Family Law Conference

Perhaps it is a reflection of the high membership numbers that all 425 places at the biennial Family Law Conference, held in Auckland in October, were filled. The Conference was extremely successful. The speakers, topics, venue, social events and general organisation was excellent. It was a shame we had to turn so many people away.

The Section’s Organisation Committee was co-convened by Simon Jefferson and Stephen van Bohemen, both of whom were involved in the previous conferences.

The Organising Committee worked in conjunction with the NZLS CLE to arrange the conference.

I would like to thank all those people who were involved in the organisation of such a successful event.

Membership

I am pleased to advise that the Section has a record number of members this year – 780 - and we intend to improve on that in 2003/04. The Section’s new year begins on 1 December 2003 so our membership drive starts very soon. The Section is pleased to note the informal links between it and the District Law Societies are increasing.

Care of Children Bill

Of major importance to the Section was the introduction of the Care of Children Bill. This has been anticipated for some years and during this time the Section has been involved in on-going consultation with various Ministries and Ministers involved. This did not however mean that once the Bill arrived the Section had nothing left to do. Quite the contrary. The Bill was reviewed by most of the Section’s 12 standing committees, which reported on issues relevant to them. A special working party was convened to prepare the submissions. Although the Section was pleased with the general concepts in the Bill, a great deal of thought was given to the technical detail. Oral submissions were presented to the Select Committee by Maureen Southwick QC and Simon Jefferson. Both of them were brilliant and I thank them for all the effort they put into preparing for and presenting at the Select Committee.

Legal Aid

Another subject always on the Executive Committee agenda is legal aid. This year a considerable amount of effort has been expended in working with the Agency. The Section has also been keen to work along side NZLS Legal Services Committee to obtain the best results. Those efforts have included liaison with Agency CEO Tim Bannatyne and staff who have attended recent Executive meetings. The Section’s Legal Aid Issues Standing Committee has also worked with an NZLS Legal Aid working party to provide the Agency with recommendations on the revision of the Family Steps. This involved a full day meeting. The face to face meetings with the Agency have revealed some differences in approach and understanding between the organisations but on a positive note have often resulted in a satisfactory outcome for both.

However, practitioners are clearly still not happy with the Legal Services Agency. The reasons for this are numerous and varied, from inadequate remuneration to poor administration. The Working Party has drafted a survey for family and criminal legal aid lawyers including those who no longer accept legal aid. It is hoped the survey will determine the members’ views in a form that can be used to support proposals for change, where they are shown to be necessary. The survey has been sent out to nearly 2000 practitioners and I hope that we get an excellent response to that survey so that we can build up a body of evidence to present to the Legal Services Agency.

Specialisation

This NZLS project on the possible introduction of a voluntary specialisation scheme is still close to the Section’s heart. Following the report by Specialisation expert Chris Roper, who determined last year that a voluntary specialisation scheme was feasible, a survey has been prepared. In line with the Board’s decision it is now for the profession to indicate whether or not it wants such a scheme. The survey is currently receiving the final touches from the Specialisation Committee. I anticipate that we will receive good support from the rest of the profession. This is a major project we want to advance for next year.

I thank all our members for their continued participation and commitment. I would also particularly like to thank the members of our Executive for all the hard work that they have devoted to the Section this year. Everybody has been involved in standing committees and in particular Sarah Spears, our Manager, for her ongoing support and excellent management of the Section.

I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and an excellent New Year.

David Burns