For reasons I am not entirely clear on, I am at the Kings’ Big House Music competition at the Spark Arena. Anyway, Simon Foote KC was just on the audience kiss cam.

I trained a legal AI on Roger Partridge and Deborah Chambers KC opinion pieces and now it won’t open the pod bay doors.

Whoa! Partly successful JR of the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care! www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases...

Some sly square-bracketsing of the Attorney-General's description of his work experience by LawNews lololol lawnews.nz/administrati...

A company created to own and manage a farm: Fifty Shades of Hay Limited.

All litigation carries risk. The risk that Parliament might legislate to end your litigation.

Climate Change Response (Tort Claims and David Bullock PhD Refund) Amendment Act 2026

Truly the ACC of its generation.

It turns out that the cripplingly expensive cat food we buy our spoiled cat costs that much because they have to pay Stephen Hunter KC.

If you lack sufficient personal interest in a matter to be able to sue, you can file your claim notwithstanding.

The Chief Justice welcomes the Attorney-General's announcement today of the appointment of Auckland Barrister Nischal Hasmukhlal (Nick) Malarao as an Associate Judge of the High Court. sen.nz/101lch

Chambers colleagues kept telling me I need art for my office walls but apparently a set of 10 etchings of the Auckland Supreme Court judges from 1981 is not what they had in mind. They are magnificent though!!

NZLS v Young [2026] NZDC 8953 seems shaky to me re pinging a person for calling themself a "retired lawyer". By definition you're disvowing any current status as a lawyer. www.lawsociety.org.nz/assets/news-...

In your thirties it's opinion pieces by Deborah Chambers.

This is Chaucer, isn’t it?

The lanyard is named after George Lanyard, the inventor of the Briefing to the Incoming Minister.

To Wellington for a judicial review tomorrow and I have remembered to bring my gown so pretty much nothing can go wrong from here.

Stephen J in Re Hill (1868) 4 TLR 64 at 65 calling out a lawyer who agreed to pay a kickback to a non-lawyer in return for getting the work: "Nothing could be worse than that solicitors should get business thus by means of a jackal. It was a dirty and shameful way of doing business."

The sequel to David Harvey's piece about the Courts of New Zealand leaving X. He asked the Courts why and they explain it was about reach. In the meantime, here are all the things Harvey accused the Courts of in his first piece, before he bothered to ask. Thanks LawNews! lawnews.nz/courts/justi...

The thing about the Dentists Disciplinary Tribunal was that it had real teeth.

Strange. One of the things King's taught me was to get along with everyone.

Team, the other side are now doing a million LinkedIn posts about their success, when the HC said all of their arguments were bad and decided the case on a point that neither side argued. I can’t with this.

Does Barry Soper have an opinion on appointment criteria for King’s Counsel?

This building used to house the Court of Appeal courtrooms in Auckland and today it’s a hotel. Amazing to think that now anyone can sleep where the judges once did.

If I had ten cents for every Herald opinion column on KCs written by someone called Deborah I'd have twenty cents. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

I’ve been in Gisborne for the week and just look at this sign!

Lol rekt by Judith Collins

I will not use my blog to relitigate judgments I have lost. I will not use my blog to relitigate judgments I have lost. I will not use my blog to relitigate judgments I have lost. I will not use my blog to relitigate judgments I have lost. I will not use my blog to relitigate judgments I have lost.

I suppose what I’m saying is: Pro bono work doesn’t say anything about how good you are at cross-examination. But skill at cross-examination doesn’t say anything about your commitment to the rule of law or a culture of service. And we might want silks to have all those qualities.

Again just incredible stuff from Deborah Chambers KC, who writes a column to tell the world she doesn’t know about silk appointments made under the royal prerogative (as opposed to ordinary silk appointments). www.nzherald.co.nz/business/kin...

Government: courts are subverting Parliamentary intent. Courts: you got any select committee reports to help us understand Parliamentary intent?

You don't start by taking the lead.

Great to be able to hear from an expert in handling challenges that arise in a setting that is difficult for others to see.

I know I was just complaining about “body corporates”, but I’m deeply uncomfortable with “actus rei”. Ronaki-Wihapi v R [2026] NZSC 30

Okay now do the High Court. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/broadcast...

The reason the Legal Research Foundation don't put me in charge of their fundraising quiz at the Northern Club is because I would have an audio round where you have to identify the speaker from their voice and all ten questions would be clips of Winston Peters.

It profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world ... but for ACT? www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

My reign radar detecting high degrees of sovereignty in Northland.

The Auckland High Court undergoing one of its occasional rewhitenings.

Statutes Amendment Bills clean up your Act.

David Harvey on how the rule of law demands that the courts remain on X, the place that facilitates deepfake nudes.

Satherley v R [2026] NZCA 97 seems sort of important as a worked example of a sentence reduction being granted and then upheld by the CA for breach of rights. We all know the "in theory, yes" decisions like Williams and Beckham, but this seems pretty concrete.

Can't wait for Supreme Court Christmas cards this year. "Seasons Greetings from the Judges of the Supreme Court, except Miller J who agrees but writes separately."

Once again claiming zingers as CPD.

I'm not saying it would be grounds for removal but I'd expect at least a head of bench referral for pluralising body corporate as body corporates.

The finalists for the Simpson Grierson People & Culture Excellence Award are… Simpson Grierson.

Been out of town for two weeks at a hearing but now back in my happy place (brunch with much more talented wife, eight plus the theme on the FT Quiz, and now safely in the office with double screens and writing a set of subs citing Daganayasi).

I bought the old Bernard Brown book I mentioned the other day, and it’s packed with fantastic Graham Percy illustrations. Look at this chap! It’s me!