Canterbury tales

Canterbury Westland Branch New Zealand Law Society May 2012, Vol. 18, No. 4

Canterbury tales

More kudos for John BurrowsBy Stephen ToddProfessor of LawUniversity of Canterbury

Professor John Burrows........one of NewZealand’s most respected legal scholars.

Late in 2011 a circular went roundthe various departments at theUniversity of Canterbury, invitingstaff to make nominations for theaward by the University of honorarydoctorates.

In the Law School we immediately thought thatJohn Burrows would be an outstandingcandidate. Accordingly, with the enthusiasticsupport of all, we put John’s name forward.I daresay we were pushing at an open door.John spent almost 40 years teaching law atCanterbury, some of that time as Head ofSchool and Dean. He also did a huge amountof work for the university as a whole, acting aspro-vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor,chairing many university committees and,generally, becoming the go-to person when atricky issue involving university administrationneeded resolving.Unsurprisingly, then, Law’s nomination wasaccepted, and on April 27 at the Universitygraduation ceremony held at the CBS ArenaJohn was awarded an honorary LLD.Unfortunately few, if any, of the graduateswould have been taught by John. But they didget a taste of what they had missed in histhoughtful, enter taining and optimisticgraduation address.A full account of John’s many achievementswill not be given here. In brief, they startedback in 1962, when John won the Gold Medalin Law and later was awarded a scholarship tostudy for a PhD at the London School ofEconomics.And moving rapidly to recent times, we cannote in particular John’s appointment as aQueen’s Counsel (the first time for an academiclawyer), his election as a Fellow of the RoyalSociety of New Zealand, and his co-chairing of

the newly established Constitutional AdvisoryPanel.A particular word is needed about John’s majorcontribution to legal research and writing in NewZealand. He virtually pioneered the study ofmedia law, both as an academic and as apractical discipline, and his work in analysingstatute law has been equally significant andinfluential.Two ground-breaking works — Media Law inNew Zealand and Statute Law in New Zealand— have been the result. John also has writtensubstantial parts of The Law of Contract in NewZealand and various chapters in The Law ofTorts in New Zealand, both continuing througha number of editions.And what of John’s teaching? Studentsbenefited enormously from John’s expertiseduring his days as a teacher of law. His skill layin reducing complex ideas and inconsistentcase law to a coherent and logically attractivewhole.He had a remarkable ability to explain difficultconcepts with clarity and intellectual vigour.Student surveys always reported excellence.The only criticism I can recall was that of the

student who complained that John’s lecturesmade understanding the relevant law seem fartoo simple.All of the above, and much else besides,establish why John is one of New Zealand’smost respected scholars in the field of law andwhy he is universally held in very high regard.This last point is shown very well by thefestschrift in John’s honour arranged by theSchool of Law in 2008 to mark John’sretirement.The organisers had no difficulty in finding a largenumber of eminent speakers who wereprepared to deliver papers on topics dear toJohn’s heart. The conference was very wellattended, and especially worthy of note is thefact that the audience included the Chief Justiceand many other members of the judiciary,leading practitioners, leading academic lawyersand prominent journalists from around thecountry.Of course, John’s retiring from the School didnot mean that he intended to put his feet up,however well deserved this option might havebeen. Rather, he immediately took up a newposition as a Commissioner at the New ZealandLaw Commission in Wellington.It seemed unlikely at the time that this wouldbe a sinecure or that John would get muchrest and relaxation in his new appointment,particularly as the Commission was headed bySir Geoffrey Palmer. So for the last five yearshe has been hard at work in the field of lawreform, proposing, evaluating and bringing tofruition various major projects aimed atimproving and, perhaps, simplifying the law.John will be returning to Christchurch once histerm as Law Commissioner finishes at the endof 2012. Unfortunately he will have to build anew house, as his family home in Fendaltonwas severely damaged in the earthquake andwas later demolished. But build he will. Thistime it may be that John really will retire.But the members of the Law School all hopethat he may be enticed back to the Law Buildingon occasion. It has not been quite the sameever since he left.

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President’s ColumnVino FinoPhoto Caption

The winning entry for last month’s picture(below) was submitted by Brent Selwyn.

“Hurry up, I can’t hold mystomach in forever.”

Each month we have a photo captioncompetition where we invite you to submit acaption. The winner will receive two bottles ofwine sponsored by Vino Fino (www.vinifinoco.nz,188 Durham Street).Send your entry to the Canterbury WestlandBranch New Zealand Law Society, P.O. Box 565,Christchurch. Or email to canterbury-westland@lawsociety.org..nz. All entries mustbe received by June 9 2012. The winner willbe announced in the next edition of CanterburyTales.

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The Crusaders roll on, and theleaves continue to fall not muchchanges as winter descends uponus.

