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Read the latest Public Law Toolbox Chambers news and updates

Mai Chen mentioned in Tama Potaka MP’s Maiden Statement

On 7 March 2023, new National Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka was able to give his maiden statement to Parliament’s House of Representatives, after it had been delayed by the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on the House’s schedule.

Potaka’s speech covered his formal experiences, acknowledgments and his thoughts for New Zealand’s future success. In it, he described the sacrifices of his tūpuna and the fight his whānau took on to resist Māori land loss.

When discussing his formal experiences, Tama Potaka referenced his involved with the first Electoral systems course run by Nigel Roberts and Stephen Levine, where he experienced the contrasting legal academic styles of people like Mai Chen, Sir Geoffrey Palmer and others.

Watch the speech here.

Amicus Curiae Journal Article: Tikanga and Culture in the Supreme Court

By Susan Glazebrook J and Mai Chen

This article is based on a speech delivered by Justice Glazebrook on two recent Te Kōti Mana Nui o Aotearoa/Supreme Court of New Zealand cases: Ellis v R (role of tikanga in the law of Aotearoa/New Zealand) and Deng v Zheng (cultural considerations). After a short introduction by Mai Chen, Justice Glazebrook introduces the background to these cases, their holdings and makes a few preliminary comments. She also links these recent developments with other judicial-led projects to address cultural considerations

Read the article here.

New Upcoming New Zealand Asian Lawyers Events 2023

3 May 2023 – First wānanga on “Tikanga and the Law”
7 June 2023 – Second wānanga on Tikanga and the Law with a panel of top practitioners sharing wisdom on how to successfully argue such cases
21 July 2023 – Dean of Law at Oxford University ‘Is there a bamboo ceiling in the profession, academia and the judiciary?’
9 February 2023 inaugural event of the New Zealand Asian Women Lawyers Committee
Thanks to Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand and Simpson Grierson for sponsorship of New Zealand Asian Lawyers

Wānanga on Tikanga and the Law 3 May 2023

New Zealand Asian Lawyers is hosting a wānanga on “Tikanga and the Law” with the support of the Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture / New Zealand Bar Association. The wānanga will be on 3 May 2023 from 2:00pm – 5:30pm at the Buddle Findlay Auckland office with drinks to follow.

Those speaking at the wānanga are:

Justice Williams of the Supreme Court of New Zealand;
Justice Whata of the High Court of New Zealand who is currently writing a paper on Tikanga and the Law for Te Aka Matua o te Ture / the New Zealand Law Commission;
Justice Powell of the High Court of New Zealand who will speak on tikanga, including as it is dealt with through the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011;
Judge Taumaunu, Chief Judge of the District Court of New Zealand;
Judge Fox, Deputy Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court of New Zealand; and
Judge Doogan of the Māori Land Court of New Zealand and alternate Judge of the Environment Court of New Zealand.

Both the president of the New Zealand Bar Association, Maria Dew KC, and president of the New Zealand Law Society, Frazer Barton, will be attending the wānanga.

It will be a CPD event that is open to all in the profession and the judiciary. There is no charge to attend. Please RSVP in the link here to register your interest to attend (either in person (for catering purposes) or online).

Second wānanga on Tikanga and the Law – Panel of Top Practitioners share wisdom on how to argue such cases

Following the Judges wānanga on ‘Tikanga and the Law’ on 3 May 2023, New Zealand Asian Lawyers will host a second wānanga where a panel of top panel of practitioners will share their wisdom on how to argue tikanga and the law cases successfully. The wānanga will be held on 7 June 2023 from 3:00pm – 5:30pm.

Practitioners speaking will include:

Annette Sykes from Annette Sykes & Co Ltd;
Karen Feint KC from Thorndon Chambers; and
Natalie Coates from Kāhui Legal.

It will be a CPD event that is open to all in the profession. If you would like to host this session at your law firm, can you please get in touch with New Zealand Asian Lawyers board member, Pam Davidson at pam.davidson@lambtonchambers.co.nz

More details, including the venue for the wānanga, will be announced soon.

Save the date – Dean of Law at Oxford University: Is there a bamboo ceiling in the profession, legal academia, and the judiciary?

New Zealand Asian Lawyers is delighted to announce that Professor Mindy Chen-Wishart, Dean of Law at Oxford University, will be speaking in Auckland on 21 July 2023.

As the first Asian Dean of Law at Oxford University, she will speak on the topic: ‘Is there a Bamboo ceiling in the profession, academia and the judiciary?’

