Canterbury Tales - New Zealand Law Society

Canterbury tales
Canterbury tales
Canterbury-Westland Branch New Zealand Law Society
March 2012, Vol. 18, No. 2
The Canterbury-Westland Branch NZLS team at the Northwest Earthquake Community Awards presentation, Theresa Graham, Prue
Robertson, Rachel Dunningham, Allister Davis, Minister of Earthquake Recovery Gerry Brownlee, Malcolm Ellis and Julia de Friez.
Quake efforts recognised
By Arthur Sandston
I sat on one side of the Elmwood
Normal School Auditorium.
Opposite were Allister Davis and
Malcolm Ellis. I thought to myself,
Malcolm you are going to ask me
for an article for Canterbury Tales
around this. And he did.
We were there for Gerry Brownlee’s Northwest
Earthquake Community Awards. The Law
Society’s and Allister’s efforts have been spoken
of before in these pages. But I was moved, for
instance, to learn of the Trojan contributions of
the burly young men from Smiths Cranes.
They saw things other young men witness only
in warfare. Or the middle-aged ladies who
cooked meals for weeks for those identifying
bodily remains at Burnham. Or the churches,
the service groups, the young people, the
elderly, the businesses. Some nominees had
to go on the stage twice.
Merchandise driven red and black campaigns
do not arouse me. But I felt pride for my city
and province that evening. In the midst of
tragedy, all these people, many unsung quiet
heroes, had just knuckled down and got on
with it, often despite their own dire
circumstances. We all now know of many others
who had done the same.
My wife Val and I had been nominated along
with her work place Healthcare New Zealand.
She is a District Nurse Co-ordinator. Just after
12.51pm Val, my secretary Kaylene and I stood
joking on the drive outside my office. My
grandfather clock had turned homicidal on Val.
Kaylene suggested Val had put the boot in,
knowing Val hated that clock. (It is now back,
fully restored). We told the postie he had better
get home. He carried on delivering. Kaylene
eventually drove off to check her children.
Continued Page 9
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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.
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 April 9 2012. The winner will
be announced in the next edition of Canterbury
Tales.
The winning entry for last month’s picture
(below) was submitted by Stephen
Tomlinson.
“Am I a man or am I a muppet?”
President’s Column
March already and the days are
getting shorter and colder. Winter
is definitely upon us.
Having just spent nine days in the newly named
Tower block (formerly known as the Courts
building) I must say if there was another
significant “event” that is certainly the building
I would want to be in.
The MoJ have reopened a number of the
courtrooms for use and it is great to be able to
go to a reasonably central court rather than
the four winds that litigators have been thrown
to of recent times.
With the “reopening” of the Tower block we
have seen the closure of the Prison court. I
must thank the Department of Corrections for
their help and assistance in the efficient running
of that court. The comings and goings of
lawyers, judges, MoJ staff and other associated
bodies would have been an incredible strain
on their resources and they have exceeded all
expectations.
The Tower has been cleared for reoccupation
and use however the MoJ seem reluctant to
open all the courts up despite the urgings of
judges and the profession. It seems to me that
they are taking a very cautious approach that
sadly does not assist the profession or the
administration of justice however you can all
be assured that there has been a lot of banging
on tables in an effort to get us back to some
degree of normality.
I must say that the area around the courts is
looking like a section of Homs with demolition
of the Amuri Courts and Crowne Plaza well
under way. Parking certainly is not a problem.
By the time that you have this I will have met
with the Minister of Courts to ascertain what
steps the MoJ propose to take with regard to
the Rangiora District Court.
To date they (being Wellington) have adopted
the “lets do nothing and see what happens”
stance very reminiscent of post February 22nd.
So it certainly looks as if there is another battle
to be fought on that front.
On a positive note for the MoJ on the 16th
March the Minister opened the Cambridge
Courts. A purpose built multi jurisdictional court.
It is housed on the old King Edward Barracks
site next to the police station. It is well worth a
look if you are passing. It is a building that was
erected in less than one month and maybe
could be used as a blueprint for temporary
courts in Rangiora....there goes another pig
flying by!
Sadly the sports day was rained off and the
outstanding skills of practitioners have had to
be put on ice for another year. More time to
hone ones skills or maybe work on that beer
stomach like me!
A date to enter into your diaries is the 21st
June for that is the date of the AGM. The venue
is still to be named but keep an eye out for the
flyer about this.
8 Homersham Place, now the spiritual home
of the Canterbury-Westland branch of NZLS,
has grown as Malcolm Ellis continues to expand
his empire. The downstairs unit now houses
the library as they have moved from the very
cramped space upstairs and occupy a much
more work friendly space.
All essential texts are readily available as are a
number of dedicated computers for
practitioners. The library staff, as always, stand
ready, willing and able to assist.
