The Eccentric Legal Crusades of Tyrone Barugh

/ Lawyers, New Zealand / May 27, 2024 / By LawFuel Editors

We wrote recently about the headlines made by Wellington’s unusual lawyer Tyrone Barugh who sees cases where others may see . . well, nothing really.

His latest foray, which achieved international news, involved Barugh booking and then canceling 58 Jetstar flights when he claimed back NZ$3,540 in Australian passenger movement charges, a tax included in the ticket price of flights out of Australia.

But The Spinoff were intrigued enough with Barugh, a former government lawyer, and his unconventional legal pursuits to send reporter Joel McManus to inquire about his Spilt Milk Law practice and the bizarre legal battles waged on behalf of underdogs and others, with an underlying crusading zeal to achieve justice in New Zealand and beyond.

Barugh is the founder and sole employee of Spilt Milk Law, gaining notoriety for his bizarre legal battles and TikTok presence, where he offers obscure and sometimes morally questionable legal advice.

He pitches himself as a laissez-faire jokester, but there is an underlying sincerity. He’s clearly leaning into his blokey, semi-ironic TikTok persona for me as we chat. Is he playing a character, or is this his real personality? “I think most of it’s me. It’s me outside of work more than me in work mode. If I’m having a work conversation, I have a very professional, very measured tone. I sound like some sort of private school dickhead.”
The Spinoff

One of Barugh’s most prominent crusades was his attempt to enforce the all-but-forgotten Wellington Milk Supply Act 1919. This century-old law grants Wellington City Council a legal monopoly over all milk in the city, effectively making it illegal to sell or possess skim milk without a council license.

Barugh wrote to local supermarkets, informing them of their illegal milk sales, and even applied for a license to open a pop-up milkbar selling legal milk-based cocktails.

Barugh’s legal pursuits often blur the line between genuine legal arguments and humorous stunts. However, beneath his eccentric persona lies a sincere commitment to addressing issues of inequality and access to justice in the legal system.

Through Spilt Milk Law, he offers low-cost legal consultations, aiming to provide affordable advice to those who might not otherwise have access.

Additionally, Barugh is actively seeking registration as a lawyer in various territories, including the Solomon Islands, where he hopes to offer pro bono online consultations to address the shortage of legal professionals.

He currently has practising certificates for Pitcairn Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, New South Wales and New Zealand.

While some may view him as a “disgrace to the legal profession,” Barugh’s unique approach has garnered a following among fellow lawyers and ‘curious bystanders’ to his campaigns, who appreciate his offbeat takes on the law.

Navigating the line between provocative antics and genuine legal advocacy is a high-risk pursuit, which leaves Barugh’s future endeavors as a source of intrigue and curiosity in the legal community.

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LawFuel Editors

LawFuell's editors select and publish the most relevant and up-to-date information about lawyers and law firms for LawFuel on a daily basis from the most reputable and independent sources available.

Chapman Tripp Only NZ Law Firm On Global Arbitration Review List

/ Chapman Tripp, Press Releases / May 27, 2024 / By LawFuel Editors

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GAR 100 is Global Arbitration Review’s guide to specialist international arbitration practices. The guide only includes firms that can demonstrate a consistent stream of international arbitration hearings before credible arbitrators.

Chapman Tripp is the only New Zealand Law Firm to be ranked in the guide, recognising the firm’s dedicated international arbitration practice, led by partner Nicola Swan. The firm has long been acknowledged internationally as having one of New Zealand’s most distinguished litigation and dispute resolution practices. Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific and Legal 500 APAC all rank Chapman Tripp as a ‘Band One’ firm in dispute resolution and four partners were recognised in the 2022 edition The Legal 500’s inaugural Arbitration Powerlist – Australasia Region.

The firm acts in proceedings seated in New Zealand and internationally, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Chapman Tripp’s dispute resolution and international arbitration partners have represented a range of multinationals and international investors on a variety of commercial disputes spanning international trade, foreign investment, financial services, competition, intellectual property, insurance, maritime and tax law.

Chapman Tripp has recently successfully represented clients in significant international arbitration matters before the New Zealand courts. Together with barrister Daniel Kalderimis, Chapman Tripp (Swan) represented LMCH Limited in a major international commercial arbitration, recently resisting an attempt to have the award set aside in the High Court. Chapman Tripp (Swan, with Kalderimis) also represented a French investor in the first application to the New Zealand High Court for recognition of an ICSID arbitral award given by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) its favour against the State of Hungary, worth over €100m.

In recent years Chapman Tripp also defended a multinational corporation in what is believed to have been New Zealand’s largest international arbitration to date – an UNCITRAL claim reported to be in the region of €1 billion in relation to product liability and trade practices.

Practice lead, Nicola Swan is recognised as a Future Leader by Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration 2024. She is presently appointed as an expert on the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Expert Panel on Conciliation under the Paris Agreement. As an advisor to Legal Response International, she also provides pro bono support to developing country state parties to the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement, as well as acting for the Commission of Small Island States in its intervention before the Inter-America Court of Human Rights advisory proceedings in relation to climate change.

Nicola works with construction arbitration specialist partner Sam Holden, as well as with senior associate arbitration specialists Sarah Kuper, Emma Peart, Will Cheyne and Liora Bercovitch.

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LawFuell's editors select and publish the most relevant and up-to-date information about lawyers and law firms for LawFuel on a daily basis from the most reputable and independent sources available.