Faculty of Law, University of Otago

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The Te Whare Pounamu Women’s Refuge Appeals Week Committee members and Otago law students Caccia Armstrong, Carrie Wooller, Rebecca Bridgman and Jess Iggo thanked the wider community for its amazing support at an auction, a quiz night, a gig at UBar and bake sales in July and August. Even a failed EFTPOS machine did not hamper efforts at their recent designer clothing pop-up sale. “Because the EFTPOS machine stopped working we can’t say for certain how much that event raised, but so far the tally says about $11,000,” Carrie says. The committee has been running month-long events in support of the charity for the past eight years, raising thousands of dollars in the process. Last year the team raised more than $44,000.

Closer to home than some may think A rising number of students are making use of the services of Te Whare Pounamu Women's Refuge, which brings fundraising for the organisation a little closer to home, the student organisers of an annual campaign say.

After stepping in at short notice Law students Laurie Duncan and Callum McDonald achieved amazing results representing Aotearoa New Zealand at last month's International Negotiation Competition. Accompanied by coach Associate Professor Selene Mize, Callum and Laurie traveled to Nebraska to attend the three day event, which was hosted by Creighton University. They placed fifth of 14 countries – a great result after only six weeks preparation, and considering they stepped in (during exams!) after the initial New Zealand team withdrew.

Little notice, maximum results Learning the law doesn't get more hands-on than negotiating with the cream of the crop on international soil.

Massive congratulations to Otago Law alumna Josie Te Rata (Ngāti Raukawa), who is one of two recipients of this year’s New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Scholarships. Josie, who graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and Bachelor of Science, is currently an Associate at Whāia Legal, a kaupapa Māori law firm that primarily services iwi and hapū clients. She will be studying for a Master of Laws degree at Harvard University, on a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship.
https://www.otago.ac.nz/otagobulletin/news/otago842198.html?fbclid=IwAR1GCX3iCgS4slL8kmxEHv_JqZnsa8WbDmaGNXxyztbaDH_u8ONvBPVgnVo

Law scholarship recipient to focus on recognition of tikanga Māori Otago Law alumna Josie Te Rata (Ngāti Raukawa) is one of two recipients of this year's New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Scholarships.

NZ Lawyer interviewed Otago alumna Rachael Jones recently to talk about how the Chapman Tripp senior associate's initial goal at Otago - to complete degrees in French and politics - shifted to law and economics after she was drawn to the “practical problem-solving” nature of the legal profession.
Now on Chapman Tripp’s litigation and dispute resolution team in Auckland, Rachael joined the ranks of its senior associates last month. She has become passionate about working with iwi like Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, which she helped guide to a victory in the High Court last year. In this interview, Rachael also talks about looking forward to her daughter’s first word while on parental leave, the importance of tikanga Māori in the legal profession and being a fair-weather Formula 1 fan.

Chapman Tripp senior associate started out pursuing French and politics Rachael Jones considers herself lucky to be able to work with iwi like Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei

The law around who inherits your property when you die looks set for a shake-up - and some of the proposals are proving to be quite controversial. RNZ's Nine To Noon was joined by Professor Nicola Peart to discuss what's at stake.

Inheritance law changes - what might they mean for you? The law around who inherits your property when you die looks set for a shake-up - and some of the proposals are proving to be quite controversial. The Law Commission reviewed the legislation governing succession laws - and made 140 recommendations, including streamlining old statutes into one Inheri...

LLB (Hons) student Shani McMullan and Gavin Bishop, BMedSci (Hons), teamed up recently to make this comprehensive "unofficial crash course" to help new and future students. Thanks to Gavin and Shani (who is also doing a BA in French) for taking time to create this really accessible content.

Law School at Otago University: The Unofficial Crash Course A breakdown of the Law Course at Otago University, New Zealand. Overview of papers, timetable, honours, readings and study techniques. This is the video that...

A working group chaired by Faculty of Law academic and Director of the Civil Justice Centre Dr Bridgette Toy-Cronin has released the Wayfinding for Civil Justice framework to gather input from organisations, legal practitioners and individuals nationwide. The draft framework aims to encourage a unified, co-ordinated approach to improve access to civil justice and strategic use of resources in the legal sector. It also seeks to provide clear signals to funders of access to justice mahi (both government and non-government) about what work is ongoing, where the gaps are, and where co-ordination can be achieved. “There is no shortage of innovative and exciting work happening in the access to justice space, but everyone would benefit if we knew what we are all doing. This was a clear finding of the Workshop – better co-ordination could lead to more collaboration, less duplication, easier identification of gaps, and the opportunity to learn from each other’s successes and failures. This would ensure the most efficient use of our limited resources,” Dr Toy-Cronin says. Story, and links to the Wayfinding for Civil Justice site here:

Call for feedback on civil justice struggles  This month, a working g...

Mindfulness can produce powerful results from simple techniques, say two Otago Law academics who see broad benefits for both students and legal practitioners. Dr Anna High and Professional Practice Fellow Bridget Fenton recently established the Aotearoa New Zealand chapter of the Mindfulness in Law Society (MILS).

The society has its base in the United States, where Dr High was introduced to mindfulness as a teaching tool which she has since incorporated into her lectures at Otago. “Our students are going into a really high-pressure profession. So the idea of introducing future lawyers to mindfulness as one possible technique they might have at their disposal was really appealing to me. One thing mindfulness can be helpful with is relaxing in times of stress and tension and often students bring, without being aware of it, a lot of physical tension to the classroom, especially when we're going through a challenging or sticky point of law. It can be really helpful to just pause, breathe, and check-in. Just to be mindful about what they're experiencing mentally, physically and emotionally in the middle of a really challenging teaching moment.”
Full story at:

Take a breath - mindfulness advocated for legal profession Mindfulness can produce powerful results from simple techniques, say two Otago Law academics who see broad benefits for both students and legal practitioners.

In this interesting Newstalk interview yesterday Stephen Eliot Smith discussed the standards for proving war crimes, in relation to the Ukraine conflict. “If the leader of the country should have been controlling his military more closely, I guess you could say, but sort of was neglecting that duty, that could qualify as well,” he says.

Stephen Smith: You have to prove intent without reasonable doubt An expert's outlined how a head of state's actions could be considered war crimes.  Photos and video have appeared showing bodies shot at close range in Uk

In Newsroom this week Dr Simon Connell explores the Government’s proposed income insurance scheme, how it being described as “no-fault” may be misleading, and proposed rules about worker responsibility for job losses. "The proposed scheme isn’t no-fault in the sense that Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is, and it is important the Government rethinks this wording."

The not-quite no-fault income insurance scheme The Government’s proposed income insurance scheme being described as “no-fault” may be misleading. Dr Simon Connell explores the proposed rules about worker responsibility for job losse