The Law Reform Community in the 21 Century
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NovembeWELLINGTON,r2010,Wellington NEW ZEALAND,NewZealan | dNOVEMBER|REPORT119 2016 THE LAW COMMISSION’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM THE LAW REFORM COMMUNITY IN THE 21st CENTURY Programme Coffee 8.30 am Everyone to be seated 8.45 am Their Excellencies arrive 8.45 am Mihi whakatau – Kura Moehu 8.50 am Session One – Law reform: an overview The Hon Douglas White QC welcomes and introduces the Governor-General 8.55 am (Chair, The Hon Douglas White QC, President of the Law Commission) • Her Excellency The Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy, Governor-General 9.00 am • The Hon Douglas White QC 9.15 am • Hon Amy Adams, Minister of Justice, Minister Responsible for the Law 9.30 am Commission • The Hon Justice Dame Ellen France, Supreme Court 10.00 am • The Minister and The Hon Douglas White farewell the Governor-General 10.30 am Mid-morning break 10.30am Session Two – Law reform: accessibility (Chair, Helen McQueen, Law Commissioner) • Ms Fiona Leonard, Chief Parliamentary Counsel 10.45 am • Ms Una Jagose QC, Solicitor-General 11.15 am • Panel: 11.45 am • Dr Arie Rosen, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland • Ms Fazleen Ismail, General Manager Law Reform and Sections, New Zealand Law Society • Dr Bridgette Toy-Cronin, Director Legal Issues Centre, University of Otago • Q & A 12.15 pm Lunch 12.30pm Session Three – Law reform: Te Ao Māori (Chair, Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, Law Commissioner) • The Hon Justice Joe Williams, High Court 1.20 pm • Associate Professor Claire Charters, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland 2.00 pm • Panel: • Professor Mark Hickford, Dean of Law, Victoria University of 2.30 pm Wellington • Ms Natalie Coates, Associate, Kahui Law • Ms Mihiata Pirini, Assistant Crown Counsel, Crown Law • Q & A 3.00 pm Mini break 3.15pm Session Four – Law reform: really looking forward (Chair, Dr Lisa Yarwood, Senior Legal & Policy Adviser, Law Commission) 3.30 pm • Panel: • Ms Kate Salmond, Senior Legal & Policy Adviser, Law Commission • Mr Paul Comrie-Thomson, Legal & Policy Adviser, Law Commission • Mr Pita Roycroft, Law Student • Ms Eve Bain, Law Student Concluding remarks (Donna Buckingham, Law Commissioner) 4.15 pm 1 BIOGRAPHIES OF SPEAKERS SESSION ONE – LAW REFORM: AN OVERVIEW 2 Her Excellency The Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy, GNZM, QSO Dame Patsy graduated with an LLB and LLM (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington. After a period as a law lecturer, she joined Watts and Patterson (now Minter Ellison Rudd Watts), becoming the first female partner in 1983, specialising in tax, corporate and film law. In 1987 she joined Brierley Investments Ltd as Group Legal Counsel. Dame Patsy has had extensive experience in governance and consulting roles, both in the private and public sector. She has been a director of Air New Zealand, Sky City Entertainment, Telecom Corporation, Southern Petroleum and New Zealand Post. Her public sector roles have included Chair of the New Zealand Film Commission, Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency, Chair of Education Payroll Ltd and independent director of Payments NZ Ltd. She was an independent reviewer along with Sir Michael Cullen of intelligence and security in New Zealand. In 2014 she became a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) for services to the arts and business. She was sworn-in as the 21st Governor- General of New Zealand in September 2016. 3 The Hon Douglas White QC President of the Law Commission The Hon Douglas White graduated LLM (First Class Honours) at Victoria University of Wellington. He was a litigation partner in predecessor firms to Kensington Swan before moving to the independent bar in 1986 and being appointed Queen's Counsel in 1988. Douglas was appointed a Judge of the High Court in 2009 and to the Court of Appeal in 2012. He retired from the Court of Appeal in 2015. In 2016 he was appointed to the Law Commission, becoming the President in May 2016. 4 Hon Amy Adams Minister of Justice and Minister responsible for the Law Commission Amy graduated with LLB (Hons) in 1992 from the University of Canterbury. Before entering politics, she was a partner with Mortlock McCormack Law in Christchurch, specialising in commercial and property law. She was elected to Parliament in 2008, and was Chairperson of both the Finance and Expenditure and Electoral Legislation select committees. In 2011, Amy joined Cabinet and has held the portfolios of Internal Affairs, Communications and Information Technology and Associate Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery. In 2014 she became Minister of Justice, Minister for Courts, Minister of Broadcasting, Minister for Communications and Minister Responsible for the Law Commission. 