When you do visit the Law Society you will see
a new face working hard on all manner of
projects. I would like to welcome on board
Zylpha Kovacs and wish her well for her time
with us.
Continued Page 10
Canterbury tales
3
Finding the right track
By John Horgan
The Right Track is coming to
Christchurch. The Right Track (Te
Ara Tukuki Pai) is a rehabilitation
programme for young repeat
driving offenders, which has been
very successful in reducing reoffending.
As well as driving offences Right Track has also
been shown to reduce criminal offending.
The programme was first introduced into
Counties-Manukau in April 2007 by two
inspirational people, John and Helen Finch.
Successful programmes have since been run
in Waitakere, Auckland Central, Rodney and
Hamilton.
John and Helen are now working with a small
group of volunteers to bring the programme
to Christchurch. They include Emma Philp and
Duncan Woods, whose four-year-old son Nayan
Newcomer to
branch office
Zylpha Kovacs (above) has joined the team
at the Canterbury-Westland Branch of the
New Zealand Law Society.
Zylpha was admitted as a barrister and
solicitor in 2007 and worked at Petrie
Mayman Clarke in Timaru.
She left PMC to pursue her own business
opportunities and is now looking forward to
working with the team at the branch office.
Her position is to, amongst other things,
oversee the production of Canterbury Tales,
so if you have any articles/photos or hear of
any stories that you would like to see in
Canterbury Tales please contact her on (03)
366-9184 or [email protected].
was killed in 2010 by a teenage driver.
The programme runs with 15 offenders plus a
support person. Participants are selected either
from ‘at risk’ students at schools or more
commonly, youth offenders referred through
the FGC process or young offenders appearing
in the District Court whom the sentencing judge
deems suitable for the Right Track programme.
The Police have been enthusiastic supporters
of the programme and their presence has been
shown to be vital in changing the attitude of
participants. There are also presentations and
interaction with a wide variety of other people
including the Fire Service, St John Ambulance,
funeral directors, staff of the Hospital Spinal
and Brain Injuries Units, as well as accident
victims from all walks of life.
There is also a Court-based session involving
at least one judge and in some cases all of the
Youth appointed judges have also attended as
well as court staff, a court attendant, court
registrar, duty solicitors and a police prosecutor.
The Right Track programme in Christchurch has
been approved and authorised with the
assistance of the Department of Corrections
and is running from late June this year through
to the end of July. It is hoped this programme
will be the first in a series to be run in the
South Island.
The programme will be seeking the assistance
of the legal profession both in referring young
offenders and in running the court session likely
to be held in late June or early July of this year.
If you would like to be involved please either
call me direct on (03) 337-0290 or email me
at [email protected].
CWLA Christmas lunch
There was an excellent turnout for
the Canterbury Women’s Legal
Association’s annual Christmas
Luncheon, which was held on 8
December 2011 at Trevino’s
Restaurant and Bar on Riccarton
Road.
It was a special time to catch up
with members, given the trying year
all had experienced. My welcoming
speech focused on the importance
of colleagues and friends keeping
in touch and being aware of
workloads and stress levels of those
around us.
We also had the privilege of
presenting the Lady Dorothy
Thompson Scholarship Prize to
Vanessa Brierley, a solicitor with
Lane Neave.
The scholarship is awarded annually
by the Thompson family to the
outstanding female achiever at the
IPLS Professional’s Courses of 2010.
Carol Morgan
Garry Thompson congratulates Vanessa Brierley on
winning the Lady Dorothy Thompson Scholarship.
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Case summaries (53)
Scandle v Far North District
Council — CA 619-2010 —
Chambers, Ronald Young and
Andrews JJ —0º 1 March 2012
BUILDING LAW
Unsuccessful appeal against HC decision
finding in favour of the Far North District Council
in proceedings in which appellant sued Council
for negligence - alleged negligence related to
the defective construction of a holiday home house had been built by M - appellant had
purchased the home from M’s family trust although house neither complied with Council
approved design nor the building code, a code
compliance certificate had been issued by a
private certifier engaged by M - over time
serious defects in the house emerged, such
that appellant and his family had to stop using
the house - projected repair costs were high appellant successfully sued M, as builder, and
M’s family trust, as vendor, but, given the
financial situation of both the builder and the
trust, no recovery was expected - the private
certifier was in liquidation so there was no point
in seeking recompense from it - proceedings
taken against Council alleged breach of
statutory duty and negligence - HCJ found in
favour of Council on both causes of action appeal was confined to claim of negligence whether Council’s failure to require a
geotechnical report before it granted original
building consent was causative of loss suffered
Canterbury Tales is the official newsletter of
the Canterbury-Westland Branch New Zealand
Law Society.
