The Attorney-General would have finished her calls to silk applicants by now if she didn’t have to spend so much time talking to Shane Jones.

Sad to report that The Crown Entities only came second at the fundraising quiz.

Tapping the sign.

"In fact, there are hundreds of them."

Chambers colleagues wanting to know why the document destruction bin smells of pumpkin soup and me not ready to admit to Lunch Disaster '25 yet.

Bad news for fans of the de facto officer doctrine! Solicitor-General's Reference (No 1 of 2024) from CA441/2023 [2025] NZSC 121.

Writing to counsel for the other side to tell them my dentist is insistent I stop clenching my jaw.

Why, in New Zealand in the year of our Lord 2025, are top chambers posting photos on LinkedIn of eminent lawyers sitting on tables? 😬

What a glow-up!

Strange conclusion given that the right to adopt is literally in the Bill of Rights Act.

Average section 7 report.

the judge’s chambers is so mysterious. what goes on in there? are they talking about me?

Counsel assisting Special Counsel. Counsel assisting the counsel assisting Special Counsel. Counsel assisting the counsel assisting the counsel assisting Special Counsel.

🧶 = 🌟🧵🏃🦹‍♂️⚖️

Googling "is the presumption of innocence a common law principle", if you want to know how my weekend is going.

Adam Ross KC keeping it light in his welcome speech at the Shortland Chambers Cocktail Function by talking about 9/11.

Have I been a moving counsel? Well, I like to think my submissions have a certain emotional effect.

Giving the conference organisers a big hand.

Okay we’re going to take away question asking privileges from this dude.

Great day at the NZBA Conference. Best moment: a barrister who practises gratitude by telling themselves every day “thank fuck I don’t have partners”. Worst moment: barrister at the next table browsing $50k watches on their iPad during a session - I don’t think I understand people sometimes.

Who is charging the Council $329,000 for defending a judicial review? Come on, man!

The only comment my much more talented wife had on my new tweed-ish blazer is that I “look like Paul Rishworth”, which in our house is a compliment.

Some amazing judicial gritted teeth in this paragraph. So many commas! www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

KC announcements when????

ICLR is asking me to do a captcha before it will let me download a case from the WLRs.

Shout out to the court that asked availability, got told that both counsel for a party would be at out of town hearings on the proposed dates, then set it down anyway and said tough. Why ask if you're not going to respect the answer? Absolutely unbelievable.

"It was once said by somebody, somewhere." Menzies v Corrigan [2025] NZEmpC 186

Me, ordinarily: sometimes things take as long as they take. Me, three days out from it being six months since the Court of Appeal heard my matter: JUDGMENT DELIVERY TIMEFRAMES ARE OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE AND UNDERPIN SOCIETY'S CONFIDENCE IN THE JUDICIARY AS A MEANS OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

Now that's a euphemism.

Re Simpson Grierson and Kaipara DC. Actually genuinely not sure in what circumstances a lawyer can publicly disclaim a client's description of their instructions or advice. A client might be mistaken or cheeky but my sense is a lawyer still has to hold it in confidence.

Simpson Grierson has peer-reviewed my tweets and agrees with every word.

A Hague-iography.

Indulgently extended metaphor alert. Muir J in Andrew v Sidwell Developments Limited Partnership [2025] NZCA 418.

Not this anecdote but the procedures for closed court are equally robust

And if you're worried, they do have signs on all the other doors to the building too @strictlyobiter.bsky.social

None of the reporting on the Tamihere appeal includes the most notable fact from the hearing so far: Murray Gibson used one lectern stacked on top of another to get an extra tall lectern. Boss move.

"Reckon we need any security measures for this espionage court martial?" "I can probably do something in Word."

The Chief Justice is the first among equals.

You have a right to counsel of your choice until a High Court judge thinks you have had enough, in which case they will comment on that adversely. (There were other reasons at play, but I still don't think this should be a reason to rule against an application.) Lane v Li [2025] NZHC 2284

Once again sneaking up behind counsel and walloping them with r 1.20(2) of the High Court Rules.

The different approaches in J v Attorney-General [2025] NZSC 103 are fascinating. Ellen France and Miller JJ wrote the judgment I kind of expected. Winkelmann CJ disagreeing on some technicalities. Williams J with a humanistic approach based on care. Kós J with a small-c conservative dissent.

How much avocado have I just spilled down the front of my suit pants? No, it's more than that. Anyway, off to co-host an event at the High Court.

Driving the KC to the hearing in my Suzuki Swift 🚗🚗🚗

"In my view, the phrase 'Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes' is at the very outer limits of a confession as it depends on how tired he was before entering the water ... ."

Two courts "well, technically-ing" a threat to kill because we don't know how hungry the pigs would be. Bloody hell. Burrows-Page v Police [2025] NZHC 2194