New Zealand (2)
I am a business and property barrister at King’s Chambers (2019 Call) and was fortunate to be a New Zealand Scholar in the 2024 Pegasus Scholarship Scheme.
I spent three months at Bankside Chambers in Auckland, from September to November 2024. The placement was co-ordinated by my ‘handler’, Jason Goodall KC, a commercial practitioner at Bankside.
Out in New Zealand, I did not have any rights of audience to appear in court. As such, while I would normally be in court three or four times a week in England, as the ‘pom’ in chambers, I had three months of junior briefs, assisting senior members in chambers with their ongoing cases.
Over the three-month placement, I saw a huge range of commercial work, much of it, unsurprisingly, with its own Kiwi-stamp. The very first case I was involved in was a private nuisance case in which a wine vineyard on the South Island alleged that a neighbouring farmer’s fires had caused smoke damage to their vines, thus impairing their wine.
Unfortunately, not all of my cases involved vineyards. Nevertheless, one feature of commercial litigation in New Zealand is the extent of Chinese investment. During my time, I saw a number of interesting matters concerning Chinese litigants and investors, including a three-week commercial trial with Jason Goodall KC focusing primarily upon alleged penalty clauses.
One distinctive aspect of New Zealand litigation more generally is the role of the Māori people and their history. While I was at Bankside, Justice Kós, the chairman of the Pegasus Committee in New Zealand, organised a day for me to observe an appeal in the Supreme Court in Wellington. The case concerned the test to be applied when asserting customary marine title and associated rights over the foreshore and seabed under the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011.
Sitting as an English lawyer in the Supreme Court of a common-law country, there were a lot of te reo Māori terms being used that I simply had not come across before. The case raised issues such as whether the mandate to bring an application for customary title was still held by an iwi, or whether it had been lost by virtue of hapū making their own applications. Without any hyperbole, it really was fascinating to observe the case. To understand the issues, one first had to understand Māori culture and society, as well as New Zealand constitutional history. The case also demonstrated the need for lawyers to show both intellectual flexibility and cultural sensitivity when working at the precarious interface of the common law and Māori tikanga.
Away from the courtroom, one of the stated purposes of the Pegasus scheme is to forge links with lawyers abroad. Looking back, it is this aspect of my time I value most highly. Members of chambers welcomed me with open arms, showing great warmth and support. For example, one member of chambers hosted me for a weekend of skiing on the South Island and later invited my partner and me over for dinner on Christmas Day.
A particular chambers highlight away from the courtroom was helping Bankside beat Shortland Chambers in their inaugural golf competition (mainly down to a generous handicap!).
Finally, it would be remiss not to mention life away from chambers more generally. The Pegasus Scholarship offers scholars the opportunity to spend a prolonged period of time abroad, exploring a foreign country. Having never visited New Zealand before, it did not disappoint. While I was based in Auckland, I never got over the fact that you could leave chambers at 6.00pm and be on a surfboard or sitting in a sailing dinghy less than an hour later.
Further away from the city, the beauty of New Zealand is well-documented, and I took the opportunity to travel on the South Island after my placement in Auckland finished. Indeed, the South Island will hold a special place, as my partner and I got engaged on our trip while kayaking in Abel Tasman.
To summarise, for anyone considering the Pegasus Scholarship, I could not recommend it highly enough. I thoroughly enjoyed my time out in New Zealand and regard it as one of the highlights of my professional career to date. I made a number of firm friends, who I have stayed in touch with since. Indeed, I am hosting some next year to return the kindness they showed me.
I should finish by extending my particular thanks to Justice Kós and Jason Goodall KC for making the placement possible; to Michael Morrison for letting me squat in his room; to Simon Foote KC, James Clarke and Josie Butcher for all of their advice, travel tips and support; and, finally, to Sam Jeffs and his family for Christmas lunch!
Ian Cooper
King’s Chambers