Professor Chen-Wishart will coincide her talk with a scheduled trip to New Zealand to speak at the 150th celebration of Otago Law School. Any interest in sponsorship for this event will assist New Zealand Asian Lawyers to fly Professor Chen-Wishart to Auckland and to host a face to face session (also available online) as opposed to just online event.

This is a CPD event. If you would like to host this session at your law firm, can you please get in touch with New Zealand Asian Lawyers board member, Pam Davidson at pam.davidson@lambtonchambers.co.nz

Asian Women Lawyers Committee Event – 9 February 2023

Mai Chen and Karen Ngan – more photos can be found here.

On Thursday night, 9 February 2023, the Asian Women Lawyers Committee of NZ Asian Lawyers led by Karen Ngan held its inaugural Women in Law panel discussion at Simpson Grierson. Mai Chen (President of NZ Asian Lawyers welcomed the attendees to the first event in her life where Asian women lawyers were the overwhelming majority and talked about the unique contribution we had to make and the intersectional double disadvantage we sometimes experience in the law. She and Karen encouraged all to support and prefer one another where possible given these challenges.

This was followed by an engaging and insightful conversation between the panellists Seil Kimberley (criminal defence and prosecution), Lucy Luo (tech and start-ups, including First AML) and Lyn Lim (from partnership to governance), facilitated by Kitty Lin as moderator. The event received hugely positive feedback, from the topics covered (including therapeutic jurisprudence, working with start-ups, board and governance, as well as more personal experiences that were shared honestly and openly by each speaker from mentoring, quitting law, fear of failures and relationship-building through “networking”) to the structure and venue of the event.

There was great energy in the room and the sense that the event, and what the speakers shared, really resonated with people in the room. It sparked discussions that continued long after the panel session had formally ended. The event provided the opportunity for real connections to be formed, and highlighted the need for more interaction, support, and a general presence of Asian Women lawyers in the field especially for younger students and junior lawyers. This will undoubtedly be reinforced in future events to come.

The committee, which includes Nova Huang aka event photographer, Alice Kim, Catharina Chung, Celina Chang, Christina Lee, Karen Ngan, Kitty Lin, Sarah Lee, Seil Kimberley, Susan Hur and Tina Hwang, is both pleased to have attendees volunteer to join the committee, and grateful for all the support and contribution that made the event successful, including from New Zealand Asian Lawyers and the team at Simpson Grierson.

Thanks to Karen, New Zealand Asian Lawyers board member, Yvonne Mortimer-Wang who attended in support, and to the following current members of the Asian Women Lawyers subcommittee are:

Alice Kim	Davenports
Catharina Chung	Tompkins Wake
Celina Chang	Simpson Grierson
Karen Ngan (Chair/NZAL Board)	Simpson Grierson
Kitty Lin	Simpson Grierson
Nova Huang	Simpson Grierson
Sarah Lee	Simpson Grierson
Seil Kimberley	MSD
Susan Hur	GMP Pharmaceuticals
Tina Hwang	Queen City Law

New Zealand Asian Lawyers thanks Takeshi Ito, Secretary of New Zealand Asian Lawyers and Vice President and Legal & Company Secretary of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand Limited, and Millennium & Copthrone Hotels for their kind sponsorship to provide banners for New Zealand Asian Lawyers – see below.

New Zealand Asian Lawyers would also like to thank Simpson Grierson for their sponsorship to create a standalone website for New Zealand Asian Lawyers as the current information about New Zealand Asian Lawyers is hosted on the website for the Superdiversity Institute. Pam Davidson is leading this work with Takeshi Ito.

Judges to speak at Wānanga on Tikanga and the Law on 3 May 2023

New Zealand Asian Lawyers is hosting a wānanga on “Tikanga and the Law” with the support of the Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture / New Zealand Bar Association. The reason is because of the importance of the issue – especially as the place of tikanga in the law of New Zealand has been reinforced by recent Supreme Court decisions including Ellis v R [2022] NZSC 114 and Wairarapa Moana Ki Pouākani Incorporation v Mercury NZ Limited and The Waitangi Tribunal and Ors [2022] NZSC 142.

In Ellis, “[t]he [Supreme] Court is unanimous that Tikanga has been and will continue to be recognised in the development of the common law of Aotearoa/New Zealand in cases where it is relevant. It also forms part of New Zealand law as a result of being incorporated into statutes and regulations. It may be relevant consideration in the exercise of discretions and it is incorporated in policies and processes of public bodies.” (paragraph 19)

For many of us, our understanding of tikanga Māori, te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, is limited. Some of us are migrants and are learning all of this anew. For all those practising within Aotearoa New Zealand, it is critical that we expand our understanding of tikanga to recognise when it is relevant in the cases we are arguing, and to respect and acknowledge tikanga when doing so.

