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Denham Bramwell lawyers take an active role in NZLS committees to support the work of their peers and have an input into the law-making process in New Zealand.
We are proud of their work and supportive of their endeavours to play a wider role in the legal process.
In a recent article, Capital Letter reported on the work our Associate, Anna Fuiava has been doing with the Access to Justice Committee since 2017.
The article is reproduced in full below with kind permission of Capital Letter.
Author: Greta Yeoman
Being part of a New Zealand Law Society committee can make a practical difference in the daily life of the profession and impact lawmaking, civil litigation lawyer Anna Fuiava says. The Denham Bramwell associate has been on NZLS’s Access to Justice Committee since 2017.
“I think a lot of lawyers have no idea that we do this type of work,” Fuiava says.
“There’s so many committees working so hard behind the scenes to put forward perspectives that do make a difference to outcomes for people using legal services, and the courts, and the law.
“If you want to see some of the inner workings of the Law Society, I think it’s a really interesting perspective to have, being on a committee.”
Fuiava says being a committee member allows people to make practical differences to some of the day-to-day issues that lawyers deal with, and there are also opportunities to look at broader issues of law-making by commenting on reports or intervening in cases.
“You can stand back for a minute and think about the broader perspective of the profession and where we’re at,” she says. “That can also be really rewarding.”
The committees
There are 17 law reform committees run by the Society and made up of lawyers across the profession. Applications to join the committees close on Friday.
Specialist subjects range from public law, immigration and environmental law through to youth justice, intellectual property and employment law. There is also an overarching Law Reform Committee which drafts submissions on behalf of the Society, after consulting specialist committees.
A climate change law committee started up last year, and a new health and disability law committee is about to launch. It will focus on disability law and the accident compensation scheme.
The Access to Justice Committee – formerly the Legal Services Committee – mostly focuses on New Zealand’s legal aid system and advocates for change.
One recent success has been the increases to legal aid remuneration. The committee has spent “years and years” advocating for increases, alongside other members of the profession, Fuiava says.
“That’s been a big piece of work,” she says.
From 1 August, the hourly rate for duty lawyer rises from $88 to $103 on weekdays and from $108 to $126 on weekends. The income threshold for legal aid also increased by 15 per cent on 1 July.
Committee work
The committees undertake a variety of work, including advising on submissions, advocating on specialist issues and being consulted for various Ministry of Justice initiatives.
They also help out when the Society is asked to intervene in precedent-setting cases, NZLS law reform and advocacy manager, Aimee Bryant says.
One example is high-profile Covid-19 response case BORROWDALE v DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF HEALTH. The Society intervened in the High Court and Court of Appeal hearings.
NZLS will also be one of nine intervening parties in MW V SPIGA in the Employment Court. That case concerns the way in which nonpublication orders are dealt with in the employment jurisdiction.
It will also intervene in HAWKINS V TE HEI in the CA, Bryant says. The proceeding concerns the award of exemplary damages, and damages for emotional harm and/or bereavement, to an immediate family member of a person who dies because of an intentional tort.
The Society does not intervene in every case that comes its way, but usually has at least one request in front of relevant committees as part of its considerations on intervening, Bryant says.
“Our committees are so important; we always consult them,” she says.
If the Society agrees to intervene, and the Court approves it, committee members will then look over submissions and give advice.
Work load, reasons to join
Each committee has a law reform and advocacy advisor, who is legally qualified and usually has experience in the specialist area. Bryant manages these advisors.
They compile documents and other information for members all over the country to review and advise upon remotely.
As the committees are remote, people from all over the country can join and share different perspectives from different roles and regions, Bryant says.
“We do try make sure the committees have enough members so work can be shared around and people can take space as they need to.”
Fuiava says the advisors do “much of the leg work” for the committees and play an essential role in enabling lawyers to do the volunteer work on top of their day jobs.
“I don’t find it a huge time commitment,” she says.
“I would just encourage anyone who’s considering it just to put their name in the hat,” Fuiava says.
One addition to the membership make-up this year is a new seat on each committee specifically for lawyers with 3-5 years PQE.
“They can learn so much from the members and also offer their own views,” Bryant says. [ENDs]
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Anna Fuiava works on the NZLS Access to Justice Committee to provide an insider's view on legal aid – an issue close to her heart.
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