1 July 2018 marked an important transition for lawyers. The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (“the Act”) now applies to law firms. The purpose of the Act is to detect and deter money laundering and the funding of terrorism, while maintaining and enhancing New Zealand’s international reputation. Lawyers and conveyancers are [...]

The emerging doctrine under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (H & S Act), which substantially increases the penalties available for H & S breaches, continues to develop. Our legal update dated December 2017 covered some notable early sentencing decisions applying the new parameters. Subsequent decisions have also proved instructive. WorkSafe New Zealand [...]

The common law has long held that contractual clauses providing remedies for breach, but which set out consequences out of all proportion to the effects of the breach, are unlawful penalties. The NZ High Court had the opportunity to consider this doctrine in light of recent UK and Australian decisions, in Honey Bees Preschool Ltd [...]