2008/220

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Income Sharing With Patent Attorneys) Regulations 2008

Anand Satyanand, Governor-General

Order in Council

At Wellington this 28th day of July 2008  
Present:His Excellency the Governor-General in Council

Pursuant to sections 94 and 108 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, His Excellency the Governor-General, acting on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council, makes the following regulations.

Contents

1 Title
2 Commencement
3 Interpretation
4 Income sharing
5 Notice requirements
6 Transitional provision relating to notice requirements
7 Requirements for mixed practices relating to communications, advertisements, etc
8 Application of Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008

Regulations

1 Title

These regulations are the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Income Sharing with Patent Attorneys) Regulations 2008.

2 Commencement

These regulations come into force on 1 August 2008.

3 Interpretation

(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Act means the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006
income-sharing arrangement means an agreement, whether in writing or otherwise, to share income in accordance with regulation 4
Law Society means the New Zealand Law Society
mixed practice means a firm conducted by 1 or more patent attorneys and where all the partners in the firm are patent attorneys and 1 or more partners in the firm are lawyers
patent attorney means a person who is registered as a patent attorney under section 100 of the Patents Act 1953
patent attorney firm means a patent attorney firm whether conducted by 1 patent attorney or a partnership of patent attorneys or a company carrying on business as a patent attorney pursuant to section 103(2) of the Patents Act 1953
practice means a law practice, whether conducted by 1 lawyer, a partnership of lawyers, or an incorporated law firm
rules of conduct and client care for lawyers are the rules of conduct and client care for lawyers set out in the Schedule of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008.

(2) Any term that is defined in the Act and used, but not defined, in these regulations has the meaning given in the Act.

4 Income sharing

Income may be shared between the following:
(a) a practice and a patent attorney firm:
(b) a mixed practice and a practice:
(c) a patent attorney firm and a mixed practice:
(d) lawyers and patent attorneys in the same mixed practice:
(e) lawyers and patent attorneys in a company carrying on business as a patent attorney pursuant to section 103(2) of the Patents Act 1953.

5 Notice requirements

(1) A practice or mixed practice that enters into an income-sharing arrangement must give notice in writing to the Law Society of the following:
(a) the date the income-sharing arrangement commences:
(b) any changes to the parties to the income-sharing arrangement:
(c) the date any income-sharing arrangement terminates:
(d) the date of creation of a mixed practice:
(e) the date of dissolution of a mixed practice:
(f) the partnership of a mixed practice and any alteration to that partnership.

(2) A notice given under this regulation must include the name and address of the relevant patent attorney firm.
(3) A notice is not required in respect of an income-sharing arrangement that is a one-off instance of income sharing.

6 Transitional provision relating to notice requirements

Every practice or mixed practice that, before or on the commencement of these regulations, entered into an income-sharing arrangement must comply with the regulation 5(1).

7 Requirements for mixed practices relating to communications, advertisements, etc

(1) Every lawyer in a mixed practice must ensure that all of his or her communications, advertisements, promotional material, or representations concerning the provision of legal services that use any of the terms set out in subclause (2)—
(a) identify the lawyer or lawyers providing the legal services; and
(b) identify any partner of the mixed practice who is not a lawyer but who is involved in the provision of the legal services.

(2) The terms referred to in subclause (1) are—
(a) a lawyer:
(b) a law practitioner:
(c) a legal practitioner:
(d) a barrister:
(e) a solicitor:
(f) a barrister and solicitor:
(g) an attorney-at-law:
(h) counsel.

8 Application of Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008

(1) The provision by a lawyer, a lawyer's practice, or an incorporated law firm of patent attorney services pursuant to an income-sharing arrangement is not a breach of rule 5.5.1 of the rules of conduct and client care for lawyers (which restricts the provision of services other than regulated services by a lawyer) set out in the Schedule to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008.
(2) A lawyer who receives from a third party any reward or inducement in respect of any advice given, referrals made, products or services purchased, or any work done for a client pursuant to an income-sharing arrangement is not in breach of rule 5.9 of the rules of conduct and client care for lawyers (which generally prohibits the receipt of collateral rewards) set out in the Schedule to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008.

Michael Webster,for Clerk of the Executive Council.

Explanatory note

This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.
These regulations, which come into force on 1 August 2008, set out the circumstances in which lawyers and patent attorneys may share income. Income may be shared between—

a practice and a patent attorney firm:
a mixed practice and a practice:
a patent attorney firm and a mixed practice:
lawyers and patent attorneys in the same mixed practice:
lawyers and patent attorneys in a company carrying on business as a patent attorney pursuant to section 103(2) of the Patents Act 1953.

The term mixed practice covers a firm that includes both lawyers and patent attorneys within a partnership.
Regulation 5 requires practices and mixed practices to give notice of certain matters relating to income-sharing arrangements to the New Zealand Law Society.
Regulation 6 is a transitional provision relating to notices.
Regulation 7 ensures that information provided by lawyers in mixed practices informs consumers, potential clients, and existing clients whether they are dealing with a lawyer or a non-lawyer.
Regulation 8 provides that certain rules set out in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 do not apply to lawyers providing services under an income sharing-arrangement.

Issued under the authority of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989.
Date of notification in Gazette: 31 July 2008.
These regulations are administered by the Ministry of Justice.