Canterbury tales

Canterbury-Westland Branch New Zealand Law Society March 2012, Vol. 18, No. 2

Canterbury tales

I sat on one side of the ElmwoodNormal School Auditorium.Opposite were Allister Davis andMalcolm Ellis. I thought to myself,Malcolm you are going to ask mefor an article for Canterbury Talesaround this. And he did.

We were there for Gerry Brownlee’s NorthwestEarthquake Community Awards. The LawSociety’s and Allister’s efforts have been spokenof before in these pages. But I was moved, forinstance, to learn of the Trojan contributions ofthe burly young men from Smiths Cranes.They saw things other young men witness onlyin warfare. Or the middle-aged ladies whocooked meals for weeks for those identifyingbodily remains at Burnham. Or the churches,the service groups, the young people, theelderly, the businesses. Some nominees hadto go on the stage twice.Merchandise driven red and black campaigns

do not arouse me. But I felt pride for my cityand province that evening. In the midst oftragedy, all these people, many unsung quietheroes, had just knuckled down and got onwith it, often despite their own direcircumstances. We all now know of many otherswho had done the same.My wife Val and I had been nominated alongwith her work place Healthcare New Zealand.She is a District Nurse Co-ordinator. Just after

12.51pm Val, my secretary Kaylene and I stoodjoking on the drive outside my office. Mygrandfather clock had turned homicidal on Val.Kaylene suggested Val had put the boot in,knowing Val hated that clock. (It is now back,fully restored). We told the postie he had betterget home. He carried on delivering. Kayleneeventually drove off to check her children.

The Canterbury-Westland Branch NZLS team at the Northwest Earthquake Community Awards presentation, Theresa Graham, PrueRobertson, Rachel Dunningham, Allister Davis, Minister of Earthquake Recovery Gerry Brownlee, Malcolm Ellis and Julia de Friez.

Quake efforts recognised

Continued Page 9

By Arthur Sandston

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President’s ColumnVino FinoPhoto Caption

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.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 April 9 2012. The winner willbe announced in the next edition of CanterburyTales.

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

“Am I a man or am I a muppet?”

March already and the days aregetting shorter and colder. Winteris definitely upon us.

Having just spent nine days in the newly namedTower block (formerly known as the Courtsbuilding) I must say if there was anothersignificant “event” that is certainly the buildingI would want to be in.The MoJ have reopened a number of thecourtrooms for use and it is great to be able togo to a reasonably central court rather thanthe four winds that litigators have been thrownto of recent times.With the “reopening” of the Tower block wehave seen the closure of the Prison court. Imust thank the Department of Corrections fortheir help and assistance in the efficient runningof that court. The comings and goings oflawyers, judges, MoJ staff and other associatedbodies would have been an incredible strainon their resources and they have exceeded allexpectations.The Tower has been cleared for reoccupationand use however the MoJ seem reluctant toopen all the courts up despite the urgings ofjudges and the profession. It seems to me thatthey are taking a very cautious approach thatsadly does not assist the profession or theadministration of justice however you can allbe assured that there has been a lot of bangingon tables in an effort to get us back to somedegree of normality.I must say that the area around the courts islooking like a section of Homs with demolitionof the Amuri Courts and Crowne Plaza wellunder way. Parking certainly is not a problem.By the time that you have this I will have metwith the Minister of Courts to ascertain whatsteps the MoJ propose to take with regard tothe Rangiora District Court.To date they (being Wellington) have adoptedthe “lets do nothing and see what happens”stance very reminiscent of post February 22nd.So it certainly looks as if there is another battleto be fought on that front.On a positive note for the MoJ on the 16thMarch the Minister opened the CambridgeCourts. A purpose built multi jurisdictional court.It is housed on the old King Edward Barrackssite next to the police station. It is well worth alook if you are passing. It is a building that waserected in less than one month and maybe

could be used as a blueprint for temporarycourts in Rangiora....there goes another pigflying by!Sadly the sports day was rained off and theoutstanding skills of practitioners have had tobe put on ice for another year. More time tohone ones skills or maybe work on that beerstomach like me!A date to enter into your diaries is the 21stJune for that is the date of the AGM. The venueis still to be named but keep an eye out for theflyer about this.8 Homersham Place, now the spiritual homeof the Canterbury-Westland branch of NZLS,has grown as Malcolm Ellis continues to expandhis empire. The downstairs unit now housesthe library as they have moved from the verycramped space upstairs and occupy a muchmore work friendly space.All essential texts are readily available as are anumber of dedicated computers forpractitioners. The library staff, as always, standready, willing and able to assist.When you do visit the Law Society you will seea new face working hard on all manner ofprojects. I would like to welcome on boardZylpha Kovacs and wish her well for her timewith us.