Please note in your diaries that the AGM is onthe 21st June at the Russley Golf Club. MalcolmEllis has assured me that at least one drink willbe provided free and for him that is anincredible act of generosity.For the common law practitioners you will havenoticed that virtually the whole of the DurhamStreet Tower has been reopened and only twoCourts are not able to be used. This is a massivestep forward for us all and perhaps a steptowards some return to normality if such a statestill exists. With the reopening (except theLibrary) of the Tower comes the return of thevery annoying screening and invariably thewand search.Whilst a good number of the security guardsare reasonable there is always the odd onethat will treat us like criminals. Can I just askthat you persevere with this intrusion and restassured that we have made representations tothe MoJ and will continue to do so on yourbehalf.However as a matter of interest this is whathas happened in Auckland regarding securityscreening from 29 May 2012 during peak timesand for high profile cases.Important points are:• The lower ground floor entrance to the courtswill be closed off when the enhanced courtsecurity screening is in operation andpractitioners will need to enter the courthousebuilding via the main entrance.• Counsel may request to come to the front ofthe line if they have limited time available. Todo this they must clearly identify themselvesto court security staff by displaying identitycards. Once again Counsel should not escortany other parties, i.e. clients, through thescreening station.• Counsel are entitled to insist that lawyer/ clientprivilege and privacy is respected. Thereforelawyers are not required to hand over files orclient papers to the screening staff.• Practitioners only need to remove an itemfrom a bag to allow a security officer to clearlyidentify the detected item which they may needto examine further. I suspect that this will bethe norm sooner rather than later.The Community Link in Courts service has been

developed by the Ministries of SocialDevelopment and Justice in partnership withthe New Zealand Police and Department ofCorrections at both the national and local level.The purpose of Work and Income staff workingat the Christchurch District Court from Nga HauE Wha Marae is to ensure as many court usersas possible have access to Work and Incomeservices and are linked to other agencies thatmay be able to assist.There is a fuller article on this elsewhere in thison Page 5 but I commend this to all Courtusers.We have three new members of our StandardsCommittees. They are Marcus Elliott for SC 1,Philip Maw for SC 2 and Janine Ballinger forSC 3. All have been identified for the skills setsand areas of work experience they will bring tothe table. We welcome them and thank themfor their commitment to a challengingcommittee.By the time this reaches you I would have beena judge in the Moot competition for the fourthyear. What do I know about dogs you may wellask? Not much, nevertheless I believe it is vitallyimportant that we as a profession give back tothe university even if it is just being a judge fora few hours.I am acutely aware of the Northern raiders thatcome down and attempt to grab our best andbrightest. This may be a way of holding on tosome of them. I suspect given the last 18months that the bond between town and gownis much stronger and we must build on that.

Canterbury tales

Some Christchurch lawyers mayclaim a family history that links themto the Christchurch legalcommunity.

But for Kate Dougherty, her family link is to thebricks and mortar of the Christchurch Courtsand, in the post-quake demolition of the city,Kate was able to lay claim to that family history.When Patrick Dougherty, Kate’s grandfather,was a young police constable stationed inChristchurch in 1922, his nightly central citybeat would include a stop for a smoke on thecorner of Durham and Armagh Streets.During those breaks, Patrick scratched hissignature into a brick in the building on thecorner — then the Society of Arts building, andlater the Environment Court.Decades later, Kate’s father, Jim Dougherty, wasshown the brick by his father, and Jim passeddown the story to Kate and her brother Sean.The brick featured in family photographs,including at Kate’s admission to the bar in May1998. When Kate returned to Christchurch topractise, she would acknowledge the brickwhen passing it on her way to Court, and thestory of “Granddad’s brick” was passed on toher children, James and Gemma McLennan.When Kate learned that the Environment Courtwas to be demolished at Easter, she contactedthe Ministry of Justice and, not inhibited byhaving to identify herself as the descendant ofthe original “tagger”, asked if it would bepossible to recover that one special brick fromthe demolition rubble.The Ministry’s response was prompt. Manager

Murray Smith arranged for the brick to beremoved from the wall prior to the demolition,and a presentation to Kate and her son Jamesby local MP Nicky Wagner was organised.Ninety years after Patrick Dougherty scratchedhis neatly formed signature into the cream brick,it was passed to his great grandson.As Kate explained, with so many family storiesof connections to Christchurch buildings being

Brick part of family’s historylost with the destruction and demolition in ourcity, she considers herself lucky to haverecovered a small piece of her family’s history.The brick is currently in pride of place on themantelpiece in Kate’s home, but she is hopefulthat if Ngai Tahu plan to rebuild on the site, thebrick may be incorporated in the new buildingand the family connection continue for at leastanother 90 years.

Above, Kate on the day of her admission to the bar, withher father Jim Dougherty and “Granddad’s brick.”Right, Patrick Dougherty, photographed in 1921. Fromthat time Patrick served as a Police Officer in Christchurch, on the West Coast, and atGeraldine. Below, Kate and her son James, who is holding the recovered brick, with itsformer site in the wall of the Environment Court building in the background, shortly beforethe building’s demolition.