Those speaking at the wānanga include:

Justice Williams of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Te Hunga Rōia Māori Aotearoa will give the vote of thanks;
Justice Whata of the High Court of New Zealand who is currently writing a paper on Tikanga and the Law for Te Aka Matua o te Ture / the New Zealand Law Commission;
Justice Powell of the High Court of New Zealand who will speak on tikanga, including as it is dealt with through the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011;
Judge Taumaunu, Chief Judge of the District Court of New Zealand;
Judge Fox, Deputy Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court of New Zealand; and
Judge Doogan of the Māori Land Court of New Zealand and alternate Judge of the Environment Court of New Zealand.

The wānanga will be held on 3 May 2023 from 2:00pm – 5:30pm. The location will be notified closer to the time and the event will also be online for those that are unable to attend in person.

It will be a CPD event that is open to all in the profession and the judiciary. There is no charge to attend.

Mai Chen acknowledged as one of four of New Zealand’s Most Influential Lawyers in the Best in Law 2022 awards (as reported in thelawyermag.com on 26 January 2023)

Mai Chen on Sunday Café with Mel Homer 15 January 2023

Mai Chen Interview with TV3 Newshub Nation 10 September 2022

Labour changes to car standards – this time with National support

Radio New Zealand – Hōteo River claim at 15.00 mins

Te Pou Matakana Drops Injunction Against The Whanau Ora Community Clinic

Amicus Curiae Journal Article: Putting a Social and Cultural Framework on the Evidence Act

By David Goddard J and Mai Chen

This article follows that presentations to a seminar on the Supreme Court decision in Deng v Zheng (2022): guidance on bringing relevant social and cultural information to the court’s attention. The case concerned whether, despite a lack of formal documentation, the parties had entered into a legal partnership, of which they would be jointly responsible for the debts of the partnership. Two issues arose relating to the culture of the parties: namely, whether the meaning to be ascribed to 公司 (gingsi) went beyond ‘company’ and could extend to ‘firm’ or ‘enterprise’ and the significance of 关系 (guanxi). Both parties are Chinese and their business relationship appeared to have been conducted in Mandarin. Justice Goddard was the presiding judge in Zheng v Deng (2020), the Court of Appeal judgment appealed to the Supreme Court. Mai Chen appeared with two other lawyers on behalf of the intervenor, the New Zealand Law Society.

Read the article here.

What’s it like going to the independent bar?

By Mai Chen

I have never worked so hard in my life, but I love it. All of my time is spent solving legal problems and preparing for court which is really a giant viva voce exam – so it’s hard. I have just come out of the Auckland High Court and am now preparing to appear in the Wellington High Court in early December. But I am learning at a much faster pace than I was at Chen Palmer and I am getting better as a lawyer.

I have only ever really wanted to be the best lawyer I could be – and the “rock I have thrown at the tiger” (see my TED Talk) by leaving Chen Palmer and going to the bar is making me run – or get eaten. It is the concept of “anti-fragile” introduced to me by a fabulous client who is a great strategic problem solver and also an ex-elite athlete. We were both raised by Dads that pushed us to excel on the sports field. It carries over into your whole life!

I throw a rock at the tiger every 10 years so I don’t fall asleep at the wheel or rest on my laurels. Previously, I left academia and set up Chen Palmer with Sir Geoffrey Palmer as NZ’s first Public Law specialist firm in Wellington. That was hard. I was inaugural Chair of Global Women, I sat on the NZ Securities Commission and the Bank of NZ Board. These were all hard challenges but led to so much learning. Ten years ago, I moved to Auckland and started Chen Palmer here and set up the Superdiversity Institute and NZ Asian Leaders. I started working on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Parties in the Courts.

Leaving Chen Palmer was really hard. I loved my time there, but after almost 29 years there, I had to find my next challenge. When we were named as a top Boutique Law Firm by NZ Lawyer, I knew there was never going to be a better time. So with Sir Geoffrey Palmer’s blessing, and with a lot of encouragement from my wonderful husband Dr John Sinclair and my son Jack Chen-Sinclair, I am now focused on Public Law Toolbox Chambers (which is really the next iteration of Chen Palmer) and chairing NZ Asian Lawyers, which I founded – let’s go!

It has been hard work making the transition, but I love it. All of my time is spent solving legal problems and preparing for court which is really a giant viva voce exam – so it’s hard. I have just come out of the Auckland High Court and am now preparing to appear in the Wellington High Court in early December. And I have a lot of other files running. But I am learning at a much faster pace than I was at Chen Palmer and I am getting better as a lawyer.

