By ERIN EBBORN
Principal Lawyer/Rōia Aporei

Whether you’re a graduate at the coalface or leading the highest court in the land, there’s one thing you have in common: a commitment to justice.

On a recent visit to Portia’s Christchurch office, the Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann showed an appreciation of the work Portia staff have done to promote access to justice in New Zealand, particularly in the field of family law.

Access to justice in New Zealand is a basic human right enshrined in both national and international law. The work to improve it primarily involves identifying and removing barriers. Some barriers – such as the cost of legal advice – are obvious, others are harder to see.

Digital poverty, age, fear, homelessness, mental illness, addiction, bureaucracy, ethnicity and inherent social bias are all things that prevent segments of society from getting a fair go.

There is a choice that every lawyer and law firm can make when it comes to how we deal with our clients: we can deliver legal services dispassionately, or; we can treat them holistically to help resolve their legal problem in the context of what else is going on in their life.
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The former is perfectly acceptable but the latter can be achieved through planning and good networking.

In 2019 the incoming Chief Justice of New Zealand broke with protocol and in doing so set two justice juggernauts on a collision course.

Dame Helen invited Auckland City Missioner, Chris Farrelly, to give the speech in reply at her swearing in.

In his speech, Chris quoted poet and civil rights activist MayaAngelou, paying tribute to the new Chief Justice as both a “composition and a composer” – someone who not only composes the future of their own life but also helping the future of everyone around her.

The speech inspired Erin Ebborn and Jarrod Coburn to write to the City Missioner, seeking ways to assist their clients access justice.
After 18 months of discussion and planning an operational ​MOU was

issues and barriers faced by the Mission’s client base, a very different situation to our women’s refuge partners.

Portia’s Jarrod Coburn sees the new arrangement as “a very significant step” in the role law firms will play in building trust and legitimacy within the justice system.
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When people lead by example ​then others often are compelled to follow. Chris Farrelly and the Chief Justice together presented a wero to the profession. Nobody should be afraid to pick up the taki.

Just before 9 A.M. the first ‘portal’ of the day sounds an alert simultaneously in Christchurch, Timaru and Blenheim.  This one is a test: a daily ritual that reminds everyone that this is not a ‘normal’ law firm.

By the end of the day there might have been as many as ten alerts, each representing a potential life-or-death situation for a woman, possibly also children.

Most people in New Zealand think law is a predictable, even boring, profession.  Not so at Portia.  Their principal lawyer, Erin Ebborn, describes her work as “a bit like Shortland Street every day.”

“Law is a mystery to most people,” says Erin, “Lawyers are portrayed in the entertainment industry as power-dressing intellectuals, able to swoop into a courtroom and hypnotise a jury with ease.”
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The reality is somewhat different.

“It’s fair to say that most lawyers in New Zealand are ordinary people who have undertaken intensive training and carry high expectations on their shoulders.  They come from diverse backgrounds but share one thing in common: a desire for justice.”
A number of high-profile domestic violence cases, recently covered by media, have passed through the urgent portals of Portia.  This is one of the ‘evolutions’ that chief executive Jarrod Coburn is most proud of.
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“A key part of the success of a legal system is that people have access to justice,” says Jarrod, “Access means different things, depending on an individual’s personal situation. Sometimes a person is put in a situation where they have no resources, no friends and a chilling fear of immediate harm. In those circumstances stepping foot in a law office might be near impossible. Justice, in that case, is inaccessible.” This example is one that Portia lawyers see time and again, and prompted the firm to partner with women’s refuges to make justice more accessible for those experiencing family violence.

“When we started to understand the client’s perspective it became obvious a traditional approach was not ideal,” says Jarrod. “We cooperated with refuges and developed a solution that meant women had priority access to a specially-trained lawyer, a grant of legal aid and – ultimately – a temporary protection order, all within 48 hours from notification.”

Temporary protection orders are granted by a Family Court Judge who sits on a nationwide ‘virtual bench’ called e-Duty.  Timeframes are strict: there is a cut-off at Noon and another at 3 PM.  Time is of the essence due to the consideration of ‘necessity’ that judges are bound to consider in the interest of justice; the more time that has passed between the violence and the application, the more chance there is of the application being refused or put ‘on notice’.

Erin Ebborn says that can seem unfair, however justice must be balanced.  “An application made urgently is called ‘without notice’. This means that the respondent – the person accused of the violence – doesn’t get a chance to put their case to the Judge prior to a temporary protection order being issued.”
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“This is a significant use of power by the Judiciary. It grants the Police authority to arrest a person if the order is breached. It restricts the freedom of movement of the respondent, meaning they cannot go to certain places and absolutely cannot go near the people covered by the order without their ​permission. Other orders can be granted to give temporary possession of furniture and chattels to the applicant and even force the respondent from the family home.”
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“When a lawyer certifies a without notice application they are making an oath – as an Officer of the Court – that they sincerely believe there is an urgent need for that order,” says Erin, “It is a significant power that requires a high level of responsibility.”