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The Right Track is coming toChristchurch. The Right Track (TeAra Tukuki Pai) is a rehabilitationprogramme for young repeatdriving offenders, which has beenvery successful in reducing re-offending.

As well as driving offences Right Track has alsobeen shown to reduce criminal offending.The programme was first introduced intoCounties-Manukau in April 2007 by twoinspirational people, John and Helen Finch.Successful programmes have since been runin Waitakere, Auckland Central, Rodney andHamilton.John and Helen are now working with a smallgroup of volunteers to bring the programmeto Christchurch. They include Emma Philp andDuncan Woods, whose four-year-old son Nayan

By John Horgan

Finding the right track

There was an excellent turnout forthe Canterbury Women’s LegalAssociation’s annual ChristmasLuncheon, which was held on 8December 2011 at Trevino’sRestaurant and Bar on RiccartonRoad.It was a special time to catch upwith members, given the trying yearall had experienced. My welcomingspeech focused on the importanceof colleagues and friends keepingin touch and being aware ofworkloads and stress levels of thosearound us.We also had the privilege ofpresenting the Lady DorothyThompson Scholarship Prize toVanessa Brierley, a solicitor withLane Neave.The scholarship is awarded annuallyby the Thompson family to theoutstanding female achiever at theIPLS Professional’s Courses of 2010.

Carol Morgan

CWLA Christmas lunch

was killed in 2010 by a teenage driver.The programme runs with 15 offenders plus asupport person. Participants are selected eitherfrom ‘at risk’ students at schools or morecommonly, youth offenders referred throughthe FGC process or young offenders appearingin the District Court whom the sentencing judgedeems suitable for the Right Track programme.The Police have been enthusiastic supportersof the programme and their presence has beenshown to be vital in changing the attitude ofparticipants. There are also presentations andinteraction with a wide variety of other peopleincluding the Fire Service, St John Ambulance,funeral directors, staff of the Hospital Spinaland Brain Injuries Units, as well as accidentvictims from all walks of life.There is also a Court-based session involving

at least one judge and in some cases all of theYouth appointed judges have also attended aswell as court staff, a court attendant, courtregistrar, duty solicitors and a police prosecutor.The Right Track programme in Christchurch hasbeen approved and authorised with theassistance of the Department of Correctionsand is running from late June this year throughto the end of July. It is hoped this programmewill be the first in a series to be run in theSouth Island.The programme will be seeking the assistanceof the legal profession both in referring youngoffenders and in running the court session likelyto be held in late June or early July of this year.If you would like to be involved please eithercall me direct on (03) 337-0290 or email meat bronandjohn@xtra.co.nz.

Zylpha Kovacs (above) has joined the teamat the Canterbury-Westland Branch of theNew Zealand Law Society.Zylpha was admitted as a barrister andsolicitor in 2007 and worked at PetrieMayman Clarke in Timaru.She left PMC to pursue her own businessopportunities and is now looking forward toworking with the team at the branch office.Her position is to, amongst other things,oversee the production of Canterbury Tales,so if you have any articles/photos or hear ofany stories that you would like to see inCanterbury Tales please contact her on (03)366-9184 or zylpha.kovacs@lawsociety.org.nz.

Garry Thompson congratulates Vanessa Brierley onwinning the Lady Dorothy Thompson Scholarship.

Newcomer tobranch office

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Case summaries (53)New Zealand’s legal research tool

Scandle v Far North DistrictCouncil — CA 619-2010 —Chambers, Ronald Young andAndrews JJ —0º 1 March 2012

BUILDING LAWUnsuccessful appeal against HC decisionfinding in favour of the Far North District Councilin proceedings in which appellant sued Councilfor negligence - alleged negligence related tothe defective construction of a holiday home -house had been built by M - appellant hadpurchased the home from M’s family trust -although house neither complied with Councilapproved design nor the building code, a codecompliance certificate had been issued by aprivate certifier engaged by M - over timeserious defects in the house emerged, suchthat appellant and his family had to stop usingthe house - projected repair costs were high -appellant successfully sued M, as builder, andM’s family trust, as vendor, but, given thefinancial situation of both the builder and thetrust, no recovery was expected - the privatecertifier was in liquidation so there was no pointin seeking recompense from it - proceedingstaken against Council alleged breach ofstatutory duty and negligence - HCJ found infavour of Council on both causes of action -appeal was confined to claim of negligence -whether Council ’s failure to require ageotechnical report before it granted originalbuilding consent was causative of loss suffered

