Law society celebrates hitting major milestone

A ceremony marking a major milestone for the New Zealand Law Society has been held in New Plymouth.

A special sitting of the High Court at New Plymouth was held yesterday afternoon to mark 150 years of the organisation.

The New Zealand Law Society was first established in 1869 and the Taranaki District Law Society was formed a decade later, making it one of the oldest branches in the country.

Justice Cooper presided over yesterday’s ceremony, which was attended by members of the Taranaki Bar.

Caroline Silk, Taranaki branch president of the New Zealand Law Society, addressed the court and reflected on the history of the legal profession and what it meant to be a lawyer in 2019.

‘‘Our role is to be just and fear not. We serve the public. To do that we need to be fully representative of our community.’’

Silk’s speech also highlighted some of the challenges that existed in terms of accessing justice in New Zealand, which she said had become ‘‘difficult, costly and lengthy and prohibitive for most’’.

She said the ongoing work of the Law Society was to advocate for better access to services and raise issues which impacted on the work of the court, but that it was also important to work on ‘‘changing the culture in the way we practise’’.

NZ Law Society’s Taranaki president

‘‘Our role is to be just and fear not. We serve the public. To do that we need to be fully representative of our community.’’

Caroline Silk

Along with Silk, top lawyer Susan Hughes QC spoke, as did Miaana Walden, as a representative of Te Hunga Ro¯ ia Ma¯ ori o Aotearoa – The Ma¯ ori Law Society.

Thomas Standish is believed to be the first person to practise law in the region.

The Taranaki Bar now consists of 157 members, 108 of whom have at least a decade of legal experience.