​It’s 12:45, just before lunch, and a portal alert is received from a refuge outside of Christchurch.  A client of the refuge needs a Protection Order but there is an even more pressing need: her child has been taken by her abusive partner, who is threatening to fly out of New Zealand.  All thoughts of lunch are put to one side as the case is immediately triaged and assigned to a lawyer. The urgency of this case cannot be underestimated: it could mean a mother and her child being separated forever.

“There is an agreement between countries, signed by New Zealand in 1991, by an intergovernmental group called the Hague Conference on Private International Law,” says Erin, “The agreement is commonly referred to as the ‘Hague Convention’ and provides a remedy for the return

Ebborn Law launched a new brand at its new headquarters in the heart of the Christchurch CBD on March 1st. A wide variety of people attended, including members of the legal profession, political figures and a number of Portia’s NGO partners. In typical style the event was catered entirely by ​Portia staff.
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Chief Executive Officer Jarrod Coburn opened the event with a whaikōrero (formal speech). He called for changes within the legal profession, questioning the way the profession ran itself; advocated for a more business-focused approach to bring the profession into the modern world. Jarrod emphasised the need to review and revamp the way legal aid is delivered: firms, he said, are too often forced to jump through administrative hoops only to receive a fee that is a risk ​

a third of what a private client would bring in. These hurdles are the major cause of law firms shunning legal aid work, as it is seen as too much risk for 

risk for not enough return.

​The attendees were grateful to two very special guests, the Minister of Justice Andrew Little and Mayor of Christchurch Lianne Dalziel.

​Through his speech the Minister showed a genuine interest in the workings of grass-roots law firms and a good grasp of the issues facing the profession today.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel was very gracious in the praise she had for Erin and the team. She reflected on the growth of the firm since she attended the opening in 2012 – in particular the bright new premises.

Erin Ebborn rounded up speeches. She highlighted the progress Ebborn Law/Portia had made and her ambitions for the future.

An exciting piece of news: after six happy years in our Addington office Portia’s Christchurch branch will be relocating. From 15 January next year Portia’s mid-Canterbury operation will be based out of new and improved premises at the BNZ Centre, 111 Cashel Street.

This is something that has been in the works for a long time. We are ambitious in our vision for Portia. We want to grow and continue to provide excellent legal services to as many ​people as we can. We know that larger premises and a more central location will help us thrive.

It is our vision that every person in New Zealand has the ability to access a lawyer and the justice system.

​One million New Zealanders are directly affected by family violence and the Government is moving to strengthen legislation covering this.

The Family Violence Amendment Act came into effect this month. Strangulation, coerced marriage and assault on a person in a family relationship are now offences under the law.

strangulation after a family harm incident.

The changes, designed to help curb family violence, are part of the Family Violence (Amendment) Act. The legislation was passed unanimously last month. The maximum seven year sentence for strangulation reflects the seriousness of the offending.
The new legislation also allows victims of family violence offending 

Portia Development Manager Rachel Black was given the opportunity to speak at the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges AGM last month. Rachel has a long history with Women’s Refuge: she spent 15 years working at Marlborough Refuge, eleven of which were as

This was a great chance for Rachel to preserve and further develop the strong relationships we have formed with the collective over the past six years.
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Rachel’s presentation focused on the transition to the new Portia brand and how we are leading

Portia brand and how we are leading the way in the evolution of law.

The opportunity to hear about the things refuges have been doing and their plans for the future was invaluable, and highlighted the importance of this awesome movement.

The Future Firm Forum was held at the world-class Millbrook Resort, Queenstown, on the 19th and 20th of October. The Future Firm Forum is a law firm leadership and management conference attended by partners, directors, managers and lawyers from across the country, Australia and the UK. A number of speakers, including Portia principal lawyer Erin Ebborn and CEO Jarrod Coburn, addressed issues facing modern law firms; discussing how firms can innovate for and build a sustainable legal profession.

In their presentation, titled “If You Don’t like Change Then You’ll Hate Obsolescence”, Jarrod and Erin examined the business of law, as well as structural and systemic issues facing the legal profession. The focus was on promoting a sustainable future and Portia was provided as an exemplar case.

Jarrod and Erin emphasised the historic tendency for the legal profession to be rigid and inflexible, thereby suppressing innovation. They argued that maintaining the status quo puts modern firms at risk of falling by the wayside. They also stressed that law firms are ultimately businesses, something that is often forgotten when providing legal services. As businesses it is crucial that they are innovative, flexible and forward-thinking, and adopt good business practices.

Jarrod urged the legal profession to have an internal conversation about the critical structural and systemic issues faced by today’s lawyers. The workshop concluded by examining the necessity for the profession to learn to adapt and build more resilience to changes in societal attitudes, consumer behaviours, economic factors and attitudes towards changing labour markets.

Katherine Thomas runs her own business development consultancy for professionals in Perth. Her speech “Contract lawyers: So much more than labour

labour arbitrage”, examined contract lawyer services and the ways in which firms can use them to their advantage to provide new strategic options.