by appellant - whether Council was negligentin permitting building without requiring loosefill (or “overburden”) on the site to be removed- whether Council was negligent in not followingthrough on its notice to rectify issued unders42 Building Act 1991 - submission HCJ haderred in holding that notice was spent or wassuperseded by the new plans and amendedconsent, which followed notice to rectify -whether Council was negligent in not checkingprivate certifier’s reports and in not questioningthe accuracy of the code compliance certificate- HELD: Judge was correct in reasoning thatthere was no substantial and material causallink between failure to require geothermalreport and loss suffered - there was no needfor specific condition in relation to overburden- Council was entitled to assume that a closewatch would be maintained during buildingprocess, whether it or a private certifier wasengaged for the process - at the time of givingapproval, the Council would not have been able

to anticipate that certifier would fail so dismallyin its task of supervising building work - Judgewas justified in holding that Council’s concernswere addressed when new plans and designfor house were prepared in answer to Councilnotice to rectify - although someone neededto check construction would take place inaccordance with new plans, M, as was his right,chose a private certifier to undertake theinspection role - it was that certif ier’sresponsibility, not the Council’s, to exercisereasonable care in its role of inspecting theongoing construction - the Building Act did notenvisage that parallel systems of inspectionwould be running - where a developer retaineda private certifier, the local authority did nothave an obligation to monitor the certifier’sactivities - further, under s50(1) Building Act, aterritorial authority was obliged to accept “asestablishing compliance with the provisions ofthe building code” a code compliance certificateissued by a building certifier - appeal dismissed.

Canterbury Tales is the official newsletter ofthe Canterbury-Westland Branch New ZealandLaw Society.Publications Committee: Karen Feltham(editor), Brendan Callaghan, Aliza Eveleigh,Summer Pringle, Andrew Challis 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 New ZealandLaw Society. The opinions expressed hereinmay not necessarily be those of the Branchand have not been expressly authorised. TheBranch accepts no responsibility whatsoeverfor any error, omission or statement.

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Library NewsLibrary staff were hopeful ofreturning to the Law Library in theDurham Street courts building earlyin 2012, but this was not to be.

While the tower building in the Courts complexis now safe for Ministry of Justice staff to re-occupy, the Law Library, which adjoins thetower, requires major ground stabilisation andstructural strengthening before Law Society staffcan return to work there.Upstairs, DownstairsWith the prospect of being unable to return toour Library in town for some time, Library staff(and books) have recently moved again, thistime just downstairs at 8 Homersham Place.(see photos right).While we have enjoyed sharing a work spacewith our branch colleagues, any of you whovisited Homersham Place could see we hadquickly run out of room. When a downstairsunit became available recently, we took theopportunity to lease more floor area in thesame building.We have retrieved a good selection of currentmaterial from the Courts building forpractitioners’ use at Homersham Place. You cancheck the Library’s online catalogue to seewhere a particular item is held (http://www.lawsocietylibrary.org.nz/catalogue/).If what you need is still held in Durham Street,it can usually be retrieved if requested with afew days notice. Two laptops are available forpractitioners to access the Library’s electroniccollection.What is a Medium Neutral Citation?From 1 January 2012 High Court and FamilyCourt decisions will have a medium neutralcitation. A medium neutral citation is a uniqueidentifier for a judgment. It is independent ofany law report series, vendor, media, orpublisher. It is typically called a ‘medium’ neutralcitation because the same format carries acrossprint and electronic media (so sometimescalled a ‘media’ neutral citation).Medium neutral citation is already in use bythe Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.Medium neutral citations will contain thefollowing information:• year of decision [in square brackets]• abbreviated name of the court, here NewZealand Family Court (NZFC); and• decision number (not the court file number)Example: [2012] NZFC 22If a case has an official neutral citation, includethis after the case name, preceding any LawReport in which the decision has beenpublished.An example: Commerce Commission v AirNew Zealand Ltd [2011] NZCA 64, [2011] 2

NZLR 194. If the case is unreported, the medianeutral citation stands alone.EPIC on my.lawsocietyA vast collection of electronic journal indexesand full text databases called EPIC is accessiblefrom your desktop via my.lawsociety. Ofparticular interest is Legaltrac, which indexes1,400+ legal journal titles, including NewZealand titles.Legaltrac also contains law-related articles fromover 1000 additional business and generalinterest titles. Contact Library staff for moreinformation on using EPIC.Maritime Law bulletinStaff at the Law Society Library in Wellington

produces a comprehensive monthly currentawareness bulletin on Maritime Law. An annualsubscription costs $125+gst. ContactCanterbury@nzlslibrary.org.nz if you areinterested in receiving a sample Maritime Lawbulletin.Insurance resource listThe Library has compiled a list of insuranceresources — texts, online databases andselected case head notes and citations. It isintended to provide a useful starting point forresearch on insurance matters arising from theearthquakes.The list is not exhaustive and further researchmay be needed. The list can be downloadedfrom the Canterbury EQ support page inmy.lawsociety. All resources listed are held inthe Library’s collection. To request a case,research or for further information contact theLibrary, canterbury@nzlslibrary.org.nz.