Publications Committee: Karen Feltham
(editor), Brendan Callaghan, Aliza Eveleigh,
Summer Pringle, Andrew Challis 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.
by appellant - whether Council was negligent
in permitting building without requiring loose
fill (or “overburden”) on the site to be removed
- whether Council was negligent in not following
through on its notice to rectify issued under
s42 Building Act 1991 - submission HCJ had
erred in holding that notice was spent or was
superseded by the new plans and amended
consent, which followed notice to rectify whether Council was negligent in not checking
private certifier’s reports and in not questioning
the accuracy of the code compliance certificate
- HELD: Judge was correct in reasoning that
there was no substantial and material causal
link between failure to require geothermal
report and loss suffered - there was no need
for specific condition in relation to overburden
- Council was entitled to assume that a close
watch would be maintained during building
process, whether it or a private certifier was
engaged for the process - at the time of giving
approval, the Council would not have been able
New Zealand’s legal research tool
to anticipate that certifier would fail so dismally
in its task of supervising building work - Judge
was justified in holding that Council’s concerns
were addressed when new plans and design
for house were prepared in answer to Council
notice to rectify - although someone needed
to check construction would take place in
accordance with new plans, M, as was his right,
chose a private certifier to undertake the
inspection role - it was that certifier’s
responsibility, not the Council’s, to exercise
reasonable care in its role of inspecting the
ongoing construction - the Building Act did not
envisage that parallel systems of inspection
would be running - where a developer retained
a private certifier, the local authority did not
have an obligation to monitor the certifier’s
activities - further, under s50(1) Building Act, a
territorial authority was obliged to accept “as
establishing compliance with the provisions of
the building code” a code compliance certificate
issued by a building certifier - appeal dismissed.
Canterbury tales
Library News
By Julia de Friez
Librarian
Library staff were hopeful of
returning to the Law Library in the
Durham Street courts building early
in 2012, but this was not to be.
While the tower building in the Courts complex
is now safe for Ministry of Justice staff to reoccupy, the Law Library, which adjoins the
tower, requires major ground stabilisation and
structural strengthening before Law Society staff
can return to work there.
Upstairs, Downstairs
With the prospect of being unable to return to
our Library in town for some time, Library staff
(and books) have recently moved again, this
time just downstairs at 8 Homersham Place.
(see photos right).
While we have enjoyed sharing a work space
with our branch colleagues, any of you who
visited Homersham Place could see we had
quickly run out of room. When a downstairs
unit became available recently, we took the
opportunity to lease more floor area in the
same building.
We have retrieved a good selection of current
material from the Courts building for
practitioners’ use at Homersham Place. You can
check the Library’s online catalogue to see
where a particular item is held (http://
www.lawsocietylibrary.org.nz/catalogue/).
If what you need is still held in Durham Street,
it can usually be retrieved if requested with a
few days notice. Two laptops are available for
practitioners to access the Library’s electronic
collection.
What is a Medium Neutral Citation?
From 1 January 2012 High Court and Family
Court decisions will have a medium neutral
citation. A medium neutral citation is a unique
identifier for a judgment. It is independent of
any law report series, vendor, media, or
publisher. It is typically called a ‘medium’ neutral
citation because the same format carries across
print and electronic media (so sometimes
called a ‘media’ neutral citation).
Medium neutral citation is already in use by
the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.
Medium neutral citations will contain the
following information:
• year of decision [in square brackets]
• abbreviated name of the court, here New
Zealand Family Court (NZFC); and
• decision number (not the court file number)
Example: [2012] NZFC 22
If a case has an official neutral citation, include
this after the case name, preceding any Law
Report in which the decision has been
published.
An example: Commerce Commission v Air
New Zealand Ltd [2011] NZCA 64, [2011] 2
NZLR 194. If the case is unreported, the media
neutral citation stands alone.
EPIC on my.lawsociety
A vast collection of electronic journal indexes
and full text databases called EPIC is accessible
from your desktop via my.lawsociety. Of
particular interest is Legaltrac, which indexes
1,400+ legal journal titles, including New
Zealand titles.
Legaltrac also contains law-related articles from
over 1000 additional business and general
interest titles. Contact Library staff for more
information on using EPIC.
Maritime Law bulletin
Staff at the Law Society Library in Wellington
5
produces a comprehensive monthly current
awareness bulletin on Maritime Law. An annual
subscription costs $125+gst. Contact
[email protected] if you are
interested in receiving a sample Maritime Law
bulletin.
Insurance resource list
The Library has compiled a list of insurance
resources — texts, online databases and
selected case head notes and citations. It is
intended to provide a useful starting point for
research on insurance matters arising from the
earthquakes.
The list is not exhaustive and further research
may be needed. The list can be downloaded
from the Canterbury EQ support page in
my.lawsociety. All resources listed are held in
the Library’s collection. To request a case,
research or for further information contact the
Library, [email protected].
