PEOPLE IN THE L AW David left that firm in May 1978 and established the Haigh Lyon partnership with Frank and John Haigh. On 1 June he will have completed 34 years at Haigh Lyon. David’s practice is based on personal clients. Third generation clients are numerous and fourth generation not unusual. Arriving at 7am each morning, he is the first in the office. He works a full week. In his more than 50 years in the law, David has missed a mere seven days due to illness.
At the function to celebrate his 50 years as a lawyer, David Lyon and his wife Rosemary.
Haigh Lyon held a very successful function on 9 May to celebrate the 50th anniversary of David Lyon’s admission. The evening was attended and enjoyed by David’s friends, clients, family and Haigh Lyon staff. David began work as a law clerk with Reyburn McArthur and Boyes in 1957. That firm was founded in 1907 by Harry Reyburn, who was joined in partnership by Malcolm McArthur in 1910 and postWorld War II by Rex Boyes. Justice Woodhouse admitted David on 29 March 1962, along with Bruce Berman, Michael Cormack, Ed Doherty and the late David Rich. Bruce and Ed were present at the function. David was made a partner of Reyburn McArthur three days after his admission, which must be a record.
Law firm news Christchurch firm Walker Rodger has amalgamated with Corcoran French. Walker Rodger principal Michael Walker, associate Carol Eddington and four legal executives have joined Corcoran French, making a total of 11 new staff joining the firm over the last three months. Michael’s specialties include property law, wills, trusts and estate administration, and buying and selling rural and lifestyle properties. Carol’s practice includes residential conveyancing, business law, trusts and asset planning, and estate administration. The expanded Corcoran French now has new offices in Christchurch city (Moorhouse Avenue) and Kaiapoi, with satellite offices in New Brighton and Belfast. Michael will continue his regular visits to Akaroa the second Friday of every month.
David is a Sunday farmer. He and long term friend John Lockington own almost 100ha in the upper Henderson Valley where they farm cows and sheep. At home he is a gardener and beekeeper. Most holidays are spent at the family bach at Matapouri, which David unashamedly describes as the world’s most beautiful beach. David and his wife Rosemary have been married for 49 years. They have three children and six grandchildren. Wellington lawyer Amelia Keene has won this year’s New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Scholarship. A solicitor at Chapman Tripp Sheffield Young, Amelia will use the
Professor Mark Henaghan has joined the advisory board of Auckland-based Family Law Results. Professor Henaghan is joined by Michael Masterson, Managing Director at The Bottom Line Expense Reduction Ltd; Selina Trigg, Principal of Family Law Results and Mark Greenslade, General Manager of Family Law Results. It is believed that this is the first advisory board established for a law firm in New Zealand. Advisory boards are becoming increasingly popular with SMEs as an alternative to the more traditional board of directors. They avoid the formal responsibilities and costs associated with a board of directors but can help business owners clarify their business objectives, set strategy and implement change to achieve growth. Rodney Lewis and Treasure McKinstry, partners of Rodney Lewis Law, now conduct their practice from The Radio Network House, Hardley Street, Hamilton, just around the corner from their former premises at 960 Victoria
$50,000 award to undertake an LLM course at Columbia University in New York. Her research paper will compare regulatory models of freshwater management in New Zealand and the United States, focusing on environmental federalism. “The central thesis is that the National Policy Statement on water represents a shift away from regional council autonomy towards central government control,” she says. “There’s been a lot of analysis on environmental federalism in the US, in terms of whether it achieves better water outcomes, from both an economic and a public participation perspective. But it hasn’t been the focus of academic commentary here. “I don’t necessarily think centralism is bad. The question is how we can best structure it to achieve the right balance.” After being admitted, Amelia was clerk for the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice O’Regan. Before that, she gained a First Class Honours degree in law from Victoria, along with a BA in History and Philosophy. The Ethel Benjamin scholarship honours New Zealand’s first woman barrister and solicitor, who was admitted in 1897. Since the centenary of this event, the Law Foundation has awarded this scholarship annually to outstanding New Zealand women law graduates for post-graduate study.
Street. All other contact details remain the same. Anderson Lloyd and Kensington Swan have formed an alliance to provide legal services relating to the rebuild of Christchurch. The two firms say that the move is not a merger and that the alliance is confined to the provision of legal services specifically relating to the rebuild. An audio-visual message to clients was the way technology and intellectual property law firm, Hudson Gavin Martin (HGM), chose to celebrate its new partnership with the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB). In lieu of Christmas presents for their clients last year, HGM donated to the RNZFB’s digital library project. The donation was used to assist the RNZFB in purchasing additional talking book players. To thank their clients, HGM decided to create a brief audiovisual message to record the RNZFB’s appreciation. LT
LAWTALK 796 / 25 MAY 2012
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