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By Carolyn Browne

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Case summaries (55)New Zealand’s legal research tool

M v R — CA 819-2011 — 5April 2012 — Randerson,Keane and Lang JJ

CRIMINAL PROCEDUREUnsuccessful appeal against order requiringappellant to be detained as a special patientunder s24(2)(a) Criminal Procedure (MentallyImpaired Persons) Act 2003 (the Act) - in July2011, appellant was found not guilty by reasonof insanity on a charge of arson - chargefollowed incident in which appellant set fire tohome he shared with his brother - fire causedextensive damage to the property, and alsocaused structural damage to adjoining unit, butnobody was injured - in Nov 2011 Judge madethe order under s24(2)(a) of the Act - onappeal, appellant contended Judge should haveinstead made a less restrictive order unders25(1)(a) of the Act requiring him to be treatedas a patient under the Mental Health(Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act1992 - HELD: where a person had beenacquitted of criminal offending on account ofhis or her sanity, Court must conduct adisposition hearing in order to consider thematters referred to in s24 of the Act - whenconducting a disposition hearing Court mustconsider all the circumstances of the case andthe evidence of one or more health assessorsas to whether the detention of the defendantwas necessary - having considered thosefactors, Court might make a detention order ifit considered such an order necessary in theinterests of the public or any person or class ofperson who might be affected by the Court’s

decision - the Court might not, however, makean order under s24(2)(a) requiring thedefendant to be detained in a hospital as aspecial patient unless it had also receivedevidence about defendant from at least onehealth assessor who was a psychiatrist - indetermining whether an order was necessaryin the interests of the public the Court musttake into account both the immediate and longterm risks the offender posed, as well as theneed to comprehensively manage and treatany medical and/or personality issues that heor she possessed - orders made under s24(2)were essentially restrictive detention orders -s25 offered a number of less restrictivealternatives - the most practical distinctionbetween orders made under s24(2) ands25(1)(a) for present purposes was that, wherean order was made under s24(2), the Ministerof Health determined how long the order wasto remain in force - Court was likely toundertake its assessment by means of a twostage process - first the Court must determinewhether it was necessary in the interests ofthe public to make an order under s24(2) - ifit concluded it was not necessary to make suchan order, it must go on to make an alternativeorder under s25 - in Environment DefenceSociety v Mangonui Country CA described theword “necessary” as “a fairly strong word fallingbetween expedient or desirable on the onehand and essential on the other” - this was anapt description for present purposes - an orderunder s24(2) did not need to be “essential” inthe interests of the public - the fact an ordermight be thought to provide optimal outcomein terms of the treatment and rehabilitation ofthe defendant would not, however, be sufficientby itself to meet the necessity test - nor would

it be sufficient by itself that an order unders24(2) might make it more convenient orexpedient for health authorities to manage andtreat the defendant - Court must therefore keepfirmly in mind the test that s24(1)(c) prescribed- Court could not make an order under s24(2)unless it was satisfied such an order wasnecessary in the interests of the public - it wasin this area that the judicial assessment requiredunder s24(1)(c) might be wider in scope thanthe assessments undertaken by healthprofessionals - in this case appellant’s offendingwas serious and it was not the first occasionon which appellant had lit fires - circumstancessuggested that when appellant consumeddrugs and was mentally unwell, appellant hada propensity for this type of activity - futureoffending was therefore likely to occur andwould inevitably place others at risk of physicalharm - background also suggested appellantmight offend in a violent manner in the futuregiven personality traits that predisposed himto significant anti-social behaviour and previousconvictions for offending involving violence -appellant had now been diagnosed withschizophrenia independently of hisconsumption of drugs and had a history offailing to take his medication - additional layerof oversight that special patient status providedwas required given the complex issuespresented in appellant’s case - Judge wascorrect to conclude that it was necessary forappellant to be detained as a special patientpursuant to s24(2)(a) of the Act.

Canterbury Tales is the official newsletter ofthe Canterbury-Westland Branch NewZealand Law Society.Publications Committee: Karen Feltham(editor), Brendan Callaghan, Aliza Eveleigh,Summer Pringle, Zylpha Kovacs and KateDougherty.All correspondence and photographs shouldbe forwarded to: The Branch Manager,Canterbury-Westland Branch New ZealandLaw Society, Unit 1, 8 Homersham Place,Russley, Christchurch. P. O. Box 565Christchurch.Phone 358-3147, fax 358-3148. emailcanterbury-westland@lawsociety.org.nz.Canterbury Tales is published 11 times peryear. The deadline for editorial andphotographs is the 8th of the month.Disclaimer: Canterbury Tales is published bythe Canterbury Westland Branch NewZealand Law Society. The opinions expressedherein may not necessarily be those of theBranch and have not been expresslyauthorised. The Branch accepts noresponsibility whatsoever for any error,omission or statement.