By Julia de FriezLibrarian

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Eerie return to “The Tower”

Wolf HallI have long avoided reading booksthat have won prizes or which arerecommended to me for theirerudition.

They are either mind-numbingly boring or Ihave not got a clue as to what “they” are onabout, i.e. “Foucault’s Pendulum.” However, Isuccumbed to Wolf Hall in a weak momentand because the price was right and because Imust admit to a certain amount of curiosity onmy part.We have recently been assailed from all sideswith “The Tudors” courtesy of the costumedrama section of English television. I foundthat I could not suspend my disbelief ofJonathan Rhys Meyer as Henry VIII since hedid not resemble him remotely; nor did he havethe voice of a big man; nor was he tasty asHenry VIII was rumored to have been, at leastas a young man.In Hilary Mantel’s “factional” novel Henry VIII israther more than a bit player but certainly notthe protagonist. Instead, it is his interactionswith Thomas Cromwell which are the focus ofher novel.From secondary school history and theconstitutional history we learned as part of ourlaw degree, at least in the olden days, I hadunderstood Thomas Cromwell to have been abit of a thug and an altogether nasty piece ofwork. At Burnside High School we were trottedalong to see a film of A Man For All Seasonsand duly wept with Scofield as Thomas Moreand booed at Leo McKern as ThomasCromwell. It was portrayed to us that More wasexecuted for his religious beliefs but that hisdeath was foisted upon him by ThomasCromwell who had inveigled his way into HenryVIII’s good graces.Well, Hilary Mantel has reconsidered andrefuted that life of Thomas Cromwell. She paintshim in a way more sympathetic light and, asyou waded through the 550 or so pages ofthe novel, you began to empathise as well assympathise with his lot.The authoress uses a strategy throughout herbook where Cromwell is not often mentionedsave as “he”. This actually draws you right intothe story and into the various episodes of hislife which this book covers.The early life of Thomas Cromwell is virtuallyunknown. His father was the blacksmith/

brewer/tavern keeper at Putney, which wasthen a village near London. According to Mantel,Cromwell as a boy was brutalised by his father,which meant that even as the only son he feltit necessary to run away.He had his OE in Europe and clearly had anumber of careers including being a mercenaryin the French Army fighting against Italy; doingbanking duties with the Italian merchantbankers; becoming the right hand man ofCardinal Wolsey; then a member of Grays Innin London and writing much of the legislationthat went through the English Parliament untilhe himself was executed in 1540. By thatstage he had outrun his use by date with HenryVIII.At the core of Mantel’s work is her belief thatCromwell disliked the nobility at worst andtolerated them at best in that he saw theinequities of the “feudal” system and theiniquities of the Roman Catholic Church inEngland at the time.Comment has been made that Mantel, beingof humble beginnings herself, was more easilyable to put forward her views on how Cromwell,a fellow commoner, could have felt about thepeople with whom he dealt as Henry VIII’smover and shaker.According to the authoress, Cromwell was anincredibly talented man and as well as beingable to speak about five or six languages hewas a skilled draftsman and lawyer; and anacute observer of people. She portrays him asa wise minister and a decent man rather thanthe skulking evildoer that we learned about inhistory classes.She is not the first to begin to do so as theeminent English historian, G R Elton, hadalready paved the way in his seminal work onthe Tudors as many of us will recall from ourdays (if not daze) with Marie Peters learningconstitutional history at the University ofCanterbury.Elton claimed that England moved from theMiddle Ages into the modern period under theguidance of Cromwell as he set up thespecialised offices to cope with English politicalpolicy and bureaucracy which had before beenleft in the hands of the King’s favourite noblesof the time.This sounds all very good and worthy but infact the book is truly a rollicking good read.Some of the thoughts and phrases ascribedare quite bawdy but again, with reference backto Shakespeare (or whoever wrote his plays)were apt for the period. An instance of this isthe inn servant advising Cromwell not to order