Katherine shared insights into “flexible lawyering” and how firms can make the most of it through innovation, competition and flexibility. She used a number of case studies to illustrate her point, and showed how firms can adapt to contract lawyer services in a low cost, low risk way.

She discussed the recent overseas trend of “Gig Economies” (economies in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements) and discussed how they might operate in New Zealand.advantage to provide new strategic options.

David Sharrock is the Managing Principal of Sharrock Pitman Legal, the winner of the Law Institute of Victoria’s Boutique Law Firm of the Year Award for 2018. He travelled from Melbourne to attend the Forum.

His speech “Gotta keep the customer satisfied!” focused on law firms adopting a customer-centric approach to providing legal services. Forum participants learned how to improve customer service, to devise a customer care charter, to price the customer-centric way, to coach the team to be fully customer-centric and to guarantee their service and products.

Attendees were granted a special sneak-preview of his brand new book “Fighting for Enterprise Success: through the eye of the tiger”. This book aims to help leaders of any enterprise to succeed. It provides a number self-assessment tools, samples, templates and stories, combined with sound, practical ideas and suggestions. Portia will be using David’s book to train staff in good enterprise practices.

Simon McCrum travelled from the UK to attend the Forum. Simon has a long track record of success as part of the management team at Pannone, overseeing a massive growth in the firm’s turnover. He also launched the Connect2Law network for law firms.

His speech, “Foundations for your Future” was focused on organisational management in law firms. He drew heavily on his own experience both as a Managing Partner of Darby’s and as a founder of his own businesses, McCrum & Co, a management consultancy for law firms.

Simon offered a profound insight into post-liberalisation England. His speech focused on the necessity for law firms to be constantly growing. He shared his own experiences of turning Darby’s from a struggling firm into the UK’s fastest growing law firm. He identified the ten “foundations of growth” which he believes to be necessary for the easy and healthy growth of a firm.

Comedian and television personality Te Radar wrapped up the Forum as the final speaker, with a presentation titled “Pride and Precedent: celebrating history through humour”.

His presentation centred on who we are as New Zealanders and what shapes our nature, examined through a historical lens. History provides an insight into the people and events that led us to where we are today. Te Radar argued that a robust understanding of history is important, not only to appreciate our culture and heritage, but also to understand the present.

While it had little to do with the future of law, Te Radar's talk had everything to do with why the attendees were there.

The Forum was an incredible eye-opener and a truly educational experience. It offered Jarrod and Erin the chance to meet a range of interesting, successful people with unique perspectives and insights into management techniques in a structural, operational and strategic capacity.

According to Erin and Jarrod...

David Sharrock
"A thoroughly delightful gentleman. He knows his stuff!"

Katherine Thomas
"A bright star in the firmament of law consultancy."

Simon McCrum
"The energy exuded by this man could power a small village."

Te Radar
"An excellent raconteur. He has the measure of New Zealand's heartstrings."

Kudos to Mr Simon Tupman who is more than a consultant and event organiser: this man is hospitality personified. The Future Firm Forum is both intensive and relaxed at the same time. It is a no-miss event for any lawyer or manager with an eye to improvement and sustainability for their business and the profession.

 Portia Development Manager Rachel Black and Operations Manager Samantha Ngaia recently attended the Social Services Providers Aotearoa (SSPA) conference to present on recent developments in family law. Portia is proud to be a sponsor of the event and to have been given the chance to present. I personally believe social service providers play a crucial role in the lives of many of our clients and am proud to work for a law firm that has such strong relationships with the sector.

Sam and Rachel addressed the delegates on the new Family and Whanau Violence Bill (now the Family Violence Act and the Family Violence (Amendments) delegates

(Amendments) Act); Minister Little’s review of the 2014 Family Court reforms, and; the provision of family ​legal aid in Aotearoa. 

Portia’s approach is that it is vital for social services to have an up-to-date knowledge of the law so this was a good opportunity to use our expertise to benefit the sector. The relationships staff form with social service providers are mutually beneficial.

​The conference gave us a chance to keep on top of what’s going on with the social services. First contact with a lawyer is a chance to get advice on areas of life a person might have concerns about. We

Portia has been recognised for the work it has done to improve gender equality. At a ceremony at Government House in Auckland, Erin Ebborn, along with representatives of six other organisations, received a White Camellia award.

The award is recognition for the effort Portia (formerly Ebborn Law) has done to create a poisitive working environment for women, promote pay parity among male and female employees and for work in the community, particularly in the field of domestic violence.

This is a very proud moment for all the Portia team, and goes a long way to justify the hard work, sacrifice and (in some instances) leaps of faith that we've taken over the past six years. It comes at a critical point in our journey as we move from Ebborn Law - a specialist family law firm - to Portia: the evolution of law and a totally new way of approaching how law firms are structured, how they employ staff and how they deliver services.

CEO Jarrod Coburn along with principal lawyer Erin Ebborn will be at the Future Firm Forum in October 2018, presenting a three-hour interactive workshop on bringing law firms into the 21st Century and beyond.