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Canterbury tales

Service to assist Court usersThe Community Link in Courtsservice has been developed by theMinistries of Social Developmentand Justice in partnership with theNew Zealand Police andDepartment of Corrections at boththe national and local level.

The purpose of Work and Income staff workingat the Christchurch District Court from Nga HauE Wha Marae is to ensure as many court usersas possible have access to Work and Incomeservices and are linked to other agencies thatmay be able to assist.The service is available to• Offenders• Victims and• Family members affected by crime.The service has a particular focus on youngpeople aged 17-24 and connects them toemployment or training.People wanting to access the service voluntarilycan be provided with contact information orpointed in the direction of a Community Linkworker at court. Lawyers or a judge can referoffenders, victims or family members to theCommunity Link worker at any time.An offender may be referred prior to appearingbefore the Judge to allow for a social needsassessment to be completed, which could then

be used in support of other evidence.All people working with the Community Linkworker will have to sign a consent form allowingfor some information to be shared whenengaging in the service.Copies of the consent form can also be madeavailable to counsel should they wish to discussthis with their clients and seek their consentbefore referring.The service is available at:

• the marae every weekday from 8.30am tomid-day.• Linwood Community Link, 154 Aldwins Roador telephone 029 6600 018.If you have any questions please contact: LynleyBateman 9619250 or Denise Jackson phone961-9301.For more information on Community Links goto http://www.msd.govt.nz/what-we-can-do/community/community-link/index.html.

Above, the Linwood Community Link and, below, the Nga Hau E Wha Marae.

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Port Levy a legal havenLawyers Lives Outside the Law

Congratulations to Shannon-Leigh Litt, whocame second in the 100km at the New ZealandUltra Marathon Championship on 6 May 2012with a time of 10 hours and 14 minutes.We hope to hear more from Shannon-Leighabout running a gruelling 100km and her futureevents.

Congratulations

Port Levy (Koukourarata) is abeautiful bay in Banks Peninsulaapproximately 45km fromChristchurch.

It is predominantly a sheep and cattle farmingarea with a settlement of houses down by theshoreline, many of these houses being holidayhomes. The local marae (Tutehuarewa) canalso be found down by the water’s edge.As the photo below shows, this is a verysheltered bay, which is why it is home to twomussel farms — a type of farming whoseintroduction was opposed by not a few locals!While all of this adds up to a bay with greatfishing, sheltered waters, safe swimming andjust all round tranquility, these are not the onlyspecial characteristics of Port Levy. It has anunusual abundance of...... lawyers!The New Zealand Law Society released statisticson “Lawyers by Location” which stated that New

Zealand has one lawyer for every 390 citizensand Wellington has the highest number oflawyers with one for every 88 citizens. Port Levywins that competition “hands down” with onelawyer for every 10 citizens (give or take afew).To ensure complete accuracy not all havepractising certificates but that is a mereformality. Following are their “Port Levy Stories”:

David RoundDavid Round has known Port Levy since idyllicchildhood holidays in a variety of baches andtents, swimming and fishing and exploring ingolden weather. It was a homecoming, not abig step, to move there in 1987.By happy chance, he sold dear in Christchurchjust a few months before the Big Crash, to buya somewhat neglected house and overrunproperty, which no one else seemed to want.The farmhouse was known from his childhood,having had the bay’s last dairy herd, and thecowshed where holidaymakers and locals once

all brought their billies for warm creamy milk.The house itself, rationalised and tastefullyrestored, is picturesque and deeply romantic,and therefore impossible to clean or heat.It has seven bedrooms, more than a bachelorneeds, but handy on social occasions, andsocial life has not suffered from a little distancefrom town. If anything, David sees more of hismany friends and knows them better now asthey stay for longer than just dinner.Although these days preferring the quiet dinnerand thoughtful discussion with old comrades,larger soirees occasionally feature, the lawstudents’ party on the final night of the lawrevue being notable for its energy and highspirits.He was not looking for so big a house, only fora bigger garden than he had in Christchurch.‘Admire a large estate, but buy a small one’,Vergil advised; given one busy chap’s resourcesof labour and energy, perhaps he should havepurchased something even smaller than his 16acres — but it is quite respectable for gardensto look just a little wilder in the country andwhat can be better than taking the fruit fromthe trees you have planted yourself?David has just heard, for the very first time, amorepork in the bush he has fenced andrestored on the other side of the stream. Thepigeons are almost a curse, damaging apricotsand almonds so seriously that they have hadto be replaced with less delicious trees. (likequinces, which, although enormouslyfashionable, are somehow never in enormous

David Round gets some advice from Daisy.

Port Levy...........no trouble finding a lawyer here.

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demand. Applications for next year’s crop arewelcome!)David’s simple rustic interests form anadmirable counterpoint to lectures inenvironmental law, and he dares to hope thatas the world reels from peak oil, economiccatastrophe and who knows what else, hisfruitful estate may be, like Elrond’s last homelyhouse, a haven of comfort and civilisation inthe twilight years ahead.

