Dear Ms Butt,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

The Official Information Act 1982 does not apply to the New Zealand Law
Society (Law Society) but the following information is public information.

 

The Law Society's regulatory and representative powers are given to it by
statute and regulations and rules made under that statute. These powers
are set out in part 4 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (the Act),
see s 63 and following:
[1]http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/publi...

 

Under s 76 of the Act the Law Society must as soon as practicable furnish
a report to the Minister of Justice regarding the exercise of its
regulatory functions and powers. The report is then presented to
parliament. Such reports may be found at:
[2]http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news-and-co...

 

As required by s 70 of the Act the Law Society is also governed by a
constitution:

[3]http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulatio...

 

Under s 65(c) of the Act one of the functions of the Law Society is to
monitor and enforce the provisions of the Act and any regulations and
rules made under it, that relate to the regulation of lawyers. Accordingly
the Law Society under the Act has to monitor and enforce the Lawyers and
Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008. These
rules are made under ss 94 and 95 with the approval of the Minister of
Justice and after consultation in accordance with s 100 of the Act.

 

Part 7 of the Act (s 120 and following) sets out how the Law Society must
process complaints made against lawyers. Standards Committee's decisions
may be reviewed by the Legal Complaints Review Officer (S 190 and
onwards). The Legal Complaints Review  Officer is a separate body from the
Law Society:
[4]http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/leg...

 

I hope the following information is of assistance. Further information on
the Law Society may be found at our website which you may have already
accessed: [5]http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/

 

Yours sincerely

 

PAUL BYERS
COMPLAINTS MANAGER

 

NEW ZEALAND LAW SOCIETY | DD: +64 4 463 2922

[6]lawsociety.org.nz|[7]my.lawsociety.org.nz

26 Waring Taylor Street, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
DX SP20202 | PO Box 5041, Wellington 6145, New Zealand

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email is confidential and may be
legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please respect
this and notify the sender immediately by telephone. Please also destroy
the email. Thank you.

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/publi...
2. http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news-and-co...
3. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulatio...
4. http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/leg...
5. http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/
6. http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/
7. http://my.lawsociety.org.nz/