Wilkinson Kate: Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill — In Committee 
Wilkinson Kate: Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:629;Page:1518] 
KATE WILKINSON (National) 
: 
 I also rise in support of Part 4 of this bill. It is fairly much a basic common-sense provision of the bill relating to continuing with the New Zealand Law Society basically as we have known it in the past. That does not really change but as my learned colleague Mr Finlayson has said what does change is the effect of abandonment if you like of the district law societies of which there were 15 throughout the country. Previously barristers and solicitors belonged to both the local law society and the national one. Now they will belong to the New Zealand Law Society and if the local law society decides to continue they may still belong to it. Under this part of the bill the national body the New Zealand Law Society will be the central body to regulate practising lawyers and also to represent them. It centralises the society and that makes some sense. 
Interestingly enough the biggest bone of contention in relation to this part is not the governing of the lawyers and the legal profession from Wellington nor is it the lack of if one likes any particular local knowledge of any one district but it seems to be the libraries. The question of district law society libraries is the main issue of contention: who will own them on the abandonment of the local law societies and who will maintain them. Without the libraries and ready access to them lawyers simply cannot do their jobs properly. It is vital that lawyers have the best possible access to the best possible legal information. 
The law society in my area Canterbury has a very well-developed library built up over 100 years and I am sure that it is not alone in having done that. It has a huge value. In fact a figure of over $3 million has been attributed as the value of the Canterbury District Law Society library. Under this part of the bill the local law societies have 6 months to decide what to do with those libraries. Although the New Zealand Law Society may contribute to the funding of those law libraries that is not mandatory but is discretionary so they may be contributed to. It is vital that in the restructuring and in the bringing-in of this legislation the library resource is not lost never to be regained. 
However in addition to the issue of libraries the New Zealand Law Society is vital in regulating and making the rules that bind its members and in representing members’ best interests. It sets the standard of behaviour sets the rules and makes sure that the rules are obeyed. For that regulation and representation members pay their dues. They pay their levies and that is fair. However the counterpart in this bill to the New Zealand Law Society is the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers and we must ensure that it sets the appropriate standards of behaviour. It is of no use to anyone if the respective rules of both professions are poles apart. Lawyers and conveyancers are being thrown together under this bill into the same barrel whether or not they like it. If a conveyancer turns out to be a bad apple that will taint not only all the other conveyancers but also all the other lawyers. Therefore it is absolutely imperative that the good name of lawyers is not tainted by a bad conveyancer. 
The rules and standards are crucial—they are critical. They must reflect the importance of maintaining the already good reputation of lawyers. My concern is that we must not build up the conveyancing profession by bringing down the law profession. The Law Society and the Society of Conveyancers will be critical in ensuring that standards are maintained. Again if we go back to the purpose of the legislation we find it is so that the consumer—the client—can have absolute confidence in his or her conveyancing professional. 
Bearing that in mind whilst we are talking about conveyancing professionals I point out that it is very easy to denigrate conveyancing and say it a form-filling exercise and to say it is easy to tick the boxes. Conveyancing is a bit more complicated than that because with the law becoming increasingly complex conveyancers whether they be lawyers or conveyancing practitioners end up being experts on the Resource Management Act and on Building Act requirements. They even become experts on whether a gasfitters certificate is required in respect of gas appliances. Also they are often asked for advice on business structures and on how to structure a purchase.