This section has resources for duty lawyers. It includes information about the operation of the duty lawyer service and the responsibilities of duty lawyers.
The duty lawyer roster is managed either by:
Having an approval as a duty lawyer does not guarantee a place on the duty lawyer roster. To view the selection criteria, you can download the section criteria.
Duty lawyer selection criteria [PDF, 49 KB]
Lawyers seeking admission to a court with no PDS presence must apply to legal aid.
Email: dutylawyer@justice.govt.nz
Lawyers seeking admission to a court with the PDS must register their interest with the ICLS. The ICLS will provide information on the current roster vacancy situation. Ongoing admissions to rosters at courts with a PDS are controlled by the roster admission policy [PDF, 667 KB]
Email: duty.lawyer@justice.govt.nz
The duty lawyer operational policy outlines:
Operational policy [PDF, 296 KB]
Duty Lawyer attendance - tax invoice [PDF, 329 KB]
The deputy register or duty lawyer supervisor will certify that the tax invoice - attendance form is correct before it’s emailed to the legal aid office. This form is in the above Operational policy document.
The court-specific duty lawyer instructions for courts with PDS are listed below:
Napier & Hastings [PDF, 58 KB]
Papakura & Pukekohe [PDF, 68 KB]
Wellington, Lower Hutt & Porirua [PDF, 80 KB]
The Duty Lawyer Operational policy for the AODT Courts and other relevant information can be found on the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment (AODT) courts page.
The monthly rosters are generated to provide the courts with the required number of duty lawyers to effectively service the court. These are released periodically as and when the court provides Legal Aid with the required information.
Ashburton - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 103 KB]
Blenheim - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 102 KB]
Dannevirke - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 77 KB]
Gisborne, Wairoa & Ruatoria - expires 28 February 2022 [PDF, 88 KB]
Gore - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 98 KB]
Greymouth - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 107 KB]
Huntly - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 104 KB]
Invercargill - expires 31 March 2022 [PDF, 88 KB]
Kaitaia, Dargaville & Whangarei - expires 28 February 2022 [PDF, 115 KB]
Kaikohe - expires 31 January [PDF, 99 KB]
Kaikoura - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 97 KB]
Levin - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 83 KB]
Masterton - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 106 KB]
Morrinsville - expires 28 February 2022 [PDF, 78 KB]
Nelson - expires 31 March 2022 [PDF, 84 KB]
New Plymouth & Hawera - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 91 KB]
Oamaru - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 99 KB]
Palmerston North - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 106 KB]
Queenstown & Alexandra - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 106 KB]
Rotorua - expires 9 January 2022 [PDF, 108 KB]
Taumarunui - expires 28 February 2022 [PDF, 75 KB]
Taupo - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 77 KB]
Te Awamutu - expires 28 February 2022 [PDF, 99 KB]
Te Kuiti - expires 28 February 2022 [PDF, 101 KB]
Thames - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 102 KB]
Timaru - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 102 KB]
Tokoroa - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 80 KB]
Waipukurau - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 100 KB]
Westport - expires 31 January 2022 [PDF, 98 KB]
Whakatane & Opotiki - expires 31 December 2021 [PDF, 104 KB]
Whanganui - expires 31 March 2022 [PDF, 90 KB]
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