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Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

Complaints and discipline

120: Purposes

You could also call this:

"Why lawyers and conveyancers are disciplined or complained about"

Illustration for Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

This part of the law is about complaints and discipline for lawyers and conveyancers. You will see a framework that helps with complaints about these people. The framework is for complaints about lawyers, law firms, and people who work for them, as well as conveyancers and their firms. You can make a complaint if you are not happy with one of these people. The complaint will be processed and hopefully resolved quickly. The law also talks about discipline for these people, which means they might be punished if they do something wrong. The New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers have to make rules to help with this framework. The High Court still has the power to discipline lawyers, even with this new framework in place.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM366155.

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"The King can still choose special lawyers called King's Counsel."

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121: Obligation to establish complaints service, or

"Lawyers and conveyancers must have a service to handle complaints about them."

Part 7Complaints and discipline

120Purposes

  1. The first purpose of this Part is to provide a framework in relation to complaints and discipline.

  2. The framework is, in relation to complaints, to be—

  3. one that relates to complaints about—
    1. lawyers and former lawyers; and
      1. incorporated law firms and former incorporated law firms; and
        1. persons who are not practitioners but who are employees or former employees of lawyers and incorporated law firms; and
          1. conveyancing practitioners and former conveyancing practitioners; and
            1. incorporated conveyancing firms and former incorporated conveyancing firms; and
              1. persons who are not practitioners but who are employees or former employees of conveyancing practitioners and incorporated conveyancing firms; and
              2. one within which complaints of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) may be processed and resolved expeditiously and, in appropriate cases, by negotiation, conciliation, or mediation.

                1. The framework is, in relation to discipline, to be one within which disciplinary charges against persons of the kinds described in subparagraphs (i) to (vi) of subsection (2)(a) may be heard and determined expeditiously.

                2. The second purpose of this Part is to require the New Zealand Law Society to make, in relation to persons of the kinds described in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) of subsection (2)(a), rules necessary for the purposes of the framework referred to in this section.

                3. The third purpose of this Part is to require the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers to make, in relation to persons of the kinds described in subparagraphs (iv) to (vi) of subsection (2)(a), rules necessary for the purposes of the framework referred to in this section.

                4. The fourth purpose of this Part is to preserve the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to strike off the roll and discipline lawyers in their capacity as officers of the High Court.