Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon

Is Adversarialism Dead? New Foundations for Legal Process and Lawyers' Ethics, 2012

This colloquium explored the need for new ethical frameworks, beyond adversarialism, to support new and emergent forms of legal work, particularly those being opened up by increasing deregulation of the legal services market. We considered the following trends:

  • Possible consequences for legal policy and ethics in New Zealand of the recent emergence of commercial litigation funders in Australia and Europe
  • Implications for civil procedure and legal ethics of shifting from a party and lawyer-controlled, adversarial system of litigation to one in which judges, clients, funders and others exert far greater influence
  • How e-discovery re-shapes professional relationships which may be transformed through increased use of expedited and impersonal processes
  • The rise of client preference for non-combative styles of lawyering, eg "collaborative" divorce proceedings
  • The impact on professional ethics of the transfer of ownership of law firms from partners to public shareholders.

Colloquium organising committee co-chairs: Professor Kim Economides and Associate Professor Selene Mize.

Legal Ethics Colloquium keynote speakers

  • Peter Cashman, Kim Santow Chair in Law and Justice, Sydney Law School
  • W Bradley Wendel, Professor of Law, Cornell University School of Law and Visiting Scholar, University of Otago Legal Issues Centre
Back to top