26
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Book Review
Wolf Hall
I have long avoided reading books
that have won prizes or which are
recommended to me for their
erudition.
They are either mind-numbingly boring or I
have not got a clue as to what “they” are on
about, i.e. “Foucault’s Pendulum.” However, I
succumbed to Wolf Hall in a weak moment
and because the price was right and because I
must admit to a certain amount of curiosity on
my part.
We have recently been assailed from all sides
with “The Tudors” courtesy of the costume
drama section of English television. I found
that I could not suspend my disbelief of
Jonathan Rhys Meyer as Henry VIII since he
did not resemble him remotely; nor did he have
the voice of a big man; nor was he tasty as
Henry VIII was rumored to have been, at least
as a young man.
In Hilary Mantel’s “factional” novel Henry VIII is
rather more than a bit player but certainly not
the protagonist. Instead, it is his interactions
with Thomas Cromwell which are the focus of
her novel.
From secondary school history and the
constitutional history we learned as part of our
law degree, at least in the olden days, I had
understood Thomas Cromwell to have been a
bit of a thug and an altogether nasty piece of
work. At Burnside High School we were trotted
along to see a film of A Man For All Seasons
and duly wept with Scofield as Thomas More
and booed at Leo McKern as Thomas
Cromwell. It was portrayed to us that More was
executed for his religious beliefs but that his
death was foisted upon him by Thomas
Cromwell who had inveigled his way into Henry
VIII’s good graces.
Well, Hilary Mantel has reconsidered and
refuted that life of Thomas Cromwell. She paints
him in a way more sympathetic light and, as
you waded through the 550 or so pages of
the novel, you began to empathise as well as
sympathise with his lot.
The authoress uses a strategy throughout her
book where Cromwell is not often mentioned
save as “he”. This actually draws you right into
the story and into the various episodes of his
life which this book covers.
The early life of Thomas Cromwell is virtually
unknown. His father was the blacksmith/
By Karen Feltham
brewer/tavern keeper at Putney, which was
then a village near London. According to Mantel,
Cromwell as a boy was brutalised by his father,
which meant that even as the only son he felt
it necessary to run away.
He had his OE in Europe and clearly had a
number of careers including being a mercenary
in the French Army fighting against Italy; doing
banking duties with the Italian merchant
bankers; becoming the right hand man of
Cardinal Wolsey; then a member of Grays Inn
in London and writing much of the legislation
that went through the English Parliament until
he himself was executed in 1540. By that
stage he had outrun his use by date with Henry
VIII.
At the core of Mantel’s work is her belief that
Cromwell disliked the nobility at worst and
tolerated them at best in that he saw the
inequities of the “feudal” system and the
iniquities of the Roman Catholic Church in
England at the time.
Comment has been made that Mantel, being
of humble beginnings herself, was more easily
able to put forward her views on how Cromwell,
a fellow commoner, could have felt about the
people with whom he dealt as Henry VIII’s
mover and shaker.
According to the authoress, Cromwell was an
incredibly talented man and as well as being
able to speak about five or six languages he
was a skilled draftsman and lawyer; and an
acute observer of people. She portrays him as
a wise minister and a decent man rather than
the skulking evildoer that we learned about in
history classes.
She is not the first to begin to do so as the
eminent English historian, G R Elton, had
already paved the way in his seminal work on
the Tudors as many of us will recall from our
days (if not daze) with Marie Peters learning
constitutional history at the University of
Canterbury.
Elton claimed that England moved from the
Middle Ages into the modern period under the
guidance of Cromwell as he set up the
specialised offices to cope with English political
policy and bureaucracy which had before been
left in the hands of the King’s favourite nobles
of the time.
This sounds all very good and worthy but in
fact the book is truly a rollicking good read.
Some of the thoughts and phrases ascribed
are quite bawdy but again, with reference back
to Shakespeare (or whoever wrote his plays)
were apt for the period. An instance of this is
the inn servant advising Cromwell not to order
Eerie return to “The Tower”
the pottage as it resembled “what’s left when
a whore’s washed her shifts”.
Cromwell is imbued with a strong sense of
humour, which is rife through the book. His
French servant, Christophe, is a droll
counterpoint to Cromwell and he, together with
the young people that Cromwell gathers at his
home by way of his wards, various
acquaintances’ sons and the like and his own
nephews and nieces provide the intimate family
revelations as opposed to the pomp and
pageantry of Henry’s Court or indeed that of
Wolsey’s Court in his time.
The book is concerned only with a very short
period of Cromwell’s life really from 1527
through to 1535 when More (sorry, spoiler
alert!) is executed for his treason. Hilary Mantel
makes More an unlikable man whereas
Cromwell is painted as the enlightened man
who worked hard to even try and save More.
The various characters in this book do not speak
Tudor English.
