New Zealand Law Society Guide for New Lawyers

"One thing you will find as you start work as a lawyer is that it’s very different to studying law and you’re going to have to learn quite a few new things. Law school and profs teach you how to think like a lawyer; when you enter the workforce, you’ve got to learn how to act like a lawyer." Jonathan Temm, President, New Zealand Law Society November 2012.

This Guide includes some excellent tips on sucessfully surviving those first few years after Law School. It covers topics such as: finding a job and tips for interviews;  work practices and delegation of work; court etiquette and what to wear in court and tribunals.

Seven types of ambiguity

A few years back we occasionally displayed and reviewed fiction with a law theme. Fiction is awesome and the mid-year break is coming, so I'm recycling those reviews. Seven types of ambiguity was the first book we featured, chosen because it was written by a barrister, Elliot Perlman. And because it’s about crime, imprisonment and trial. It’s also about psychiatry, families, health care, insider trading, ethics, so it just about covers the law school curriculum except for Treaty of Waitangi (understandable in an Aussie book), Law and Religion (may be the eighth type of ambiguity), and International Law.
It’s also about gambling, prostitution, literary criticism, love. And it's a great big book.

Find it in the Central Library: PR9611.P3619 S48

Statuary instruments

We recently discovered some statuary instruments on the shelves in the Law Library, tiny but exquisitely formed. Here is the cellist and, somewhat blurry, the violin player. We also have a weight-lifter, a serpent head and a pair of hands.

We're expecting to see a whole lot more instruments in the Law Library, now that the Parliamentary Counsel Office is re-branding regulations as legislative instruments. They probably won't be as charming as these!

First statutes revision for 105 years planned

The Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) says it will propose the first of a new three-yearly programme of statute law revision to the Attorney-General and relevant government agencies "in time for the next Parliament".

In its Statement of Intent for the period 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2018, the PCO says the Legislation Act 2012 - some of which is still to come into effect - requires the PCO to improve access to old, archaically expressed, and much amended laws through the establishment of a three-yearly programme of statute revision.

The last - and only - comprehensive revision of New Zealand's statute book took place in 1908.

The PCO says the draft revision programme will set out the proposed revision projects and those Bills expected to be enacted during that three-year period.

"The amount of revision undertaken will depend on the availability of funding to the PCO and administering departments," it says.

In other information provided in the Statement of Intent, the PCO says it intends to phase out the Statutory Regulations series and replace it by a Legislative Instruments series.

"This change will reflect terminological changes introduced by the [Legislation Act 2012], expecially the introduction of the terms 'disallowable instrument' and 'legislative instrument' in place of the current term 'regulations'," it says.

The PCO also says it is planning to make the New Zealand Legislation website an official source of legislation by 1 July 2014.

How's your research and writing going?

Here are some pointers:
Ask for help at the Law Library desk ("office hours" only).
Use the Law Subject Guide as a portal for legal research.
Contact Kate or Carolyn for indepth assistance. We can help with search strategies, literature reviews, Endnote, database searching, primary sources, and more!
Good luck!

Valedictory Speech: Gilmore MP

If you're looking for an interesting and potentially amusing distraction this afternoon, One News will be live streaming Aaron Gilmore's valedictory speech from Parliament.

Have your say in the Constitution Conversation

Sumbissions can now be made by the public, regarding the Constiutional Review.
It's quite important. Have your say.
The Constitution Conversation Submission Process

 If you need some help getting a handle on the issues, there are LOADS of websites engaging in this debate, from both sides of the argument (take time to hear both sides, critically evaluate them).  And remember the podcasts on Radio NZ, which were very interesting.

Right, I'm off to make my submission. Cheers

Cartoons for In the Courts - Juries

From the hallowed pen of Queens Council, The Times