the pottage as it resembled “what’s left whena whore’s washed her shifts”.Cromwell is imbued with a strong sense ofhumour, which is rife through the book. HisFrench servant, Christophe, is a drollcounterpoint to Cromwell and he, together withthe young people that Cromwell gathers at hishome by way of his wards, variousacquaintances’ sons and the like and his ownnephews and nieces provide the intimate familyrevelations as opposed to the pomp andpageantry of Henry’s Court or indeed that ofWolsey’s Court in his time.The book is concerned only with a very shortperiod of Cromwell’s life really from 1527through to 1535 when More (sorry, spoileralert!) is executed for his treason. Hilary Mantelmakes More an unlikable man whereasCromwell is painted as the enlightened manwho worked hard to even try and save More.The various characters in this book do not speakTudor English.Mantel has presented an amalgam of thearchaic together with very lively and modernEnglish. For some reason it works very well.The people are alive and exciting and whollybelievable. She also creates a great deal ofpathos for our hero as a wealthy and successfulman/merchant/politician/lawyer who loses hiswife and then his beloved daughters to the“sweating sickness.”The whole book is redolent of the magic,mystery and danger of life in 16th CenturyEngland. Despite the book being largelyconcerned with the end of Catherine ofAragon’s marriage to Henry; with the politico-religious shenanigans to get that marriagedeclared annulled for some highly speciousreasons and Henry VIII’s wooing and marryingAnne Boleyn, it is just in this brief passage oftime that we truly meet Cromwell and we learnof his statesmanship and his political craftinessto ensure that a King had what the King desired.The book is called Wolf Hall because it wasthe cradle (and an apparent den of iniquity) ofthe Seymours of whom Jane was to becomethe Third Henrician Wife and it is later acquiredby Cromwell who settled the whole of hisextended family there. Not bad for a lad fromPutney.This review cannot really do justice to the bookwhich engages the reader on any number oflevels and, even though you know that AnneBoleyn (another spoiler alert) dies as you arereading this book you almost do not know whatis going to happen to her.This is a Tudor Tale with a twist.

Book Review By Karen Feltham

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In a previous life, and before Ideveloped a genuine love for thelaw, I indulged my passion for musicworking six nights a week playing‘folk n roll’ in a recently demolishedChristchurch central city bar.

Indeed I have played a fair few venues in thecentre of town that no longer exist or at leastdo not exist in their ‘central city’ form anymore.Having spent my post-secondary school yearsin the early 1990s touring the country playingmusic in various bands I settled down to studylaw at University of Canterbury in the mid1990s, completing my degree at the turn ofthe century.I had been inspired to study law byentertainment lawyer Malcolm Black (ex-Netherworld Dancing Toys), who had assisteda band I was playing in with negotiations for arecord deal with Sony Music.While I never did become an entertainmentlawyer, I paid my way through university playingand recording in various bands and in doingso was able to avoid the usual studenthospitality jobs serving customers or washingdishes in between lectures and over extendedholiday breaks.While working in a specialist area of litigation

practice gives me plenty ofopportunity for creativeoutput, I am for tunateenough to be able tocontinue with creativeoutlets away from the lawplaying a style of ‘backyardmusic’ working with Kiwi-Celtic rockers The BlackVelvet Band, as one half ofthe Little Chuck & JohnnyGinger duo and recently ahybrid project band calledThe Swarm, which recordedand released a song thatinspired the All Blacks toworld cup victory last year.

From muso to litigatorLawyers, as we well know, are a diverse lot with many hobbies and interests. Weare therefore introducing a new column of Lawyers Lives Outside the Law.First up is ADAM GALLAGHER, who writes of his life as a musician. We look

forward to hearing more such stories.

Lawyers Lives Outside the Law

Well, not quite, but The Swarm project andspecifically the song and video, ‘Back the Blacks’did draw on my legal skills, as the Major EventsManagement Act restricted the use of wordslike, rugby, world, and cup if used anywhere inthe lyrics and for purposes of commercial gain.Luckily ours was a charitable project with allprofits received from digital downloads oniTunes, Bandcamp, Amplifier and related digitalmusic download sites donated to theChristchurch Earthquake Mayoral Fund.Although we did get some interesting phonecalls early on in the project from those chargedwith enforcing the Act here in New Zealand.You can check out that masterpiece on YouTubeand visit The Black Velvet Band and The Swarmon Facebook or online atwww.theblackvelvetband.co.nz andwww.theswarm.co.nz.As those of you who read this publication wellknow, there is nothing more inspiring andfulfilling than a life dedicated to working in thelaw. However, work/life balance is critical toones success in their chosen profession and

critical to remaining sane as we all settle intothe ‘new normal’ in this proud red and blacktown.

