LawNews

10/06/2026

The regions are having a moment while Auckland property prices remain weak, but the values nationally are “tracking sideways” as fears of a looming rate rise weigh on the market, according to the latest data from Cotality.

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Affordable regions are outperforming as the housing market slows, with buyers and sellers awaiting an expected interest rate rise.

09/06/2026

A disciplinary tribunal has found a lawyer’s “gross and repeated” breaches of trust when managing his parents’ trust and bank accounts makes him unfit to practice, even though the misconduct was carried out in a family setting, not as part of his professional life.

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A lawyer who misappropriated funds from his parents has been found unfit to practise, with the tribunal citing a lack of insight and accountability.

09/06/2026

A law degree in your 30s, 40s or even 50s? For some lawyers, the biggest risk wasn't starting late, but not starting at all. LawNews talks to two latecomers to the legal profession who prove it's never too late to rewrite your story.

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Is it worth starting a legal career later in life? Exploring the risks, rewards and realities facing the law’s latecomers.

08/06/2026

The Tenancy Tribunal is drafting guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) use amid concerns it is being used to generate lengthy, often meritless, submissions that complicate cases and clog up the system.

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Concerns are growing that AI-generated submissions and evidence are overwhelming the Tenancy Tribunal, raising questions about quality and fairness.

08/06/2026

The government has a plan to cope with fuel supply issues stemming from the Middle East conflict, but Arpti Joshi writes that it relies on legislation that hasn’t been updated in 45 years which doesn’t reflect the reality of the challenges now facing New Zealand.

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Three constitutional gaps in New Zealand’s fuel rationing laws could have major implications for emergency powers and legal oversight.

06/06/2026

As officials in the Beehive hit fast forward on artificial intelligence (AI) use so they can slash public service jobs, the Law Commission is investigating what legal implications arise when the state uses technology to make automated decisions affecting its citizens.

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Mahvash Ikram and Neil Sands The Law Commission is set to review legal challenges posed by the government’s use of automated decision making (ADM), although there are concerns the technology is already becoming embedded in state bureaucracies without adequate safeguards. ADM, which allows decision...

05/06/2026

The Law Association of New Zealand hosted a meeting between the NZ Asian Lawyers and the New Zealand Korean Lawyers Association. Led by Dr Mai Chen and Joon Yi, the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalising a partnership aimed at strengthening collaboration and providing mutual support, opportunities, and benefits for members of both associations.

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04/06/2026

When David Goddard KC retired from the Court of Appeal last year, he wasn’t stepping back - he was reshaping his career.

He talks to LawNews about building a “portfolio career” spanning teaching, research, justice reform, and a growing mediation and arbitration practice, alongside his work on court digitisation and AI in the justice system.

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When David Goddard KC retired from the Court of Appeal last year, he was not stepping away from the law so much as reshaping the way he wanted to work within it. “I haven’t retired,” he says. “I’ve reorganised my work life to achieve a better balance across the full range of my interests.....

04/06/2026

The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ordered a school principal’s reinstatement after finding the disciplinary process used to dismiss her was “flawed from the outset”, also awarding significant compensation and reimbursement of lost wages.

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A school principal’s dismissal has been overturned after flaws in the disciplinary process raised serious concerns about procedural fairness.

04/06/2026

Army orders that require troops to recognise a Māori cosmological framework risk breaching protections around religious and may undermine the unity they are intended to promote, writes Alex Penk.

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How military orders sparked a legal debate over religious freedom, testing the scope of protections under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.