From the Secretariat Jacqui Thompson*

Kia ora koutou.

At Kate suggestion, I want to run through what the Secretariat has been dealing with so far this year and outline what is to come. I was appointed Acting Executive Director shortly before the lockdown. I had little idea what was ahead of me! It was an incredibly busy period and I suspect Kate Davenport and I talked more to each other than we did with our families. Our Membership Administrator/Events Co-ordinator, Lisa Mills and Accounts Assistant, Dianne Tietjens, ran an amazing support service in the background. At the end of lockdown, I think we were all looking forward to not talking to each other for a few days. I share Kate’s feelings about the contact we had with members and the incredible feedback that they gave us during that period. This feedback was listened to and it made a difference. We didn’t get everything we wanted all the time, but we got variations and concessions that were important for members.

We are still catching up – as the very late publication of At the Bar demonstrates! A major problem was that the timing of the outbreak coincided with our membership renewals. We had to look at ways that we could give members added value and allow them to retain their membership in the face of increasing financial difficulty. We decided to put our training programme on hold and instead offer free virtual events so that people could claim CPD and thereby reduce their costs over the year. While this meant an income loss to us, we wanted to be sure that members could optimise their membership. We also came up with some instalment plans for membership payments. Without going on at length about our client relationship management software, this was not easy! I want to reassure you all that the process is confidential.

Another focus for us was our member benefits. The savings depend on the benefit and the item you are buying. For example, buying cables and connectors at Noel Leeming will result in good savings. Last month I saved approximately $13 on a new cable and $16 on a port. This week we saved $12 on new batteries for our phones. The savings begin to add up over a year. And I recently priced a dehumidifier which was listed online for $799 but the member price was $629. There were other cheaper dehumidifiers on sale, but I wanted a Rolls Royce version. Another good buy was paint from the Dulux Trade centre – again, purchased a year ago. Now, if only I could be bothered to actually get around to using it. Looking ahead, our Bench & Bar and QC dinners will go ahead. The Wellington Silks dinner will be on 30 July at St Johns. A combined Bench and Bar Silks dinner will take place in Auckland on 12 August at the Hilton’s Aquamarine Room. Both of these dinners are on our events calendar on our website. We are also planning a one day training event in Auckland on 16 October and another event in Christchurch in late November.

When we started the Covid 19 journey, many people said to us that we were all in this waka together. While that was true in a very general sense, it soon became apparent that everybody’s waka was a little bit different. Some people had the latest technology in their boats. Others, through no fault of their own, had leaks springing up everywhere as their incomes diminished and, in some cases, disappeared. Others had no idea what direction they should go in and what paddle to use (I think I may be taking this analogy a little bit far!). For this reason, the NZBA is thinking more holistically about what members need in the future. For example, our technology and training committees are considering what barristers need to know about working with the latest technologies. We must plan so that people are ready for the future. I hesitate to ask you for “feedback”, but if you do have any comments about things you would like to learn about, please email technology@nzbar.org.nz. Finally, thank you all for your support, your patience, your kind comments and your humour. Ngā mihi nui,

Jacqui.

*Jacqui Thompson is the Acting Executive Director and Training Director of the New Zealand Bar Association. If you have any questions or comments about this column, please email Jacqui at Jacqui.thompson@nzbar.org.nz.