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Comings& Goings

Joined firmJulia Beech (Inland Revenue) Helen Coutts(Jonathan Eaton, barrister), ChristopherFernando (Murray Withers & Associates),Catherine Gilvray (Harmans), Sara Isherwood(Chapman Tripp), Justine Joseph (YoungHunter), Olivia Nell (Cooney Silva Evatt),Christopher Newman (Raymond Donnelly &Co), Kathleen Page (Mortlock McCormack),David Renwick ( Enterprise Homes Ltd), MelissaSandom (Saunders Robinson Brown), KarynSouth (Raymond Donnelly & Co), JannahStringer (Saunders Robinson Brown), NicoleVivian (Mahi FX Ltd), Joanne Wall (Landley LawLtd,) Timothy Brown (Lane Neave), CharmaineSmith (Saunders Robinson Brown), StaceyWilliams (Cavell Leitch Pringle & Boyle).Changed firmJeanette Mehrtens (Ian McNish to HelmoreBowron & Scott), Emma Perry (Meridian EnergyLtd to Arc Innovations Ltd), Vanessa Sugrue(barrister to Canterbury Regional Council).Moved onMichelle Broadhurst (Timpany Walton),Amanda Fitzgibbon (Layburn Hodgins),Nicola Thomas (Buddle Findlay).Change of detailsRotherhams Law, c/- Currie Lawyers, 113Blenheim Road, Riccarton, Christchurch 8041.L K Cooney, PO Box 665, Ashburton 7700.The Immigration Law Firm (previously Kundig& Associates), 14(Unit) Acheron Drive,Riccarton, Christchurch 8041.Geddes & Maciaszek, First floor, 363 LincolnRoad, Addington 8011.Now that many firms have established amore permanent physical address pleasecheck that this and other details are correcton the NZLS database record.If information is to be available on the publicregister please check that this is indicated.The branch office relies on the databaseboth for information requested frommembers of the public and for thepublishing of details.

Johanna van der Stap (WynnWilliams Lawyers) replaced MirandaHosking (Adderley Head) asconvenor of the Trust AccountAdministrators group at a recentmeeting of the group at theWestpac hub.The Trust Account Administrators group meets

on a quarterly basis, and discusses currentissues and experiences in legal administration.This meeting was wide ranging but of coursethe post quake recovery was a recurrent theme.Most attendees reported that they hadrecovered their essential records with varyingdegrees of difficulty and those firms withmodern practice management software hadexperienced a relatively seamless transition totheir replacement premises.The common experience is that conditions

remain ‘trying’ with many firms still in crampedconditions. Philip Strang also discussed severalpertinent Disciplinary Tribunal and LCROdecisions and their implications.The group also serves as something of clearinghouse matching administrative staff to firmswho may have need for trust accounting oradministrative personnel to cover short orlonger-term vacancies. For further details onthe group or the e-circular listing please contactJohanna.vanderstap@wynnwilliams.co.nz.

New Trust Account convener

Johanna van der Stap, left, presents flowers to her predecessor Miranda Hosking.

Canterbury tales 9

Then Val took a cell call from one of her nursesand turned ashen. The base for her nursingservice was out of action. Management couldnot be contacted. Val suggested to me we callall the nurses to our home in Avonhead Roadat 7.30am Wednesday to work out what to do.The nurses stayed for three weeks. Thatafternoon was spent texting and cell phonecalling all the nurses.The first arrival was at 7am. She was homeless.She wanted to talk as much as have a showerand breakfast. Hours later she was out on theroad visiting patients. Virtually all 60 nurses inthat service arrived that morning, many fromthe worst effected suburbs.Triage was carried out; initially only the mostdesperate cases could be attended to. Familiesof patients were enlisted to help them wherethey could.Nurses were sent out in the company’s HyundaiGetzs or in nurses’ own four-wheel drives inpairs, because of the dangers. Neighbours latertold us initially they thought one of us had died.Our street was lined with the little grey cars.One bedroom with net access was set up asbase, with three laptops running. Hair was tornout getting the system connected withWellington HQ, which luckily had patientrecords. My office fax machine and printer ranhot.Our house evolved. The conservatory was