5 The Hon Justice Dame Ellen France, DNZM Supreme Court Dame Ellen France graduated LLB from the University of Auckland in 1981 and LLM from Queen’s University in Ontario Canada in 1983. She has worked in private practice, the former Department of Justice and in the Crown Law Office, where she was Deputy Solicitor- General. In 2002 she was appointed Judge of the High Court, and to the Court of Appeal in 2006, serving as President from 2014. In 2016 she was appointed to the Supreme Court. 6 BIOGRAPHIES OF SPEAKERS SESSION TWO – LAW REFORM: ACCESSIBILITY 7 Ms Helen McQueen Commissioner, Law Commission Helen has a BA and LLB (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington and an LLM from the University of Chicago. Helen McQueen practised law at Chapman Tripp from 1992 to 2016, becoming a partner in 1997. She specialised in commercial litigation, with particular interests in competition law, private international law, procedural law and public law. She was a contributing author for Brookers’ publications McGechan on Procedure and District Court Rules and has also published in the area of private international law. Helen was appointed to the Law Commission in February 2016 for a five year term. 8 Ms Fiona Leonard Chief Parliamentary Counsel Fiona has a BA and LLB (Hons) from the University of Canterbury and an LLM from the University of Cambridge. Fiona was appointed as a Parliamentary Counsel in 1998 after several years of experience as a litigation solicitor in private practice and as a legal adviser at the Ministry of Justice. She also practised as a barrister sole for a number of years, providing legislative drafting services and advice on the implementation of legislation for various Pacific Islands countries and international organisations, including the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. In 1996 she returned to the Parliamentary Counsel Office and was appointed Chief Parliamentary Counsel in May 2016. 9 Ms Una Jagose QC Solicitor-General Una Jagose holds an LLB from the University of Otago and an LLM (First Class Honours) from Victoria University of Wellington. She has had an extensive career as a public sector lawyer including as Deputy Solicitor-General, Crown Law and Acting Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau. In 2016 she took up the role of Solicitor-General and Chief Executive of the Crown Law Office. 10 Dr Arie Rosen Law Faculty, University of Auckland Dr Arie Rosen is a lecturer in jurisprudence at the University of Auckland, Faculty of Law, where he focuses on questions of legal and political philosophy. He holds a BA/LLB from Tel Aviv University and an LLM and JSD from New York University. His research combines abstract conceptual analysis with applied theoretical work on legislation, legal reasoning and statutory interpretation. Arie currently has a particular interest in the philosophy of private law and the role of political authority in the development of private law rules. 11 Ms Fazleen Ismail General Manager Law Reform and Sections, New Zealand Law Society Fazleen has a Masters degree in Economics from the London School of Economics. Fazleen is the General Manager Law Reform and Sections at the New Zealand Law Society. Prior to joining the Law Society, Fazleen was a senior manager at the Commerce Commission, heading up a team that advised government on competition, consumer and credit law reform, provided guidance to businesses and consumers on compliance, and liaised with overseas competition and consumer authorities. Originally from the UK, Fazleen was a member of the UK Government Economic Service, working in a variety of roles, including as an Economic Adviser at the Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry. 12 Dr Bridgette Toy-Cronin Director Legal Issues Centre, Otago University Bridgette graduated with an LLM from Harvard Law School in 2005 where she was a Frank Knox Fellow. In 2015 she was awarded a PhD from the University of Otago. Bridgette has worked as an intern to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, as a High Court Judges' Clerk, and as a civil litigator in New Zealand and Australia. She also spent a year in Cambodia working for the Cambodian Defenders Project on Women's Rights. Bridgette is the Director of the Legal Issues Centre at Otago University and her current research interests are access to justice, the legal profession, and civil procedure. 13 BIOGRAPHIES OF SPEAKERS SESSION THREE – LAW REFORM: TE AO MĀORI 14 Hon Dr Wayne Mapp Commissioner, Law Commission Hon Dr Wayne Mapp graduated LLB (Hons) in 1976 from the University of Auckland, and LLM from the University of Toronto in 1977. He did his PhD in International Law at Cambridge University, graduating in 1988. He served as the MP for North Shore from 1996 to 2011. From 2008 to 2011 he was Minister of Defence and Minister of Science and Technology. From 1977 to 1982 Wayne was in private practice with John Collinge, Solicitor and from 1984 to 1996 he taught commercial law and international law at the University of Auckland. He was appointed Associate Professor in 1992.