Kiwilaw – and its lawyer-founder, Cheryl Simes – have always been different.
And difficult.
And always with reasons, as noted by Cheryl’s own lawyer – the late Peter Gorringe.
She asked him more than a decade ago, ‘Am I unreasonably difficult?’
He replied, without hesitation, ‘No! You are difficult – but you always have reasons.’
Online legal solutions?
Cheryl was recently asked what led her to start developing an online legal solution.
She realised it was the natural next step.
It came from a lifetime of interest in computers and systems, and the law, and communication, and helping ordinary people with paperwork – including previous studies in history and politics, and archives management, developing a new manual system at National Archives (that was subsequently computerised and is still visible on Archives New Zealand’s Archway portal), and exposure to the best of management theory and the worst of management practices during 2 years or so at Telecom in Hamilton.
It came from an illusion that nobody would ever be able to do that to her again if she went to law school.
It came from a commitment to excellence, and proven legal ability – including being the top student in her year at law school.
It came from helping Maori clients finalise estates that had somehow never been concluded although the files no longer existed.
It came from exposure to David Maister’s writings about professional service firms, and Tom Peter’s writings about excellence and innovation, and incredulity that legal practice was at times antediluvian.
It came after years of challenge in the legal system, including further devastating experiences when people ‘did that to her again’ because they did not like her challenges and, in the case of the Legal Services Agency and one of NZLS’s Standards Committees, failed a basic test in statutory interpretation. She had wrongly believed that lawyers would respect the law and apply its basic principles.
It came from the need for a change from family law, which she had never intended to practise in and had done only because, in the first years of the 21st century, she needed some family legal-aid work because the administration of civil legal aid was (then) hopelessly slow and unreliable. She continued too long because she was led to believe nobody else was reliably available in Hamilton for urgent protection-order work.
It came from studying mediation and being unable to get practical experience to take it further, and also learning about its potential from international colleagues and experts, and seeing its true potential dismissed and devalued by many in the family-law community.
It came from a move from the Waikato to small-town North Canterbury (for family reasons), and the need to decide what to do next.
It came from learning about ‘unbundled legal services’ and hearing Forrest (Woody) Mosten at AFCC Conferences and reading his books and learning of his own history of early harassment by the legal regulators who did not like something different.
It came from a local client who was bewildered by what they she (the client) was told by the law firms she consulted about letters of administration. She asked whether Cheryl could do letters of administration. It was only 20 years since Cheryl had last done letters of administration and it hadn’t changed much. It was a chance to try providing ‘unbundled legal services’. It sparked the idea of providing unbundled ‘letters of administration’ services.
It came from reading an article that said there were about 1500 applications for letters of administration and 15,000 applications for probate every year.
It came from a chat with an IT expert who was surprised that nobody was yet doing it (an automated probate service in New Zealand).
It came from searching for something that would convert inwards data from online forms into something compatible with Word mail merge.
It came from seeing an article that talked about a new online platform, being built in New Zealand, for creating automated legal documents – and then seeing key improvements that made it viable to use that platform.
It came from a need for flexible work, ongoing self-employment, independence, and an acknowledged incompatibility with the internal culture of traditional law firms.
It came from a belief that legal fees should not be exorbitant and should be transparent.
It came from a commitment to doing things better.
Principles
These non-negotiable principles underpin Kiwilaw today:
- excellence in performance – academic performance, client service, legal accuracy
- ethical decisions and priorities
- consistent systems and procedures, whether manual or computerised
- helping people make peace with each other
- freedom of lawful expression
- constant small improvements in procedures, services, and methods
- accessibility to Maori clients – as also to non-Maori – without pretending we are all the same
- the best of the rule of law – the principle that everyone is subject to the law, no one is above the law, government cannot go beyond what the law permits, the law should be consistent and predictable and accessible, and should not play favourites