John CrawI suppose I have graduated from lawyer to aBanks Peninsula beef cattle farmer! Afterqualifying in 1994 I worked in Gisborne,Christchurch, London, Christchurch again andMelbourne.I have worked predominately in commerciallaw (although I did around two and a half yearsspecialising in Resource Management at theChristchurch office of Buddle Findlay). Fromthere I moved to Melbourne in 2001 where Ifocused on commercial/business law andattained accreditation as a business lawspecialist in 2006.Victoria (and other states) have regimes wherelawyers can undertake additional exams/papers/satisfy other criteria to get accreditedin specialist practice areas although around only5% of lawyers do that.It was a different experience working in Australiavis a vis New Zealand. As a general ruleAustralians are far more litigious than NewZealanders and there is an interesting mix ofethnic groups (e.g. Italian/ Greek/Lebanese)who have their own way of doing business.In January 2011 I returned to take over thefamily beef cattle properties in Port Levy andPigeon Bay. On 1250 acres (farmers alwaysseem to talk in imperial) 500 cattle are finishedfor sale to meat processors for New Zealandand international consumption.My main concerns now are the beef schedule,

the New Zealand dollar, water, fences, dogsand the weather! It has been a rewarding andworthwhile change and a satisfying feeling tocontinue what my father started. It is a positivemove to return to a rural lifestyle/communityand to get back to old friends at the local golfclub.The farm in Port Levy runs from sea level toaround 800 metres and the view from the topover the Canterbury plains — no corner officecan ever beat that! The interest in law hasnonetheless remained. I have recently accepteda part-time commercial position at White Foxand Jones starting this month.This no doubt will also involve dealing with theissues arising from what has happened inCanterbury over the last 18 months which Iwould like to be involved/assist with.

Diane RutledgeI moved to Port Levy about 20 years ago andhave been enjoying the beauty and tranquilityof the bay non-stop. That is if we discountsnowstorms, being woken at 2am by policecatching up on car thieves, refloating 37stranded whales, watching a tsunami changethe low tide to high tide in 20 minutes andvarious other glitches in the peacefulsettlement.We have a small farm, which was home toabout 80 deer until we found commuting a bitmuch and leased out the land to Rich Barnett,one of our neighbours.Port Levy is renowned for having great partiesand, while I was at Law School, I found thatDavid Round is as entertaining as a lecturer ashe was at the many parties that he hosted.Coincidentally, our daughter learnt to ride withour neighbours, Caroline and Murray Craw(John Craw’s parents) and was lucky to haveher first job experience helping with their horsetreks.Sara Meyer graduated from Law School andbecame a neighbour when she married TimCoop. Phil, our son was taught the value ofgood work ethic in his first job at the Coopswhen he was seven years old, picking walnutsfor Sara’s father-in-law.I have learned to cook on the wood burner inblackouts, dig out the septic tank and repairthe wonky water system but have nevermastered the chain saw. Not a problem!Zylpha’s husband, Mike has ridden to therescue and taken over the tree felling.Looking back, I really do not know what wewould have done without all these lawyers.

Tony GreigI loathe cities, they bring out the worst ineveryone and the best in nobody. They areoften noisy, always impersonal, frequently dirty,usually crowded and never-endingly irritating.So in 2002 I started looking around for land tobuy. Finding the perfect spot took a while buteventually I found 400 acres at Port Levy.It is traditional hilly peninsula land, where youfarm both sides of the acre. Half of it is inforestry and for the rest I have a herd of beefcows that have free rein over the whole area.There is a great feeling of community at PortLevy. The old school was shut about 40 yearsago and is now a community hall. We hold anannual mid-winter dinner and a summer BBQthere, complete with Santa on a ute for thekids. Every so often we have working beesaround the hall and also the churchyardwhenever a funeral is planned.One resident there looks after her twohandicapped grandchildren. Earlier this yearthere was a working bee to provide her withenough firewood to see her through the winter.I could happily stay out there all week, but mustkeep earning for the moment. David Round isoften talking forebodingly about “come thedarkness”. When it does come we plan to placesnipers at the top of the hill over to Purau andkeep it all to ourselves. Suits me.

Sara CoopI have lived in Port Levy for almost 10 years. Istarted my law degree at Otago University whenI was working for Healthcare Otago. The plan(as yet unfulfilled) was to combine my healthbackground and law to pursue a career in eitherbioethics or medical law.Two years after meeting my husband Tim Imoved to Christchurch and completed mydegree at Canterbury University in 2004. Afterthat I worked at Anderson Lloyd Lawyers inChristchurch as HR Manager, which was afantastic job. I left to have children and ourtwins Daisy and Sam arrived one year ago.

John Craw and his dogs.

Tony Greig repairing a roof.