The North Christchurch Earthquake Awards was an initiative by the Ilam Member of Parliamentand Minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee.They are an important way to acknowledge those organisations in the northwest ofChristchurch who assisted in the response after the earthquake and in doing so kept thecity functioning at that time.Gerry Brownlee encouraged people to nominate these important groups as he is mindfulof the sacrifices and hard work that was carried out all over Christchurch after the February22 earthquake.Nominations were sent from the public nominating a range of groups. Many of thenominations gave a poignant insight to how those groups had helped.In the end 15 groups received the awards. They were:1. Burnside High School.2. Student Volunteer Army3. St Matthews Sisters’ Convent, Bryndwr.4. ANZCO Foods Ltd.5. Citizens Advice Bureau — West Branch.6. New Zealand Law Society — Canterbury-Westland Branch.7. Rochester & Rutherford Hall.8. St Barnabas In-betweens Group and members of the St Barnabas community.9. Scholastic New Zealand Ltd.10. Healthcare New Zealand.11. Smith Crane & Construction Ltd.12. Rotary Club of New Zealand.13. ARISE Church.14. International Association of Lions Clubs — District 202E.15. Christchurch Community Response — St Christopher’s Anglican Church.Awards were presented by Mr Brownlee at a ceremony on Thursday 8th March, where hespoke of the fact that people put their own lives at risk and worked long gruelling hours inmany cases knowing their own homes or businesses were damaged and while enduringthe on-going aftershocks.He talked about the strength and importance of the community and for the future forChristchurch but most of all he said he had been moved by what people had done, andsincerely thanked all those awarded for their work.

Continued from Page 1

Quake efforts recognisedstoreroom for medical supplies. The living,kitchen and dining room were the nurses’ hub.Luckily the weather was good and the gardenwas fully occupied too. At times it was like King’sCross Station.We ensured the nurses were well fed andwatered. The company paid for food. Usuallysomebody was preparing in the kitchen. TheKiwi bring a plate system was in full swing.My roles were as gopher and male role model.I think I performed the former task well. Ourdog, when not escaping quakes into thebushes, was pampered beyond sanity.Healthcare NZ moved to the Lion’s Den in

Burnside Park after three weeks, when sufficienttelecoms were established there. With thehouse our home again Val and I reflected. Ithad been fun.My grandfather had said to me the best yearsof his life were in the First World War. He wasin the trenches in France. I had not understoodhim until last year. Virtually everyone rose tothe occasion and went beyond what they werepaid to do.If a problem arose it was sorted. There wasgreat camaraderie but there was no officepolitics, no backstabbing and no grumbling. Andnurses in times of stress can be very funny.

What awards all about

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EducationProgramme

Canterbury-WestlandBranch/NZLS

NZLS Continuing Legal EducationTo register and for other information check

the CLE website,www.lawyerseducation.co.nz

Christchurch CoursesApril

2 — Social Media & the Law, 1-5pm, venue -Chateau on the Park.24 — The Workings of the Property Law Act,four years on, Riccarton Park, 1-5pm.

May1 — Judicial Review, The Rendevous Hotel, 1-5pm.3-4 — Introduction to Company Law, ThePavilions Hotel.7 —Competition Law — Must Knows, TheRendevous Hotel, 1-5pm.15 — Enforcing Commercial & ConsumerSecurities.

15 — Trust Account Administrators, 8.45am-1.15pm. Venue to be confirmed.21-22 — Residential Property Transactions,Riccarton Park.22 — Construction Contract Issues for Non-Litigators, The Rendevous Hotel, 1-5pm.23-24 — Introduction to Family LawAdvocacy and Practice. Riccarton Park.29 — Insurance Law.29-30 — Lawyer asNegotiator, Riccarton Park.

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.

Canterbury-Westland BranchNZLS

SeminarsLawyer for Child Practitioners — Best Practicefrom the Bench’s Perspective. Presentationby Judge J Moran, Wednesday 2 May,Armagh 1, Family Court, 5.15-6.15pm.Employment Law — Lunchtime seminar., 7June, Hintons.Wellness — 26 April, Burnside Rughy Club,5.30-7.30pm. Watch for flyer.Procedural Matters — Presenters, AssociateJudge Osborne and Judge Matthews,Monday 16 April, Cambridge Court No 2,5pm.

We were recently awarded a certificate (myfirst since being able to swim 25 metres withoutstopping) at the North Christchurch EarthquakeAwards. This was an initiative by the IlamMember of Parliament and Minister forEarthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee.The awards were a way to acknowledge thoseorganisations in the Northwest of Christchurchwho assisted in the response after theearthquake and in doing so kept the cityfunctioning at that time.It was certainly humbling to be amongst the14 other recipients as each organisationreceived their awards. Rachael Dunningham,Prue Robertson, Malcolm Ellis, Theresa Grahamand Julia de Friez accepted the award on behalfof you all as you all played a significant part inthe functioning of the Law Society during thistime.The Black Bra (as told by a woman)I had lunch with two of my unmarried friends.One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I havebeen married for 20 plus years. We were

President’s ColumnContinued from Page 2 chatting about our relationships and decided

to amaze our men by greeting them at thedoor wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and amask over our eyes. We agreed to meet in afew days to exchange notes.Here’s how it all went.My engaged friend: The other night when myboyfriend came over he found me with a blackleather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. Hesaw me and said, “You are the woman of mydreams. I love you.” Then we made passionatelove all night long.The mistress: Me too! The other night I metmy lover at his office and I was wearing araincoat, under it only the black bra, heels andmask over my eyes. When I opened theraincoat he didn’t say a word, but he started totremble and we had wild sex all night.Then my story: When my husband came homeI was wearing the black bra, black stockings,stilettos and a mask over my eyes. When hecame in the door and saw me he said, “What’sfor dinner, Zorro?”