Mantel has presented an amalgam of the
archaic together with very lively and modern
English. For some reason it works very well.
The people are alive and exciting and wholly
believable. She also creates a great deal of
pathos for our hero as a wealthy and successful
man/merchant/politician/lawyer who loses his
wife and then his beloved daughters to the
“sweating sickness.”
The whole book is redolent of the magic,
mystery and danger of life in 16th Century
England. Despite the book being largely
concerned with the end of Catherine of
Aragon’s marriage to Henry; with the politicoreligious shenanigans to get that marriage
declared annulled for some highly specious
reasons and Henry VIII’s wooing and marrying
Anne Boleyn, it is just in this brief passage of
time that we truly meet Cromwell and we learn
of his statesmanship and his political craftiness
to ensure that a King had what the King desired.
The book is called Wolf Hall because it was
the cradle (and an apparent den of iniquity) of
the Seymours of whom Jane was to become
the Third Henrician Wife and it is later acquired
by Cromwell who settled the whole of his
extended family there. Not bad for a lad from
Putney.
This review cannot really do justice to the book
which engages the reader on any number of
levels and, even though you know that Anne
Boleyn (another spoiler alert) dies as you are
reading this book you almost do not know what
is going to happen to her.
This is a Tudor Tale with a twist.
Canterbury tales
7
Lawyers Lives Outside the Law
From muso to litigator
In a previous life, and before I
developed a genuine love for the
law, I indulged my passion for music
working six nights a week playing
‘folk n roll’ in a recently demolished
Christchurch central city bar.
Indeed I have played a fair few venues in the
centre of town that no longer exist or at least
do not exist in their ‘central city’ form anymore.
Having spent my post-secondary school years
in the early 1990s touring the country playing
music in various bands I settled down to study
law at University of Canterbury in the mid
1990s, completing my degree at the turn of
the century.
I had been inspired to study law by
entertainment lawyer Malcolm Black (exNetherworld Dancing Toys), who had assisted
a band I was playing in with negotiations for a
record deal with Sony Music.
While I never did become an entertainment
lawyer, I paid my way through university playing
and recording in various bands and in doing
so was able to avoid the usual student
hospitality jobs serving customers or washing
dishes in between lectures and over extended
holiday breaks.
While working in a specialist area of litigation
Lawyers, as we well know, are a diverse lot with many hobbies and interests. We
are therefore introducing a new column of Lawyers Lives Outside the Law.
First up is ADAM GALLAGHER, who writes of his life as a musician. We look
forward to hearing more such stories.
practice gives me plenty of
opportunity for creative
output, I am fortunate
enough to be able to
continue with creative
outlets away from the law
playing a style of ‘backyard
music’ working with KiwiCeltic rockers The Black
Velvet Band, as one half of
the Little Chuck & Johnny
Ginger duo and recently a
hybrid project band called
The Swarm, which recorded
and released a song that
inspired the All Blacks to
world cup victory last year.
Well, not quite, but The Swarm project and
specifically the song and video, ‘Back the Blacks’
did draw on my legal skills, as the Major Events
Management Act restricted the use of words
like, rugby, world, and cup if used anywhere in
the lyrics and for purposes of commercial gain.
Luckily ours was a charitable project with all
profits received from digital downloads on
iTunes, Bandcamp, Amplifier and related digital
music download sites donated to the
Christchurch Earthquake Mayoral Fund.
Although we did get some interesting phone
calls early on in the project from those charged
with enforcing the Act here in New Zealand.
You can check out that masterpiece on YouTube
and visit The Black Velvet Band and The Swarm
on
Facebook
or
online
at
www.theblackvelvetband.co.nz
and
www.theswarm.co.nz.
As those of you who read this publication well
know, there is nothing more inspiring and
fulfilling than a life dedicated to working in the
law. However, work/life balance is critical to
ones success in their chosen profession and
critical to remaining sane as we all settle into
the ‘new normal’ in this proud red and black
town.
28
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New Trust Account convener
Johanna van der Stap (Wynn
Williams Lawyers) replaced Miranda
Hosking (Adderley Head) as
convenor of the Trust Account
Administrators group at a recent
meeting of the group at the
Westpac hub.
The Trust Account Administrators group meets
on a quarterly basis, and discusses current
issues and experiences in legal administration.
This meeting was wide ranging but of course
the post quake recovery was a recurrent theme.
Most attendees reported that they had
recovered their essential records with varying
degrees of difficulty and those firms with
modern practice management software had
experienced a relatively seamless transition to
their replacement premises.
The common experience is that conditions
remain ‘trying’ with many firms still in cramped
conditions. Philip Strang also discussed several
pertinent Disciplinary Tribunal and LCRO
decisions and their implications.
The group also serves as something of clearing
house matching administrative staff to firms
who may have need for trust accounting or
administrative personnel to cover short or
longer-term vacancies. For further details on
the group or the e-circular listing please contact
[email protected].
