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Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

Restrictions on provision of legal services and conveyancing services - Legal services

24: Reserved areas of work for lawyers and incorporated law firms

You could also call this:

"Only lawyers can do certain legal work"

Illustration for Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

You can commit an offence if you do work that is meant for lawyers or incorporated law firms for gain or reward and you are not a lawyer or an incorporated law firm. This work is described in section 6 as reserved areas of work. You also commit an offence if you are not a lawyer and you do certain work described in section 6. If an employer organisation or a union employs a lawyer to do this work for its members, it is not considered to be doing the work itself. There are some exceptions to this rule, which are set out in sections 25(2) and 27.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM365729.

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23: False or misleading representations in relation to supply of legal services, or

"Don't make false claims about who gives legal services."

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25: Lawyers of other jurisdictions, or

"Lawyers from other countries can work in New Zealand under certain conditions."

Part 2Restrictions on provision of legal services and conveyancing services
Legal services

24Reserved areas of work for lawyers and incorporated law firms

  1. A person commits an offence—

  2. who, for gain or reward (whether direct or indirect) and not being a lawyer or an incorporated law firm, carries out work of a kind described in paragraph (a) of the definition of reserved areas of work (as set out in section 6); or
    1. who, not being a lawyer, carries out work of a kind described in paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) of the definition of reserved areas of work (as set out in section 6).

      1. For the purposes of subsection (1), an employer organisation or a union does not carry out work of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection merely because—

      2. the employer organisation employs a lawyer who carries out work of that kind for members of the organisation, whether or not the organisation receives any gain or reward for that work:
        1. the union employs a lawyer who carries out work of that kind for members of the union, whether or not the union receives any gain or reward for that work.

          1. This section is subject to the exceptions set out in sections 25(2) and 27.

          Notes
          • Section 24(1A): inserted (with effect from 1 August 2008), on , by section 8 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 54).