Leaving Chen Palmer was really hard. I loved my time there, but after almost 29 years there, I had to find my next challenge. When we were named as a top Boutique Law Firm by NZ Lawyer, I knew there was never going to be a better time. So with Sir Geoffrey Palmer’s blessing, and with encouragement from my wonderful husband Dr John Sinclair and my son Jack Chen-Sinclair, I am now focused on Public Law Toolbox Chambers (which is really the next iteration of Chen Palmer) and chairing NZ Asian Lawyers, both of which I founded.

Justice Glazebrook Seminar on 8 November 2022

NZ Asian Lawyers in association with Russell McVeagh are proud to host an event which covers two significant recent Supreme Court cases on tikanga and culture, Ellis v R [2022] NZSC 114 and Deng v Zheng [2022] NZSC 76.

We are honoured and delighted to have the Honourable Justice Susan Glazebrook, who sat on the bench for both cases, address us on the topic.

All are invited given the significance of this topic for our profession and competent advocacy for clients. The seminar is 1 CPD hour.

The Zoom will begin at 5:15pm and complete at 6:15pm. Following this, you are invited to remain and join us as we host the NZ Asian Lawyers Christmas Function.

Date: 8th November 2022

Time: 5:00pm event starts.
5:15pm seminar and zoom starts.
6:16pm NZ Asian Lawyers Christmas Function starts.

Venue: Russell McVeagh (Auckland) – level 30, Vero Centre, 48 Shortland Street.

As there will be a livestream of the seminar please advise if you are attending in person or online.

RSVP: Here.

New Zealand Asian Lawyers Litigation Committee Event

20 October 2022

Following the welcoming of Yvonne Mortimer-Wang (Barrister at Shortland Chambers) and Kavita Deobhakta (Litigation Partner at Morgan Coakle) to the New Zealand Asian Lawyers Litigation Committee, the Committee invited Asian litigators to an informal gathering at Shortland Chambers on the 20th October 2022. This event afforded members the opportunity to meet with Augustine Choi (Co-Chair), Yvonne and Kavita to get to know them in a relaxed social setting.

Due to the demand for this event, the Committee has decided to run Best lawyering tips – what I would have told my younger lawyer self on how to become a great lawyer, an event in 2023. The exact date is yet to be announced.

New Zealand Young Asian Lawyers Event

19 October 2022

Mai Chen (Chair of NZ Asian Lawyers), Alison Dymond (Chair of the Young Asian Lawyers Committee) and New Zealand Young Asian Lawyers presented the “Asian Experiences in the Legal Profession” event at Meredith Connell in Auckland.

Attendees were invited to relax and mingle, as Danielle Cooper (Solicitor at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts) chaired the panel, consisting of Edwina Ma (Tax Director of KPMG), Michael Ip (Criminal Defence Lawyer at the Public Defence Service) and Kishan Gunatanga (Senior Solicitor at Chapman Tripp).

We would like to thank Max Hardy (Meredith Connell) for hosting this event.

Panel on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Litigants in Australian Courts

1 October 2022

Justice Emilios Kyrou (Supreme Court of Victoria) and Honourable Justice Helen Wood (Supreme Court of Tasmania) spoke on a panel, with Mai Chen, about Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Litigants in Australian Courts.

The Summit, held by the Asian Australian Lawyers Association, had a theme of ‘Many Cultures, One Voice’ and consisted of a stellar line up of professionals, thinkers and performers who openly shared and discussed the vision and roadmap for legal professionals and those in the wider community to work together to build and maintain a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The video of this zoom summit is yet to be released.

CALD Issues Paper Launch Event

14 September 2022

The linked report was launched on Monday night (12th September 2022) at The University of Melbourne Law School in conjunction with the Asian Australian Lawyers Association. Along with the launch of the CALD White Paper, the attendees heard speeches from Honourable Paul Coghlan AO QC (former Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria) and her Honour Judge My Anh Tran of the County Court of Victoria. Attendees also heard from a speech from the President of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association, Molina Asthana, and Andrew Godwin, co-author of the White Paper, who moderated the event.

The purpose of this White Paper is:

to outline for readers in Australia the key findings and recommendations of the CALD Report of the Superdiversity Institute in New Zealand entitled ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Parties in the Courts: A Chinese Case Study’ (the ‘CALD Report’)1, published November 2019;
to outline the changes to the legal landscape elicited by the CALD Report;
to reflect on the insights that the recommendations of the CALD Report offers to Australia;
to propose an action plan for related initiatives to meet the challenges arising out of increasing superdiversity in Australian courts; and
to contribute to public discourse

To read the report please click here.