Continued Page 10

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Technology that transfers paper documents into an electronic formatis now available in Christchurch and offered by well-respected andestablished local company Highbourne Solutions.Many legal firms are now working in a totally different environmentin either smaller premises, or having created several branches withinthe city. With office space now at a premium the days of the largefiling cabinets are being numbered.Many firms during this earthquake period either lost critical or didnot have access to information and records for a period of time, dueto the premises being in either the red zone or condemned.Electronic data archiving system called Trapeze Vault has beendeveloped in New Zealand. It is made up off different componentsof software including a data base builder, document scanning systemand a user friendly desktop that allows the user to retrieve, annotate,measure, index and email scanned documents.The ease of having access to relevant information on their monitors,in several seconds rather than the hours or days is a great economicsaving the business in the form of time management and occupiedspace. The information is held on client’s site usually on a server,however another benefit is data can be accessed of site via a webbrowser internet Explorer or Firefox.

All documents held in the database are fully indexed andtherefore searchable, providing a secure back up of the papertrail. Tiered security features can be built into the system toallow access to certain document’s by appropriate staff.The director of Highbourne Solutions Guy Bergin identified theneed for this system in New Zealand as he recognised his clientshad a similar problem to client companies he had assisted inEurope, who struggled with the “paper war”.After extensive research internationally Highbourne Solutionsfound a product that suited the New Zealand market the TrapezeVault, which was developed in New Zealand. To find out moreabout document archiving using the Trapeze Vault documentarchiving system and ascertain if it would be of benefit to yourorganisation contact Guy (+64 3 550 4444).Highbourne Solutions offers a free consultation to assess thefirms’ needs with a follow up presentation to show how theTrapeze Vault software will transform the way the companyarchives its documents and the benefits to firms’ officemanagement strategies and business going forward.

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Final victory in the ‘paper war’

Joined firmTeresa Bull (Cameron & Co), Hayden Cameron(GCA Lawyers), Mary Crimp (Harmans),Christopher Dearsley (Wynn Williams Lawyers),James Eddy (Canterbury Legal), ChristopherHunt (NZ Police), Andrea Hunter (Godfreys),Timothy Lester (Buddle Findlay), MichaelMcKay (Malley & Co), Claire McNeill (Cameron& Co).Changed firmShonagh Burnhill (Saunders & Co to SB Lawas Associate), Kelly Hawkins (Barker &Associates to Corcoran French), Julica Krause(Public Trust to Mackintosh Bradley & Price),Alana Limmer (Goodman Tavendale Reid toSolid Energy), Kirsty Morris (Trustees Executorsto Helmore Ayers), Tania Pearson (ChristchurchInternational Airport to Chapman Tripp), KaseyReid (IRD to Duncan Cotterill), Phillipa Shaw

(SB Law to Shirley Law), Joanna Turnbull(Duncan Cotterill to Goodman Tavendale Reid),Anselm Williams (NZ Police to RaymondDonnelly & Co).Moved onKatherine Butterfield (Solid Energy) KatrinaDougherty (Cuningham Taylor), Aimee Edwards(Mackintosh Bradley & Price to Webb Farry,Dunedin), Joseph Griffiths (E H Parsons toMinistry of Justice, Auckland), Ross Keenan(Duncan Cotterill), Eric Lee (Canterbury Legal),Alice Lysaght (Anthony Harper), GabrielleMcGillivray (Wynn Williams Lawyers), MarkMitchell (Duncan Cotterill Christchurch toDuncan Cotterill Nelson), Christopher Norris(Wynn Williams Lawyers), Michael Quinn(Corcoran French), Rose Sewell (AndersonLloyd), George Scott (Helmore Bowron &Scott).

Changed statusKathryn Dalziel, partner with Taylor Shaw asfrom 17.4.12, Ingrid Taylor, sole practitioner topartner at Taylor Shaw, as from 17.4.12.Robin McSporran, Saunders & Co, retired frompartnership, remaining with the firm.Denise Booth, Sophie Goodwin, FionaMcMillan, Yue Wang, solicitors to seniorsolicitors at Lane Neave, and Anna Chartressenior solicitor to associate.Jeremy Blake, ceased as partner with BuddleFindlay as from 30.4.12, to remain asconsultant.Change of detailsMortlocks, 443B Ilam Road, physical and postaladdress, LINZ, CBRE House, 112 Tuam Street.NZ Police, Legal Services Canterbury District HQ,48 Hereford Street.Solid Energy, 15 Show Place, Addington.

Comings & Goings

Canterbury tales 9

There is still no confirmation ofwhen Library staff can return to theLaw Library in Durham Street.

