ANZ’s Fairness Fantasy John Bowie, LawFuel publisher Few corporate moments are more revealing than watching a major bank discover that equality before the law cuts both ways, especially when the cutting edge is pointed at them. ANZ’s reaction to this week’s Finance and Expenditure Committee report offers a masterclass in selective principle. The bank appears
Senior Partner Exodus At Meredith Connell John Bowie, LawFuel publisher New Zealand’s largest litigation firm is doing what law firms euphemistically call a “strategic review”, which in plain English usually means people are being shown the door with polite smiles and carefully worded press releases. But at Meredith Connell, this isn’t a gentle reshuffle of
What Does The Meredith Connell ‘Strategic Review’ Really Signal? Read More »
The Greens’ Unvarnished, Eye-Swivelling Lunacy John Bowie, LawFuel publisher There was a time the Greens were about rivers, birds and the occasional knitted hat. Now it’s performative rage with a compostable sticker slapped on. The weekend stunt at Winston Peters’ place wasn’t protest but the political equivalent of keying a car and then lecturing the
The Greens Have Gone From Bees to Brickbats at Night Read More »
Will She Stay, Or Will She Go? John Bowie, LawFuel publisher A Judicial Conduct Panel has graciously cleared its diary for a fortnight in February to deliberate whether District Court Judge Ema Aitken’s spirited intervention at the Northern Club – the ‘Clubgate Drama’ – merits her departure from the judiciary a fate which, one notes
Northern Club Judicial Fracas Hearing Set For February Read More »
The Iron Men of Social Media John Bowie, LawFuel publisher I was in Nice with the iron Man champs, by pure happenstance I must add, (the Norwegians swept the top places just in case care) when the Charlie Kirk social media pile-on occurred. And being an Iron Man (in a non-generic sense) is what seems
Charlie Kirk’s Murder – When Debate Dies and the Mob Dances on the Grave Read More »
John Bowie, LawFuel publisher New Zealand has never been shy about exporting its former prime ministers, Jacinda Ardern being the major star-turn on this stage at present, but the latest double-act is something to behold. In a masterclass of geopolitical gymnastics Helen Clark and John Key have demonstrated the fine art of selective moral outrage. For
Former Kiwi PMs’ Selective Outrage and Convenient Blindness Read More »
The Spectacular Trial Successes of Gerry Spence John Bowie, LawFuel publisher I met Gerry Spence, who died earlier this month, at his Jackson Hole office during his Christmas Party – a young (then) New Zealand lawyer seeking to meet a living legend trial lawyer who reputedly never lost a criminal case. It was the early
Gerry Spence: The Fringed Buckskin Legend Who Redefined American Trial Law Read More »
The Great Ministerial No-Show John Bowie, LawFuel publisher Dentons have been the legal hands behind the ministerial no show at the Covid inquiry, turning the situation into something of a damp squid, which is presumably the intention, after leading the charge on the most intrusive and destructive government disaster New Zealand has seen. The pulpit
Dentons NZ: The Unseen Hand Behind Labour’s Covid Curtain Read More »
Chris Finlayson and Andrew Harmos Demand Answers. Judith Collins Says Nothing John Bowie, LawFuel publisher When former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson KC and former NZX Chair Andrew Harmos – both key ‘power list lawyers’ FYI – start calling for investigations, you’d typically expect National Party MPs to at least clear their throats. Instead? Nothing. Zip. Despite
National’s Silence on Banking Law Controversy Gets More Mysterious by the Day Read More »
John Bowie, LawFuel publisher It used to be that becoming a lawyer in Britain required intelligence, effort, and even resilience. Now, apparently, it requires none of the above. A small but vocal crowd of aspiring solicitors is demanding that the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) be made easier. The Telegraph’s Suevalla Braverman writes about ‘Snowflake Solicitors’
UK Law – The Bar Is Too High – Say People Who Can’t Jump Read More »
