Shand v Legal Complaints Review Officer - [2021] 2 NZLR 707

Professions — Barristers and solicitors — Disciplinary proceedings — Complaint to Lawyers Complaints Service regarding solicitor’s failure to pay third-party invoice — Third party instructed to act as expert witness — Whether instructing solicitor responsible for payment of third-party’s fees — Whether solicitor breached professional obligations in respect of payment of third-party’s invoice — Whether solicitor’s failure to pay third-party’s fees unsatisfactory — Whether order requiring lawyer to rectify error and pay disputed amount enforceable — Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 r 12.

Judicial review — Jurisdiction — Application to review decisions of National Standards Committee of the New Zealand Law Society and Legal Complaints Review Officer — Whether jurisdiction to determine reasonableness of third party’s fees in context of disciplinary process — Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 r 12.