The necessary strengthening work on theLibrary part of the Courts building has beenscheduled for 2012, so there is a glimmer ofhope we could be back in town by the endof this year.In the meantime a core collection of currenttexts and loose-leafs, as well as ourcomprehensive electronic collection, areavailable for practit ioners’ use at 8Homersham Place, Burnside.Westlaw NZThomson Reuters have recently moved theirBrookers Online collection to a new platformcalled Westlaw NZ. All the same content isaccessed through a very different, moreintuitive interface. Westlaw NZ is designedto be quick to learn and easy to use. Librarystaff will offer individual sessions to introducethe new look Brookers collection, sometimeover the next few weeks.Best legal book 2011Williams and Kawharu on arbitration by

David Williams QC and Amokura Kawharu hasbeen recently announced winner of the JFNorthey Memorial Book Award for 2011. The$2,000 annual prize is awarded by the LegalResearch Foundation for the best legal textof the year by a New Zealand author.Other titles short-listed were: What’s thehurry? urgency in the New Zealandlegislative process by Claudia Geiringer, PollyHigbee and Elizabeth McLeay; Lords of theland: indigenous property rights and thejurisprudence of empire, by Mark Hickford;and A simple nullity?: the Wi Parata casein New Zealand law, by David V Williams.The Library has just purchased Williams andKawharu on Arbitration. The best legal bookof 2011 will be reviewed in LawTalk 796(25 May 2012).New booksRecently added to the collection are:Access to information by Graham Taylor &Paul Roth, LexisNexis, 2011;Butterworths New Zealand law dictionaryby Peter Spiller, LexisNexis, 2011;Competencies of trial: fitness to plead inNew Zealand by Warren Brookbanks,LexisNexis, 2011;Cook on Costs 2012: a guide to legalremuneration on civil contentious andnon-contentious business by Michael JCook, LexisNexis (London), 2011;

James & Wells intellectual property lawin New Zealand (2nd ed) by Ian Finch (ed),Thomson Reuters, 2012;Law of contract in New Zealand (4th ed)by John Burrows, Jeremy Finn, Stephen Todd,LexisNexis, 2012;The law of remedies: new directions in thecommon law by Jeff Berryman and RickBigwood (eds), Irwin Law, 2010;Local authorities law in New Zealand byKenneth Palmer, Thomson Reuters, 2012;Mason and McCall Smith’s law andmedical ethics (8th ed) by JK Mason et al.,Oxford University Press, 2011;Members’ meetings: all you need to knowabout New Zealand meeting procedure(3rd ed) by Mark Von Dadelszen, LexisNexis,2012;Principles of civil procedure (3rd ed) byAndrew Beck, Thomson Reuters, 2012;Thomas on powers (2nd ed) by GeraintThomas, Oxford University Press, 2012;What’s the hurry? urgency in the NewZealand legislative process by ClaudiaGeiringer, Polly Higbee, Elizabeth McLeay,Victoria University Press, 2011;Williams & Kawharu on arbitration byDavid Williams, Amokura Kawharu, LexisNexis,2011.Your legal researchOur experienced legal researchers with all theLaw Society Library’s resources at theirdisposal can deliver timely and efficientresearch tailored to your needs. Contact usby email canterbury@nzlslibrary.org.nz orphone 377 1852.

Library NewsBy Julia de FriezLibrarian

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Canterbury-WestlandBranch/NZLS

Proudly sponsored by

EducationProgramme

NZLS Continuing Legal EducationTo register and for other information check

the CLE website,www..lawyerseducation.co.nz

ChristchurchJUNE

5 — Lending and Securities - changes toconsumer and commercial credit laws.6 — Search & Surveillance Act 2011 — NewPowers.8 — Succession Planning for FarmingFamilies, Webinar.11-12 — Residential Property Transactions.

JULY19,20,21 — Stepping Up — Foundation forpracticing on own account.23 — Building Profitability: Leverage,Leadership and Management, 9am-4pm.

AUGUST19-25— Litigation Skills Programme 2012.

Out of ChristchurchEducation 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 18-19 June.Corporate Governance Intensive —Wellington, 21 June, Auckland 22 June.Expert Witness — Wellington 21-22 June.Tax Conference — Auckland 5 September.Canterbury-Westland Branch NZLS

SeminarsEmployment Law — Wednesday 20 June,5pm. Look out for flyer.Excel for Beginners, lunchtime, Monday 25June (for Excel 2003 or prior) and MondayJuly 2 (for Excel 2007 onwards). Look outfor flyer. Philip Strang teaching the basics ofExcel to lawyers and their staff.

Annual meetingCanterbury-Westland Branch NZLS AGM,Thursday 21 June 2012, 5pm start. RussleyGolf Club, Fairway Room.

Happily, looking after them is now my mainjob (although I do have some escape routesin place so I can get to the gym and otherplaces each week).Because I have not been admitted yet I plan todo Professionals in the next couple of yearsbefore my degree becomes “stale”, as they say.Tim and I have an 1800-hectare (or 4500-acre) sheep and beef farm in Port Levy/HolmesBay. I do most of the administration and Timdoes most of the work. I love the peace andspace of Port Levy.Even though I found it quite remote in thebeginning I now know that is one of the bestthings about this place. I cannot imagine livinganywhere else.