Interview on TV3 Newshub Nation on the Constitutional Implications of the Death of the Queen for New Zealand.

14 September 2022

On Saturday 10th September, Mai Chen appeared on TV3’s Newshub Nation to discuss the constitutional implications of the death of Queen Elizabeth for New Zealand.

Mai discussed how we presently have an unwritten constitution that is held together by conventions, practices and usages. In order for constitutional reform to take place many question must first be answered as to what the structure would look like.

To change public power in New Zealand the impacts on every part of the system must be considered.

To watch the interview please see click HERE.

Media Release: CALD Issues Paper Launch Event

05 September 2022

The Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA) is proud to announce the Australian launch of the Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD) Issues Paper drafted by Mai Chen and Dr. Andrew Godwin with the support of The University of Melbourne, Super Diversity Institute, and AALA, on 12 September 2022.

CALD parties have long faced barriers that disrupt their access to justice. The CALD Issues Paper seeks to identify these barriers and suggest ways of addressing them. The purpose of this Issues Paper is:

To outline for readers in Australia the key findings and recommendations of the CALD Report of the Superdiversity Institute in New Zealand entitled ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Parties in the Courts: A Chinese Case Study’, published November 2019;
To outline the changes to the legal landscape elicited by the CALD Report;
To reflect on the insights that the recommendations of the CALD Report offers to Australia;
To propose an action plan for related initiatives to meet the challenges arising out of increasing superdiversity in Australian courts; and
To contribute to public discourse.

Following its launch in November 2019, the CALD Report was acknowledged as ground-breaking and has materially assisted the consideration of the unique challenges for CALD parties in getting equal access to justice in New Zealand courts among the judiciary, the legal profession, and the broader community. The report was subsequently cited in the New Zealand Court of Appeal case Zheng v Deng [2020] NZCA 614 and in the recent Supreme Court case of Zheng v Deng [2022] NZSC 76. Given the report’s significant influence in New Zealand’s legal landscape and the long-term impacts of the discourse it has sparked, with a Global Symposium in Cultural Experts in the courts in the Sorbonne in 2023, we believe that these developments will provide valuable insight for Australia with its substantially similar legal system and superdiverse population.

The launch will take place at The University of Melbourne Law School at 5.30 pm (registration) for a 6 pm start (AEST) and will be joined by the Honourable Paul Coghlan AO QC (former Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria) and her Honour Judge My Anh Tran of the County Court of Victoria. The launch will be a hybrid event allowing both in-person and online attendance.

Registration is essential and can be done through the following link –
http://membersuite.aala.org.au/event-4949339

We hope to see as many attendees as possible at the event so that the true impact of the CALD Issues Paper can be realised, thereby promoting greater access to justice for CALD parties in the courts and justice system.

President of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association Molina Asthana says that “This ground-breaking research from New Zealand, as contextualised for Australia, will for the first time explore issues of access to justice for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities in the court system in Australia and recommend actions and initiatives that may assist in overcoming these challenges so that ‘Justice is not only done but seen to have been done’. We want to hear from all interested stakeholders so that the Comprehensive report when published, takes into account views of those who are directly involved in implementation.”

Authors Mai and Andrew state they “hope that the Issues Paper will make a useful contribution to the discourse in Australia and elsewhere concerning the challenges facing CALD parties in the courts and how those challenges might be overcome to ensure everyone gets equal access to justice. We look forward to engaging further with stakeholders on these important Rule of Law issues.”

For all media inquiries, please contact Molina Asthana on
president@aala.vic.gov.au or 0400785299
Mai.Chen@maichen.nz or +6421565709

Deng v Zheng Seminar

2 August 2022

The Honourable Justice Goddard, Mai Chen, Jacque Lethbridge and Paul Radich QC presented a seminar on the Supreme Court decision in Deng v Zheng: Guidance on bringing relevant social cultural information to the Court’s attention.

This event was run in conjunction with the New Zealand Law Society, the New Zealand Bar Association and held at Buddle Findlay.

Please keep an eye out for the forthcoming issue 2.4.1 of Amicue Curiae, which will feature the article by Mai Chen and Court of Appeal judge, Hon. Justice David Goddard titled “Putting a Social and Cultural Framework on the Evidence Act: Recent New Zealand Supreme Court Guidance.”

To view the video of the Deng v Zheng seminar, click here.