N E W Z E A L A N D L AW S O C I E T Y
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NEW ZEALAND LAW SOCIETY
R&D Tax Incentive Discussion Paper The Law Society has provided comments to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on MBIE’s discussion document Fuelling Innovation to Transform our Economy: A Government Discussion Document on a Research and Development Tax Incentive for New Zealand. The comments are provided from the perspective of the practical application of R&D rules and are given in response to a number of the questions posed in the document. Addressing how well the definition of R&D applied to business R&D carried out in New Zealand, the Law Society said while it covers research activities, it omits a lot of what would be called “Development” and this seems to be contrary to the ultimate objective of increasing innovation. The comments note that it is important for the government to adopt a definition of R&D that captures the particular work it wants to stimulate, rather than working back from what is generally considered to constitute R&D. If taken literally, the definition would exclude almost all development work undertaken by businesses, it says.
Grant Tyrrell elected President of Canterbury Westland branch
Stand-alone combined criminal legal aid form supported The Law Society supports a Ministry of Justice proposal to keep the criminal legal aid application form separate from the family and civil form, and it therefore supports a stand-alone combined criminal application form. The ministry’s Legal Aid Services is proposing a criminal application form which combines the three current criminal forms covering police prosecutions, Crown prosecutions and appeals. In comments to the ministry on the draft form, the Law Society says it supports the objective of creating clearer, user-friendly forms that are fit for purpose.
New Gisborne branch President David Ure was elected President of the Gisborne branch of the Law Society at the AGM on 10 May. Mr Ure is a director of Grey Street Legal Ltd, which specialises in property and commercial law. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in December 2002. The following Council was elected at the AGM: President: David Ure. Vice-President: Vicki Thorpe. Council: AJ Baker, Alison Bendall, Alistair Clarke, Amanda Courtney, Heather Vaughn, Holly Tunstall, Julie Mettrick, Mana Taumaunu, Michael Lynch, Stephen Taylor.
Grant Tyrrell was elected President of the Canterbury Westland branch of the Law Society at the branch’s biennial General Meeting on 19 June. Mr Tyrrell is a litigation partner with Weston Ward & Accessing LawTalk online Lascelles and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in December All lawyers holding a practising certificate are sent an email upon publi2002 after completing LLB and cation of each issue of LawTalk with links to online versions of most of the BCom degrees at the University of articles and a PDF and flipbook of the whole issue. The hardcopy LawTalk Canterbury. The following Council is sent automatically to all New Zealand-based lawyers who hold a current was elected unopposed at the practising certificate. If you want to access LawTalk online only you may meeting: email subscriptions@lawsociety.org.nz stating “Please cancel LawTalk President: Grant Tyrrell. hardcopy” and advising your name, lawyer ID (lawyer login), workplace and Vice-President: Ferne Bradley. address. This information is needed to ensure that your name is extracted Council: Amy Keir, Andrew Riches, from the automatic mailing list generation program. The hardcopy LawTalk Charlene Sell, Graeme Riach, Jannah subscription will then be cancelled. Stringer, Lana Paul, Sophie Goodwin. 14