of a lawyer’s fee only if it warrants a finding of unsatisfactory conduct. After a commercial tenant and landlord had negotiated a new lease, the landlord’s lawyer (B) passed on his fees to the tenant under the terms of the new agreement. The tenant disagreed as to what costs it was liable for under those terms. It complained to the Law Society about B’s bill, asking for a “costs revision”. A Lawyers Standards Committee found that B’s costs and his charging policy had been reasonable. The tenant then applied to the LCRO, who upheld the committee’s decision to take no further action on the complaint, but for a different reason. The LRCRO ruled that the complaints process was not the proper forum for resolving this matter, as it was a dispute about liability relating to which terms of the lease documentation governed the issue and how they should be interpreted. The LCRO also observed that the tenant may have mistakenly believed that the old costs revision process under the Law Practitioners Act 1982 continued under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 and the rules made under it. Previously a client could apply to have their bill reviewed by a costs reviser appointed by the Law Society. Bills would be adjusted through this process, sometimes by only modest amounts. The LCRO said that although a standards committee might ask for a report from a costs assessor under the new complaints process, a bill can be adjusted only if the committee finds the lawyer guilty of unsatisfactory conduct on the basis of a breach of the fees provisions in the Conduct and Client Care Rules. These provide that a lawyer must not charge more than a fair and reasonable fee, taking into account various specific factors (see Rule 9). The LCRO said that adjusting a bill under the new process “requires some degree of certainty that a lawyer’s bill is demonstrably too high”. LT
WILLS MAUREEN SHAW Would any lawyer holding a will for the above-named, born on 13 February 1951, who is residing in Rotorua, but previously from the Hamilton area, please contact Prue McGuire, Barrister, PO Box 2060, Rotorua 3040, ph 07 350 2063, fax 07 350 2065 or email prue.mcguire@clear.net.nz.
Raymond William Ward Would any lawyer holding a will for the above-named, late of Upper Hutt, beneficiary, born 25 May 194l, who died at Wellington on 6 June 2012, please contact Letizea Ord of Ord Legal, PO Box 10909, Wellington 6143 or email letizea@ordlegal.co.nz.
Alan Wayne Hatchard Would any lawyer holding a will for the above-named, late of 179 Ellicott Road, Dinsdale, Hamilton, who died on 17 June 2012, please contact Graham Leslie Hatchard, 8 Achilles Rise, Flagstaff, Hamilton 3210, ph 07 854 3666 or email grahamnheather@xtra.co.nz.
MARINA JAKO MILICICH Would any lawyer holding a will for the above-named, late of 56 Roaches Road, RD 4, Morrinsville, who died on 10 June 2012, please contact Jillene Peters, Harkness Henry, Lawyers, Private Bag 3077, Hamilton 3240, ph 07 838 2399, fax 07 839 4043 or email jillene.peters@harkness.co.nz.
Laszlo Vegh Would any lawyer holding a will for the above-named, late of 2 Kilgour Street, Seacliff RD 1, Waikouaiti, who died on 4 January 2012, please contact Jin Govind, Senior Trust Officer, ph 04 978 4868 or email jin.govind@publictrust.co.nz.
BRIAN DAVID KENNEDY Would any lawyer holding a will for the above-named, who died aged 64 at Wellington Hospital on 28 July 2011, please contact Paul Whitmarsh, Whitmarsh Law, PO Box 30852, Lower Hutt 5040, ph 04 550 4053, fax 04 589 5318 or email paul@wlaw.co.nz.
Lesley Ruth MUNGAVIN (Nee Dagg)
Would any lawyer holding a will for the above-named, late of 5B Winiata Street, Brookfield, Tauranga, journalist, who died on 11 June 2012, please contact Anna Russell of Mackenzie Elvin, PO Box 14016, Tauranga 3143, ph 07 578 5033, fax 07 578 9514 or email anna@mackenzie-elvin.com.
PUBLIC NOTICES
VISITING JUSTICES
The Minister of Justice is seeking expressions of interest from barristers or solicitors of the High Court or Justices of the Peace who wish to be considered for the role of Visiting Justice for the following areas: •
Northland
•
Taupo / Turangi
•
Whanganui
•
Hamilton
•
New Plymouth
•
Dunedin
The central function of Visiting Justices is to hear charges and appeals relating to offences against prison discipline. Full details including position description and application form are available from the Ministry of Justice website www. justice.govt.nz Applications close on 3 August 2012.
CORONER
The Attorney-General is seeking expressions of interest from barristers or solicitors of the High Court with at least five years experience who wish to be considered for the role of a Coroner for the Auckland area. The central function of a Coroner is to provide an independent coronial system for investigation and to prevent deaths and promote Justice through: 1. Investigations, and the identification of the causes and circumstances, of sudden and unexplained deaths, or deaths in special circumstances; and 2. The making of specified recommendations or comments that, if drawn to public attention, may reduce the chances of the occurrence of other deaths in similar circumstances. Full details including position description and application form are available from the Ministry of Justice website www.justice.govt.nz Applications close on 3 August 2012.
LAWTALK 800 / 20 JULY 2012
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