Comings
& Goings
Joined firm
Julia Beech (Inland Revenue) Helen Coutts
(Jonathan Eaton, barrister), Christopher
Fernando (Murray Withers & Associates),
Catherine Gilvray (Harmans), Sara Isherwood
(Chapman Tripp), Justine Joseph (Young
Hunter), Olivia Nell (Cooney Silva Evatt),
Christopher Newman (Raymond Donnelly &
Co), Kathleen Page (Mortlock McCormack),
David Renwick ( Enterprise Homes Ltd), Melissa
Sandom (Saunders Robinson Brown), Karyn
South (Raymond Donnelly & Co), Jannah
Stringer (Saunders Robinson Brown), Nicole
Vivian (Mahi FX Ltd), Joanne Wall (Landley Law
Ltd,) Timothy Brown (Lane Neave), Charmaine
Smith (Saunders Robinson Brown), Stacey
Williams (Cavell Leitch Pringle & Boyle).
Changed firm
Jeanette Mehrtens (Ian McNish to Helmore
Bowron & Scott), Emma Perry (Meridian Energy
Ltd to Arc Innovations Ltd), Vanessa Sugrue
(barrister to Canterbury Regional Council).
Moved on
Michelle Broadhurst (Timpany Walton),
Amanda Fitzgibbon (Layburn Hodgins),
Nicola Thomas (Buddle Findlay).
Change of details
Rotherhams Law, c/- Currie Lawyers, 113
Blenheim Road, Riccarton, Christchurch 8041.
L K Cooney, PO Box 665, Ashburton 7700.
The Immigration Law Firm (previously Kundig
& Associates), 14(Unit) Acheron Drive,
Riccarton, Christchurch 8041.
Geddes & Maciaszek, First floor, 363 Lincoln
Road, Addington 8011.
Now that many firms have established a
more permanent physical address please
check that this and other details are correct
on the NZLS database record.
If information is to be available on the public
register please check that this is indicated.
The branch office relies on the database
both for information requested from
members of the public and for the
publishing of details.
Johanna van der Stap, left, presents flowers to her predecessor Miranda Hosking.
Canterbury tales
9
Quake efforts recognised
Continued from Page 1
Then Val took a cell call from one of her nurses
and turned ashen. The base for her nursing
service was out of action. Management could
not be contacted. Val suggested to me we call
all the nurses to our home in Avonhead Road
at 7.30am Wednesday to work out what to do.
The nurses stayed for three weeks. That
afternoon was spent texting and cell phone
calling all the nurses.
The first arrival was at 7am. She was homeless.
She wanted to talk as much as have a shower
and breakfast. Hours later she was out on the
road visiting patients. Virtually all 60 nurses in
that service arrived that morning, many from
the worst effected suburbs.
Triage was carried out; initially only the most
desperate cases could be attended to. Families
of patients were enlisted to help them where
they could.
Nurses were sent out in the company’s Hyundai
Getzs or in nurses’ own four-wheel drives in
pairs, because of the dangers. Neighbours later
told us initially they thought one of us had died.
Our street was lined with the little grey cars.
One bedroom with net access was set up as
base, with three laptops running. Hair was torn
out getting the system connected with
Wellington HQ, which luckily had patient
records. My office fax machine and printer ran
hot.
Our house evolved. The conservatory was
storeroom for medical supplies. The living,
kitchen and dining room were the nurses’ hub.
Luckily the weather was good and the garden
was fully occupied too. At times it was like King’s
Cross Station.
We ensured the nurses were well fed and
watered. The company paid for food. Usually
somebody was preparing in the kitchen. The
Kiwi bring a plate system was in full swing.
My roles were as gopher and male role model.
I think I performed the former task well. Our
dog, when not escaping quakes into the
bushes, was pampered beyond sanity.
Healthcare NZ moved to the Lion’s Den in
Burnside Park after three weeks, when sufficient
telecoms were established there. With the
house our home again Val and I reflected. It
had been fun.
My grandfather had said to me the best years
of his life were in the First World War. He was
in the trenches in France. I had not understood
him until last year. Virtually everyone rose to
the occasion and went beyond what they were
paid to do.
If a problem arose it was sorted. There was
great camaraderie but there was no office
politics, no backstabbing and no grumbling. And
nurses in times of stress can be very funny.
What awards all about
The North Christchurch Earthquake Awards was an initiative by the Ilam Member of Parliament
and Minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee.
They are an important way to acknowledge those organisations in the northwest of
Christchurch who assisted in the response after the earthquake and in doing so kept the
city functioning at that time.
Gerry Brownlee encouraged people to nominate these important groups as he is mindful
of the sacrifices and hard work that was carried out all over Christchurch after the February
22 earthquake.
