A Legal Perspective

This is Patrick- I have learned a few things about the New Zealand legal system that I believe to be true- although this is not to be considered legal advice in any country though ( just the lawyer in me).







In New Zealand, there is no constitution. Cash and I learned this when we toured Parliament. What keeps Parliament from abolishing the judiciary, apparently nothing but common law. This is VERY difficult to comprehend because the Constitution is the foundation of almost everything in the U.S.





I was admonished for taking notes in a courtroom. A clerk for the court came over and asked who I was and told me to stop taking notes because I had not asked for permission in advance. When I told him I was an American lawyer, he said that next time if I asked, I could take notes. I asked him why that was and he said it was because they didn't know who I was. When I told him that they now knew who I was and could I take notes now, he said no and didn't like that.







Apparently in New Zealand legal malpractice suits (suing lawyers for messing up your case) is very uncommon. I met a lawyer that said that lawyers carry malpractice insurance but that it is very cheap. I said that in the U.S. estate planning attorneys are often worried about future lawsuits from beneficiaries and he said that he hadn't heard of such a thing in NZ. He said that as long as the client read and approved the documents, the lawyer was unlikely to be sued.





Lawyers bow to the judge when the leave or enter the courtroom. Judges and lawyers do not wear wigs like in Britain.



Also, apparently in New Zealand employees are heavily protected and firing them requires that specific conditions are met. This means that once you have a job as an associate, you are not an at-will employee anymore. No malpractice and not being at-will, man it must be a lot less stressful!