Zylpha KovacsI moved to Port Levy in 2008 — so probablynot considered one of the locals yet but I havecertainly been made to feel like one.Like many small communities that at first glanceappear to have very few people living in them— once you scratch the surface, the support,social events and friendships are often moreabundant than in a large, busy city.My husband Mike and I live up at Chelstonwhich was once a large farm. When the majorityof farmland was sold off to a forestry syndicatein the 1990s Mike bought the remaining 20acres along with the house and out buildingsand set about laying out a lovely garden andimproving the shearers’ quarters and stablescottage, which are offered out to guests that

Port Levy and its lawyers

Above, ZylphaKovacs andfarmyardfriends, and,right, SaraCoop.

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want to enjoy the peace and quiet.Our closest neighbour is 5km down the hill sowe are quite isolated but for us that is one ofthe advantages.When I began attending the social functionsand recognised one of my law lecturers, anothergraduate from my years at university and wasthen told there were other lawyers living in theBay, it occurred to me that Port Levy is definitelyone place where lawyers have a life outsidethe law.

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Situations Vacant

Missing WillMARK BYRD — Would any lawyer holding awill for the above named, late of St. NicholasRest Home, 7 Kirkwood Avenue, Ilam,Christchurch, formerly of 21 Gothic Place,Christchurch, a professor of psychology, whodied on 24 January 2012, please contactDiana LeBlanc, preferably by e-mail,dleblanc@arelaw.com or by mail, 5700Arlington Avenue, 22M, Riverdale, New York10471 or phone, USA 917-455-6495.

To Lease

CENTRAL CHRISTCHURCH15 Worcester Street — Victorian villa,

immaculately restored and maintained.Ideal location and premises for

barristers’ chambers or small lawfirm..Two suites left.

Please contact Adderley Head’s LisaWilson for full details on 353-0231 or

lisa.wilson@adderleyhead.co.nz.

Community Law has launched its new website which will assist anyone who is looking for legalinformation.The website has been designed to be accessible and welcoming for people and clearly explainsthe work of Community Law, what people can expect when they go to a Community LawCentre and how community lawyers are different from both private and legal aid lawyers.The website address is www.communitylaw.org.nz.

Community Law website

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Fun day in good causeThe Pink Jacket golf tournament, which was organised by the BNZ, allows women inmanagement and the professions to network while having a lot of fun and also raisesfunds for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.The funds raised this year totalled $4012.38 and Kathryn, Juliette, Stephanie and theirteams had a successful day as well as a lot of fun.Kathryn Dalziel, from Taylor Shaw, and her team were second in hole 4 and Juliette Derryand Stephanie Grieve from Duncan Cotterill and their team were third in hole 5.Stephanie commented that she and Juliette will not be giving up their day jobs and weresurprised by their placing especially as the scoring became a bit more flexible after a fewglasses of wine!They state they did not obtain by deception though as they were unable to attend theprize giving and therefore their prize was “collected” by their teammates!Look out for this tournament next year, as it may become an annual event.

Above, golfers get their starting orders amd, below, Kathryn Dalziel, far right, andher team.

Time extensionfor Red zonersOn 20th April the Minister for CanterburyEarthquake Recovery announced a one-offextension to the time limit for residential redzone property owners to accept the Crown offerto purchase their property.They now have up to 12 months from the dateon their offer letter or until 31 March 2013,whichever comes first, to accept the Crown offerby submitting a signed Agreement for Sale andPurchase to the Crown via their lawyer.While there is an extension to accept the offer,the date for final settlement still remains at the30th April 2013.Property owners in the red zone have beensent letters explaining this extension and thatthey must submit an agreement within thistimeframe or the Crown’s offer to purchase theirproperty will expire and it will no longer beavailable for them to accept.For some in the Red Zone, especially thosethat have only recently been told theirproperties have changed to Red, these timeframes may prove to be very restrictive with allthe decisions they are required to make.If there are any issues or problems that arebeing discovered in relation to thesetransactions please let us know and we will beable to keep others informed.

President’sColumnContinued from Page 2

Last but not least my joke(s)An Irish woman is cleaning her husband’s rifleand accidentally shoots him.She immediately dials 999. Irish woman: ‘’It’smy fooken husband! I’ve accidentally shot him,I’ve fooken killed him!’’Operator: ‘’Please calm down mam. Can youfirst make sure he is actually dead!’’*click* ... *BANG*Irish woman: ‘’Okay, I’ve done dat. What next?’’Celibacy can be a choice in life, or a conditionimposed by circumstances.While attending a Marriage Weekend, my wifeand I, listened to the instructor declare, ‘It isessential that husbands and wives know thethings that are important to each other.”He then addressed the men: Can you nameand describe your wife’s favourite flower?’I leaned over, touched my wife’s hand gently,and whispered, ‘Edmonds, isn’t it?’And thus began my life of celibacy.

Allister Davis