NZ Asian Lawyers and the NZ Law Society have partnered to hold the inaugural NZ Asian Lawyers Awards, to be presented by the Attorney General, the Hon Judith Collins KC, who will also be speaking at the event.
Russell McVeagh will kindly be hosting the event at the Vero Centre, Level 30, 48 Shortland St, Auckland on 1 November from 5-8pm. Online access will be available as well as physical
attendance at the event to allow those outside of Auckland to participate.
Information about the Awards are set out below and the Judging Panel will be led by former Governor-General, Judge and Ombudsman Sir Anand Satyanand and the Vice President (South Island) of the NZLS Taryn Gudmanzn.
President of NZ Asian Lawyers Mai Chen who came up with the idea of the Awards will explain why they are needed.
Vice President and secretary of the NZ Asian Lawyers Board Pam Davidson and Takeshi Ito will speak about the criteria and nominations process and then Sir Anand Satyanand and Taryn Gudmanz will speak about the judging process and the nominations received and the decision making process.
This event will be free for all NZ Asian Lawyers and Law Society members. There will be a charge of $25 for non-members of NZ Asian Lawyers or the Law Society.
NZ Asian Lawyer of the Year Award
The 2024 NZ Asian Lawyer of the Year (includes private practice, in-house lawyers, academic lawyers and public servants) may be awarded to a lawyer of Asian descent, practising in New Zealand who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession/organisation they work for. Such contributions include a significant contribution to assist lawyers of Asian descent in New Zealand in a practical / tangible way, significant contribution to issues concerning access to justice and the promotion of justice for Asian or culturally and linguistically diverse parties in the courts. These could include:
- Providing legal services to Asian New Zealanders in a way that is in line with New Zealand Asian Lawyers’ Inc. objectives;
- Promoting the rule of law
- Providing a valuable contribution to initiatives that have benefitted the Asian community in New Zealand with legal services or issues.
Young NZ Asian Lawyer of the Year Award
The Young NZ Asian Lawyer of the Year (includes private practice, in-house lawyers, academic lawyers and public servants) may be awarded to a lawyer of Asian descent, practising in New Zealand who is under the age of 30 and employed in practice for less than 5 years as at [date] 2024 who has made an outstanding valuable contribution to the organisation they work for and who have made a significant contribution to assist lawyers of Asian descent in New Zealand in a practical / tangible way. These could include:
- Excellence in the provision of legal services to the Asian community in New Zealand;
- Demonstrated leadership potential to be able to be a leader for Asian lawyers in New Zealand
- Provided a valuable contribution to the legal profession in New Zealand which has benefited their firm / organisation and the wider community.
Award category limits
- Restrictions: nominees need to be current members of New Zealand Asian Lawyers Inc. and hold a current NZLS Practising Certificate which has not lapsed and have no disciplinary charges determined or pending against them;
- A person can be nominated in any one of the individual award categories. Self-nominations will be accepted.
The judging panel may determine if a nomination received for a person / category falls these criteria. In such event. the judges may disregard, re-categorise or amend the nomination in their sole discretion. - NZAL Board Members (including the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) cannot be nominated in any individual award categories
Nominations
Nominations (including self-nominations) for both awards are very much encouraged from the wider profession. We are looking for outstanding Asian lawyers in New Zealand who have shown a clear accomplishment in any field of the law including private and in-house practice, teaching, research or community services.
All lawyers of Asian descent and holding a current NZLS in-house practicing certificate are eligible for the 2024 Awards. The 2024 award period runs from 1 September 2023 until the closing date for nominations (30 August 2024). Activities started prior to 1 September 2023 can be included in nominations as long they continued into the award period.
While there is no prescribed form for nominations, we would appreciate a detailed submission highlighting the reasons / events why the nominee is suitable for consideration for the award. Supporting information from external sources may be included but should be concise. Nominations should be sent to nzasian.lawyers@gmail.com. There will be an announcement of shortlisted candidates who will then be interviewed to determine the award winners.
All nomination information will be kept confidential and only information about award winners will be disclosed at the awards event. Award winners and their nominators both give consent for New Zealand Asian Lawyers to use (or edit or adapt) and publish the content of the nomination information as part of the awards event.
