family Law Dinner — 17th October
2013. Watch for flyer.
South Island Devils Own Golf Tournament —
1-3rd November. Watch for flyer.
•
Once an organisation has achieved ASAS,
there is an on-going requirement to retain a
NZLS approved CPD officer and to ensure that
there are “suitable arrangements in place to
ensure that the CPD officer is able to discharge
his or her duties in accordance with these rules”
(Rule 9.3(b)).
As to be expected, the role of the CPD officer
is one of review, compliance, monitoring and
maintenance. This is a dual role, covering not
only the organisation’s CPD policies and
procedures, but also compliance with the Rules
by members of the organisation.
The “transfer” effect of audit responsibility from
the NZLS to the self-auditing organisation,
enabled by Rule 9, applies to the individual
lawyers in the organisation, but not to the
organisation, itself. Rule 9.5 provides that selfauditing organisations are, themselves, subject
to audit by the NZLS to verify that they are
complying with the Rules.
Under Rule 9.8, the NZLS may revoke an
organisation’s ASAS, if the NZLS reaches the
view that the organisation is not complying with
the self-auditing provisions of the Rules. Rule
9.9 permits subsequent re-application by an
organisation with a revoked status.
In no circumstances does ASAS given to any
organisation, absolve the individual lawyers
within that organisation from complying with
their obligation under Rule 7.1, to make an
annual declaration of compliance with the CPD
requirements.
For all organisations given ASAS, it remains the
obligation of each lawyer within each
organisation to remain personally responsible
for making his or her own annual declaration
of compliance under Rule 7.1.
Organisations interested in applying for ASAS
will be able to find further information on the
process, on NZLS website later in the year. In
the meantime, an essential starting point for
all firms, regardless of whether they intend to
apply for ASAS or not, is to create a continuing
professional development plan and record
(“CPDPR”) as required by Rule 5, for each
lawyer in the organisation.
I have developed a comprehensive template
form of CPDPR which is available for purchase
— either from my website http://
www.cpdforlawyers.co.nz/ or by emailing me
at [email protected].
Have you organised your
CPD Plan and Record
format?
Let us do it for you.
www.cpdforlawyers.co.nz
or email Julie at
[email protected]
for a free demonstration.
Canterbury tales
11
To Lease
Canterbury Tales is the official newsletter of
the Canterbury Westland Branch New Zealand
Law Society.
Publications Committee: Karen Feltham
(editor), Brendan Callaghan, Aliza Eveleigh,
Zylpha Kovacs and Kate Dougherty.
All correspondence and photographs should
be forwarded to: The Branch Manager,
Canterbury-Westland Branch New Zealand
Law Society, Unit 1, 8 Homersham Place,
Russley, Christchurch. P. O. Box 565
Christchurch.
Phone 358-3147, fax 358-3148. email
[email protected].
Canterbury Tales is published 11 times per
year. The deadline for editorial and
photographs is the 8th of the month.
Disclaimer: Canterbury Tales is published by
the Canterbury Westland Branch New Zealand
Law Society. The opinions expressed herein
may not necessarily be those of the Branch
and have not been expressly authorised. The
Branch accepts no responsibility whatsoever
for any error, omission or statement.
2
12
Canterbury
Canterburytales
tales
Crazy Carvers cut capers
By Jen Crawford
The legal profession turned out in
force to enjoy the annual Ski Day
at Cheeseman on 14 August 2013.
This was the second time the Ski Day has been
held at Cheeseman and we were welcomed
with the usual friendly club field hospitality. The
weather turned on a cracker bluebird day, which
also resulted in a few racers being spotted
sneaking away early to enjoy a sly ale on the
deck (you know who you are).
While the snow was variable, with a few rocks
underfoot on the lower mountain, the course
itself was in good condition. There were two
short GS courses for the racers to enjoy — for
both skiers and snowboarders — as well as a
more casual boarder-cross event that was held
later in the day.
Billed as a fun day in the snow, it is fair to say
that there is also a healthy dose of competition
when it comes to the business end of the day’s
events — the Lawyers v Accountants ski race.
As with past years, the lawyers managed to
take out top honours as the fastest profession,
although it should be noted that the fastest
individual racer was an accountant, so the
lawyers should not sit back and relax for too
long. I have a feeling that the accountants may
give us all a run for our money next year.
The Fastest Profession Trophy is based on the
fastest individuals combined times over two
races. This year’s winners:
1. Sam Hutchings (Anderson Lloyd) 38.38.
2. Katie Jackson (Saunders Robinson Brown)
39.05.
3. Jen Crawford (Anderson Lloyd) 39.14.
4. Oliver Boyd (Duncan Cotterill) 39.31.
The fastest law firms were:
1. Anderson Lloyd Crazy Carvers.
2. Duncan Cotterill.
3. Saunders Robinson Brown WC Croozers.
The slowest skier and snowboarder awards
were also hotly contested titles in 2013. The
boarder-cross quickly descended into chaos on
the course, which kept things interesting for
the spectators.
In terms of the race results, it is great to see
the ladies continuing to keep up with the lads
each year. What is particularly exciting this year
is that we had some fast and furious
competition with the two incumbents from
2012 (Oli and Jen) being knocked off their
respective perches by two fresh-faced
newcomers.
The writer could be encouraged to claim an
Above, some happy participants at Ski Day and, below, a possible reason......the Snow Bar.
age handicap, but that
would involve disclosing
one’s age which a lady
never does (so I am told).
In all seriousness though,
the most promising
aspect of this year’s
competition was the
number of newcomers to
the event. We need more
of this and I would really
encourage everyone with
an interest in snow to
have a go in 2014.
The courses are short,
relatively straightforward
and lots of fun. Aside from
being an excellent team
building experience, the
opportunities for networking should not be
under-estimated, although it is probably best
to let your supervising partner beat you down
the hill or it could be a severe career-limiting
move.
A special mention must go to Crombie
Lockwood for sponsoring the event, with
support from Crighton Anderson, and the event
organiser Suzanne Jordan, from the Institute
of Chartered Accountants.
In addition to supplying some fabulous prizes,
our sponsors made sure there was plenty of
schnapps on tap at the Snow Bar at the start of
the course, which is a vital component of any
successful ski race.
Let’s work on getting a few more accountants
involved next time and also think about bringing
a client or two along for a fun day on the snow.
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the season
(and spring storms). See you in 2014.