Latest Legal Commentaries
Tuesday, September 01, 2026
Guidelines for Courtroom Conduct for Counsel
Over the years, I have been asked by a number of law firms to outline to their junior staff the “rules” as to how counsel should behave in Court. There was considerable enthusiasm by the recipients and it was plain that this was a gap in their legal and professional education.I say “rules” because there were none that could readily be ascertained. At most there was best practice which could be passed down by senior counsel by example. Judges have not generally been forthcoming in articulating their expectations.
That is – until now. In July there was published by the More...
Friday, January 30, 2026
The Hon. Robert Smellie CNZM KC
The Hon. Robert Smellie CNZM KC passed away on 23 December 2025. Tributes have
been paid to him by the Chief Justice and by Business Desk (Thomas Manch, 24 December
2025). Both outline his distinguished career as a practicing lawyer, first as partner at
Grierson Jackson and later as a Queen’s Counsel at the Independent Bar. They then
traverse his Judicial career, initially as Chair of the Equal Opportunities Tribunal, then from
1985 as a High Court Judge followed after his retirement from that Bench as a member of
the Fiji Court of Appeal. In 2007 after a military coup More...