Nominations were sent from the public nominating a range of groups. Many of the
nominations gave a poignant insight to how those groups had helped.
In the end 15 groups received the awards. They were:
1. Burnside High School.
2. Student Volunteer Army
3. St Matthews Sisters’ Convent, Bryndwr.
4. ANZCO Foods Ltd.
5. Citizens Advice Bureau — West Branch.
6. New Zealand Law Society — Canterbury-Westland Branch.
7. Rochester & Rutherford Hall.
8. St Barnabas In-betweens Group and members of the St Barnabas community.
9. Scholastic New Zealand Ltd.
10. Healthcare New Zealand.
11. Smith Crane & Construction Ltd.
12. Rotary Club of New Zealand.
13. ARISE Church.
14. International Association of Lions Clubs — District 202E.
15. Christchurch Community Response — St Christopher’s Anglican Church.
Awards were presented by Mr Brownlee at a ceremony on Thursday 8th March, where he
spoke of the fact that people put their own lives at risk and worked long gruelling hours in
many cases knowing their own homes or businesses were damaged and while enduring
the on-going aftershocks.
He talked about the strength and importance of the community and for the future for
Christchurch but most of all he said he had been moved by what people had done, and
sincerely thanked all those awarded for their work.
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10
Canterbury
Canterburytales
tales
Top students President’s Column
acknowledged
Continued from Page 2
Wynn Williams congratulates
Duncan Ballinger and Annabel
Linterman on their outstanding
achievements in Torts and
Resource Management at
Canterbury University in 2011.
Wynn Williams held their annual prize giving
ceremony on Wednesday 7th March 2012 to
award the two Canterbury University Law
School students for their outstanding work.
The Torts award was presented to Duncan by
Peter Whiteside, chairman of the partners at
Wynn Williams, and the Resource Management
prize was presented to Annabel by Margo
Perpick, partner of the Resource Management
team at Wynn Williams.
Wynn Williams have sponsored a prize for the
student with the highest mark in Torts and
Resource Management for the past few years.
The ceremony was cancelled in 2011 because
of the earthquake and Wynn Williams was
pleased to be able to hold the prize giving again
in its new offices and under its new brand.
The ceremony was attended by faculty
members of the Canterbury University Law
School, LAWSOC committee members, family
and friends of the recipients and the staff of
Wynn Williams.
We were recently awarded a certificate (my
first since being able to swim 25 metres without
stopping) at the North Christchurch Earthquake
Awards. This was an initiative by the Ilam
Member of Parliament and Minister for
Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee.
The awards were a way to acknowledge those
organisations in the Northwest of Christchurch
who assisted in the response after the
earthquake and in doing so kept the city
functioning at that time.
It was certainly humbling to be amongst the
14 other recipients as each organisation
received their awards. Rachael Dunningham,
Prue Robertson, Malcolm Ellis, Theresa Graham
and Julia de Friez accepted the award on behalf
of you all as you all played a significant part in
the functioning of the Law Society during this
time.
The Black Bra (as told by a woman)
I had lunch with two of my unmarried friends.
One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I have
been married for 20 plus years. We were
Canterbury-Westland
Branch/NZLS
Education
Programme
Proudly sponsored by
Peter Whiteside and Duncan Ballinger.
Margo Perpick, Annabel Linterman and Rex
Williams, former Chancellor University of
Canterbury.
NZLS Continuing Legal Education
To register and for other information check
the CLE website,
www.lawyerseducation.co.nz
Christchurch Courses
April
2 — Social Media & the Law, 1-5pm, venue Chateau on the Park.
24 — The Workings of the Property Law Act,
four years on, Riccarton Park, 1-5pm.
May
1 — Judicial Review, The Rendevous Hotel, 15pm.
3-4 — Introduction to Company Law, The
Pavilions Hotel.
7 —Competition Law — Must Knows, The
Rendevous Hotel, 1-5pm.
15 — Enforcing Commercial & Consumer
Securities.
chatting about our relationships and decided
to amaze our men by greeting them at the
door wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and a
mask over our eyes. We agreed to meet in a
few days to exchange notes.
Here’s how it all went.
My engaged friend: The other night when my
boyfriend came over he found me with a black
leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He
saw me and said, “You are the woman of my
dreams. I love you.” Then we made passionate
love all night long.
The mistress: Me too! The other night I met
my lover at his office and I was wearing a
raincoat, under it only the black bra, heels and
mask over my eyes. When I opened the
raincoat he didn’t say a word, but he started to
tremble and we had wild sex all night.
Then my story: When my husband came home
I was wearing the black bra, black stockings,
stilettos and a mask over my eyes. When he
came in the door and saw me he said, “What’s
for dinner, Zorro?”
Allister Davis
15 — Trust Account Administrators, 8.45am1.15pm. Venue to be confirmed.
