Putting the ‘commercial’ into commercial mediation

Webinar 1.5 CPD hours

Thursday 30 March 1pm – 2.30pm

Price from $110 + GST

Presenter Mark Kelly, barrister and commercial mediator, Bankside Chambers

What is the business case for mediation in commercial disputes? Why might it be better value than other forms of dispute resolution? How do you get the best result for a business at a mediation? In this webinar, experienced commercial mediator Mark Kelly will speak to these questions and discuss how practitioners can put the ‘commercial’ into commercial mediation.

Engaging with the media

CRIMINAL ALL LEVELS SEMINAR

In Person | Livestream

2 CPD hours

Tuesday 4 April

4pm – 6.15pm

Price from $140 + GST Presenters

Justice Simon Moore; Julie-Anne Kincade KC, Blackstone Chambers; Edward Gay, reporter, Stuff and Hannah Norton, journalist, NZ Lawyer and HRD Singapore

What role do the media play in legal cases? How should lawyers engage with journalists? How do the courts balance and manage competing interests? This seminar will offer some clarity around such questions with perspectives from media, counsel and the bench.

Chair Marie Dyhrberg KC

Selecting the correct ADLS loan and security forms

PROPERTY ALL LEVELS WEBINAR

Webinar 1 CPD hour

Thursday 6 April 12pm – 1pm

Price from $80 + GST Presenters Nicola Robertson and Lee Kerr, directors, Sanderson Weir Limited

The Annual Property Law Conference 2023

PROPERTY ALL LEVELS CONFERENCE

This webinar explains the soon-to-be updated suite of loan and security forms within ADLS WebForms, when and how to use them and how to avoid some of the common traps.

In Person | Livestream

4.5 CPD hours

Thursday 27 April

12.30pm – 5.30pm

Price from $400 + GST

Chair Tony Herring, partner, Gibson Sheat Lawyers

One of the leading property law conferences in New Zealand, this offers a unique opportunity for legal professionals to engage, connect and learn from the best minds in their area of practice. The programme is curated to give practical insights and guidance on key aspects of property law.

Will Inquiries

Please refer to deeds clerk. Please check your records and advise ADLS if you hold a will or testamentary disposition for any of the following people. If you do not reply within three weeks it will be assumed you do not hold or have never held such a document

LawNews: The no-hassle way to source missing wills for $80.50 (GST Included) reception@adls.org.nz ADLS, PO Box 58, Shortland Street, DX CP24001, Auckland 1140 Fax: (09) 309 3726 (09) 303 5270

Cheong

Kok-Leong

• Late of 3 Calypso Way, Unsworth Heights, Auckland

• Married

• Retired

• Aged 77 / Died 11’01’23

McDONALD

Dominic Joseph

• Late of 3/30C Parkway Drive, Rosedale, North Shore, Auckland

• Plumber

• Aged 44 / Died 07’12’22

TAYLOR

Christopher John

• Late of 3/471 Richmond Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland

• Married

• Electrical Marine Engineer

• Aged 37 / Died 16’01’23

TULUTU

Anderson

• Late of 2 Gifford Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland

• Consultant

• Aged 69 / Died 06’03’23

Offices Available

Following some barristers retiring, we have three offices of varying sizes available for rent.

The Chambers share a refurbished floor (with separate areas) with Hussey & Co., a boutique forensic and general accounting firm. There are shared meeting rooms (a formal boardroom with video conferencing facilities and a less formal meeting room), and communal entrance and client waiting area.

Telephones, internet connection, printing and secretarial services also available and some furniture available.

Cost depends on office size and range from $150 – $300 per week plus gst. No long-term commitment required.

Photographs of the Chambers can be viewed at www.hco.co.nz/gallery.

Contact: Shane Hussey for further details, Shane@hco.co.nz 09 300 5481

Commercial and Property Solicitor +- 3

We are a boutique commercial and property specialist firm based in Howick, but with a commercial law focus and client base only normally found in larger firms. The firm has an exciting new opportunity for a solicitor looking to grow their experience in commercial law. You will:

• Be working with the firm’s experienced commercial lawyers on a range of commercial and some property matters, including business sales and purchases, asset structuring advice, drafting commercial agreements and providing advice on property law.

• Be able to work efficiently and deliver expedient legal services, in an understandable and efficient manner.

• Have a highly pragmatic and flexible approach and be able to meet deadlines.

• Have some experience in conveyancing.

We have an internal culture that is inclusive and driven by a passion to deliver efficiency and value, together with a strong foundation for building long-lasting relationships and consistently delivering outstanding results for our clients. We have adopted modern practice methods and are committed to continuous improvement initiatives.