Allister Davis

Wynn Will iams congratulatesDuncan Ballinger and AnnabelLinterman on their outstandingachievements in Torts andResource Management atCanterbury University in 2011.Wynn Williams held their annual prize givingceremony on Wednesday 7th March 2012 toaward the two Canterbury University LawSchool students for their outstanding work.The Torts award was presented to Duncan byPeter Whiteside, chairman of the partners atWynn Williams, and the Resource Managementprize was presented to Annabel by MargoPerpick, partner of the Resource Managementteam at Wynn Williams.Wynn Williams have sponsored a prize for thestudent with the highest mark in Torts andResource Management for the past few years.The ceremony was cancelled in 2011 becauseof the earthquake and Wynn Williams waspleased to be able to hold the prize giving againin its new offices and under its new brand.The ceremony was attended by facultymembers of the Canterbury University LawSchool, LAWSOC committee members, familyand friends of the recipients and the staff ofWynn Williams.

Peter Whiteside and Duncan Ballinger.

Margo Perpick, Annabel Linterman and RexWilliams, former Chancellor University ofCanterbury.

Top studentsacknowledged

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Would you liketo have a say?The Publications Committee is urgentlylooking for people to contribute articles toCanterbury Tales.If you have an interest in a specific area oflaw, want to grumble to the editor, have aphoto of interest (past or present) then sendthem to us or make enquiries at theCanterbury-Westland Branch New ZealandLaw Society, Unit 1, 8 Homersham Street,Burnside. PO Box 565 Christchurch.Phone 358-3147, fax 358-3148 or emailcanterbury-westland@lawsociety.org.nz.

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Law student recruitmentOn Tuesday 6th March the Schoolof Law hosted the first event in thisyear’s round of law studentrecruitment.

This is the Law Recruitment Evening, organisedby the University of Canterbury’s Careers,Internships and Employment Office, ablyassisted by LAWSOC the Law Students’Association and the university’s events team.The University of Canterbury is actively engagedin assisting its students in finding employmentand for law students the weeks of 5-22 Marchare central to this process.The activities began on 5th March whenrecruitment posters supplied by the employingfirms were put up in the entrance foyer of theSchool of Law building. Readers of CanterburyTales should note that they have an opportunityhere to bring themselves to the attention ofthe students who are seeking jobs.Firms that are interested are welcome to sendtheir posters to us here at the School of Law.The posters remain up for the three weeks ofrecruitment events.The Law Recruitment Evening on 6th March isan important event, not just for the Universityand its students, but for the Canterbury-Westland Branch of the NZLS, for this is thefirst of the law recruitment events for the year.It is mounted for employers with offices in theCanterbury-Westland Branch region and assuch extends to the national law firms that haveoffices in Christchurch and to the nationalfinancial services firms with offices here too.The event was very well supported by thefollowing law firms, Anderson Lloyd, BuddleFindlay, Chapman Tripp, Duncan Cotterill, LaneNeave, Mortlock McCormack Law, Saunders &Co, Wynn Williams Lawyers. Also the followingfinancial services firms, Deloitte, Ernst & Young,PricewaterhouseCoopers and by the providersof professional legal training, the College of Lawand the Institute of Professional Legal Studies.

The Law Recruitment Evening is an importantevent because it affects a mutual exchange.The employing firms are able to talk toprospective employees and gain an impressionof them and the students can ask theirquestions and gain an impression of the firms.The essence of the evening is the asking ofquestions and the evening is mounted tofacilitate this sort of exchange.Following this event the participating firms, bothlocal and national, visit us to recruit summerclerks and graduates. All in all, it is a busy threeweeks.

The School of Law, and the wider University ofCanterbury, is pleased to play its part in therecruitment process. Practitioners who have anyqueries about how to be more involved in itshould contact Fiona Saunders at the Schoolof Law and she will be pleased to help you.As vacancies occur during the year, employersare welcome to contact us in order to advertisethem to our students. The School of Law atthe University of Canterbury produces a veryhigh calibre graduate and we are pleased toplay our part in helping to bring these graduatesand their future employers together.

By Richard ScraggDean and Head of LawUniversity of Canterbury

Prospective law students about to hear what the profession offers.