1. The College’s Professional Legal Studies Course (PLSC) provides
essential skills to prepare graduates for the transition from law
student to practising lawyer.
2010 courses are offered throughout the year.
Auckland and Wellington:
Know your career direction
For more information about the PLSC, request an Information Guide.
Jo-Anne Falconer, Liaison Manager Ph: 0800 265 529
enquiries@collaw.ac.nz www.collaw.ac.nz
1, 8 & 22 March
19 April
24 May
8 June
26 July
9 August
27 September
11 October
29 November
13 December
Christchurch:
8 March
9 August
Dunedin:
18 January
12 July
Hamilton:
28 June
29 November
By Craig Sisterson
THE NEW ZEALAND Bar Association
(NZBA) is launching a comprehensive
education and training programme in
2010. Designed for both independent
barristers and litigators based in
firms, the programme will cover a
variety of areas including business
skills, criminal law updates, forensics,
legal writing, advocacy skills, and
courtroom etiquette.
The programme will begin as a
pilot scheme based in the Auckland
region, and, if successful, will
quickly be rolled out into other
areas of the country, said Monique
Pearson, Executive Director of the
NZBA. “Over the past year or two,
the Bar Council, via the Training
Committee, has been stepping up
its commitment to the training
and education of the bar – both
at the independent bar and in the
firms. We started working on a
comprehensive programme about
18 months ago.”
The pilot programme has
been developed in conjunction
with the Criminal Bar Association,
with assistance from Deloitte,
Environmental Science & Research
(ESR), and several faculty members
from the University of Auckland
School of Law. The framework and
content has been developed in
response to comments, input, and
feedback from a wide variety of
sources, including members of the two
bar associations, the judiciary, and the
Attorney-General.
“It’s not something we’ve gone
into lightly,”said Pearson.“Everyone
who is working on the Training
Committee is very passionate about
delivering a programme that is
valuable, is practical, is helpful, and
on a level that they can use in their
everyday practice.”
BarAssociation
answersthe
CLEcall
continued on page 3
www.nzlawyermagazine.co.nz
Issue130
19 February 2010

2. 19 February 2010 3
news
Pearson said the new NZBA
Training Programme has three
key branches: a Business Basics
Programme; a Professional
Development Programme; and
Criminal Law Updates.“We are trying
to be quite holistic in our approach…
identifying areas where we can set up
a programme designed for the needs
of barristers and litigators.”
There will be regular seminars
for each part of the programme.
Business Basics is a series of ongoing
seminars which will provide business
fundamentals most relevant to
barristers and sole practitioners. The
first seminar, How to make your practice
more profitable, will be held at the
Northern Club on 11 March, and will
address issues around profit drivers,
fees and billing, and a variety of tax
issues. The second seminar will focus
on managing risk, with insurer Marsh
Limited providing attendees with
updates on emerging trends, data
analysis on claims, and information on
risks facing the wider industry.
A knowledge and understanding
of such business issues can be very
valuable for practitioners, said
Pearson. It is important for lawyers to
upskill and practise their legal craft,
because that is the service provided
to and paid for by clients, but in the
end they must also be profitable and
manage the fundamentals of being in
business.“Otherwise you might as well
close up shop.”
The Professional Development
branch of the overall programme
focuses on providing helpful and
practical information to practitioners
both in firms and at the bar. This will
include further instalments of popular
seminars held in previous years, such
as Take the Lead and Shape Your Future
(a half-day programme for junior/
intermediate litigators on advocacy
skills, courtroom etiquette, and
profile raising) and The Art of Written
Persuasion (a half-day programme
on improving submissions and legal
writing by esteemed US scholar
Professor Raymond). There will also be
quarterly seminars for intermediate/
senior litigators on understanding
forensic accounting and computer
forensics, presented by Deloitte.
“Good litigators who have sound
financial and accounting knowledge
have a decided advantage both in
court and in navigating potential
settlement strategies for clients,”
Deloitte Forensics partner Barry
Jordan told NZLawyer.“Computers,
email accounts, and mobile phones
are very rich sources of evidence,
so it is critical litigators have a good
understanding of what evidence
can be found. However electronic
evidence is volatile and the volume of
data involved can often be staggering,
so litigators should be aware of what’s
required to ensure the evidence is
safely handled and the most efficient
ways of reviewing the data.”
The final branch of the overall
training programme is Criminal Law
Updates, which includes monthly
CLE seminars presented in Auckland
by Professor Warren Brookbanks,
Associate Professor Scott Optican,
Kris Gledhill, and Peter Sankoff of
the University of Auckland School
of Law. This branch also includes
monthly seminars on forensic science
(potentially including field trips),
especially developed for criminal
barristers by ESR. Both sets of low-cost,
monthly seminars will begin in March.
They will be held on Saturdays at 1 pm
to enable lawyers who practise mainly
in the Pukekohe, Papakura, Manukau,
Waitakere, and North Shore District
Courts, as well as further afield, to
attend. The NZBA is also investigating
the creation of educational videos and
webinars for those unable to attend
such seminars.
Attorney-General Christopher
Finalyson told NZLawyer that the
establishment of the new NZBA
education programme is an excellent
sign for the profession.“The Bar
Association is to be commended for
its fine efforts.”
continued from page 1
BarAssociationanswerstheCLEcall
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