If you believe that this role will suit you, please send your application including cover letter and CV to alistair@ascolegal.co.nz and phone 09 308 8071 for more information.

Continued from page 07 mostly on the basis that prison security was at risk, with just over 1,000 people denied the entitlement at the start of the year.

Sentencing judges have been prepared to accept a lack of minimum entitlements and prolonged time in solitary confinement as mitigating factors.

Counsel have argued a “covid discount” exists – time spent in custody, both on remand and as sentenced prisoners, has been disproportionately severe because of the pandemic and Corrections’ staff shortages. The courts have recognised the argument either by awarding discounts at sentencing or imposing concurrent sentences.

“They are minimum entitlements. They are the low watermark, you can't fall below them. They are not something to aspire to,” Priest said. “The thing that upsets me with Corrections at present [is] they say they are trying, but they don't get to try hard on fundamental human rights. It's baseline stuff. It simply has to be done.”

Systemic issues

Criminal barrister Julie-Anne Kincade KC described the denial of minimum entitlements as multi-layered. “There’s the layer of being locked up for periods of time, which are inhuman. There’s the layer of not being able to see your family. Then there’s the layer of having difficulties and issues with preparing for your trial.

“It’s not just about covid. Of course, covid had its own restrictions, but these problems are systemic and to do with staffing problems within Corrections.”

Marsh, Corrections’ national commissioner, said the department has received more than 3,100 applications for prison officer roles since October 2022, with almost a third received so far in 2023.

Some 469 front-line custodial roles – or 12% of the nearly 4,000 established positions – remained vacant at the end of February 2023. Moreover, some 338 staff couldn’t work due to sickness or other reasons. The department was aiming to recruit for all vacant frontline roles up to what is funded.

“Not all these roles are required to be filled for the safe and secure operation of prisons. Like any organisation, we have a natural turnover of staff and a level of vacancy is built into our operating model. The number of vacancies fluctuates on a daily basis,” he said.

Corrections was making a “concerted” effort to recruit, retain, and train. A new recruitment campaign, at a cost of nearly $7 million, had been launched; recruitment processes have been strengthened; and onboarding processes and work-life balance have been improved.

Marsh said recruitment and retention was challenging because of record low unemployment, border closures and stressors related to covid-19. Consequently, a larger number of staff left their roles during the pandemic for other opportunities at a rate Corrections hadn’t seen before.

“These challenges continue to impact our ability to safely facilitate services within the prison environment at some sites, including rehabilitation programmes, training and education, visits, and unlock hours,” he said.

‘Just, fair and humane’

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has been concerned about the continued restrictions people in custody have faced because of the pandemic and staff shortages.

“People in custody have a fundamental right to legal visits and whānau visits, which can only be lawfully denied in very limited circumstances and for a reasonable period of time. These rights are essential for the just, fair and humane treatment of people in custody as well as their whānau,” Boshier said.

“I expect staffing to be kept at a safe level in line with international human rights law and guidance, so that minimum standards are met and the wellbeing of all people in the prison environment is maintained.”

In May 2021, Boshier started investigating how Corrections has responded to repeated calls for improving prison conditions.

At the time, the chief ombudsman hadn’t seen “significant and sustained” improvements and had become increasingly concerned about seeing the same issues repeatedly emerge.

“I now need to determine if there are any system-wide issues in the department that may be preventing it from making changes that I and other oversight agencies have been calling for,” Boshier said.

The investigation remains live, and Boshier expects to release his findings around the middle of the year.

First-hand effects

Lawyers are seeing the effect of confinement and a lack of minimum entitlements on prisoner wellbeing.

Priest said inmates have described feeling panicked: “heart racing, sweaty hands, nausea and an inability to concentrate.”

The lack of social interaction and connection, with prisoners being denied whānau visits and physical exercise, meant the courtroom was an overwhelming place for them upon arrival. “There are so many people, so much noise, lots of movement,” Priest said. “It’s significant when they have been only allowed out of their cells for perhaps three hours a week over the preceding months.”

Kincade added that, over and above the “nerve-wracking” experience of going to court, some prisoners have had trouble even getting to court in the first place. This made it difficult for counsel to communicate with their clients and take instructions for their case – and put the actual court fixture in jeopardy.

“What we are worried about is that, because of that anxiety they will be feeling, it will manifest in a way where someone gets hurt, whether it’s the prisoner or the prison guard, or it’s just a very tense situation which, really, Corrections should be doing its best to ameliorate,” Kincade said.

It’s crucial the system didn’t add to the trauma of being locked up, so that “we don’t release a little ball of anger into our society, because nobody wants that either”. ■