21-22 — Residential Property Transactions,
Riccarton Park.
22 — Construction Contract Issues for NonLitigators, The Rendevous Hotel, 1-5pm.
23-24 — Introduction to Family Law
Advocacy and Practice. Riccarton Park.
29 — Insurance Law.29-30 — Lawyer as
Negotiator, Riccarton Park.
Out of Christchurch
Education Law Intensive – Wellington, 7 May,
Auckland 2 May.
Mediation Masterclass — Wellington, 2 May,
Auckland 4 May.
Death and the Law – Wellington, 24 May,
Auckland 25 May.
Property Law Conference — Auckland, 1819 June.
Corporate Governance Intensive —
Wellington,, 21 June, Auckland, 22 June.
Expert Witness — Wellington, 21-22 June.
Canterbury-Westland Branch
NZLS
Seminars
Lawyer for Child Practitioners — Best Practice
from the Bench’s Perspective. Presentation
by Judge J Moran, Wednesday 2 May,
Armagh 1, Family Court, 5.15-6.15pm.
Employment Law — Lunchtime seminar., 7
June, Hintons.
Wellness — 26 April, Burnside Rughy Club,
5.30-7.30pm. Watch for flyer.
Procedural Matters — Presenters, Associate
Judge Osborne and Judge Matthews,
Monday 16 April, Cambridge Court No 2,
5pm.
Canterbury tales
Situations Vacant
11
Work Wanted
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transcription. Competitive hourly rate
and fast accurate turnaround time. I
have a vast amount of legal experience.
Confidentiality guaranteed. I am also
able to provide a temping service
onsite.
Please feel free to contact BARBARA
DUNNE on either [email protected] or
021 2663705.
Would you like
to have a say?
The Publications Committee is urgently
looking for people to contribute articles to
Canterbury Tales.
If you have an interest in a specific area of
law, want to grumble to the editor, have a
photo of interest (past or present) then send
them to us or make enquiries at the
Canterbury-Westland Branch New Zealand
Law Society, Unit 1, 8 Homersham Street,
Burnside. PO Box 565 Christchurch.
Phone 358-3147, fax 358-3148 or email
[email protected].
2
12
Canterbury
Canterburytales
tales
Law student recruitment
By Richard Scragg
Dean and Head of Law
University of Canterbury
On Tuesday 6th March the School
of Law hosted the first event in this
year’s round of law student
recruitment.
This is the Law Recruitment Evening, organised
by the University of Canterbury’s Careers,
Internships and Employment Office, ably
assisted by LAWSOC the Law Students’
Association and the university’s events team.
The University of Canterbury is actively engaged
in assisting its students in finding employment
and for law students the weeks of 5-22 March
are central to this process.
The activities began on 5th March when
recruitment posters supplied by the employing
firms were put up in the entrance foyer of the
School of Law building. Readers of Canterbury
Tales should note that they have an opportunity
here to bring themselves to the attention of
the students who are seeking jobs.
Firms that are interested are welcome to send
their posters to us here at the School of Law.
The posters remain up for the three weeks of
recruitment events.
The Law Recruitment Evening on 6th March is
an important event, not just for the University
and its students, but for the CanterburyWestland Branch of the NZLS, for this is the
first of the law recruitment events for the year.
It is mounted for employers with offices in the
Canterbury-Westland Branch region and as
such extends to the national law firms that have
offices in Christchurch and to the national
financial services firms with offices here too.
The event was very well supported by the
following law firms, Anderson Lloyd, Buddle
Findlay, Chapman Tripp, Duncan Cotterill, Lane
Neave, Mortlock McCormack Law, Saunders &
Co, Wynn Williams Lawyers. Also the following
financial services firms, Deloitte, Ernst & Young,
PricewaterhouseCoopers and by the providers
of professional legal training, the College of Law
and the Institute of Professional Legal Studies.
The Law Recruitment Evening is an important
event because it affects a mutual exchange.
The employing firms are able to talk to
prospective employees and gain an impression
of them and the students can ask their
questions and gain an impression of the firms.
The essence of the evening is the asking of
questions and the evening is mounted to
facilitate this sort of exchange.
Following this event the participating firms, both
local and national, visit us to recruit summer
clerks and graduates. All in all, it is a busy three
weeks.
The School of Law, and the wider University of
Canterbury, is pleased to play its part in the
recruitment process. Practitioners who have any
queries about how to be more involved in it
should contact Fiona Saunders at the School
of Law and she will be pleased to help you.
As vacancies occur during the year, employers
are welcome to contact us in order to advertise
them to our students. The School of Law at
the University of Canterbury produces a very
high calibre graduate and we are pleased to
play our part in helping to bring these graduates
and their future employers together.
Prospective law students about to hear what the profession offers.