Ebborn Law
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YES WE CAN HELP YOU DURING THE CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN.
Call or email now and speak to the Legal Response Team and see how we can help!


support@Portia.law

Freephone 0800 339 223

We're one of the largest specialist family litigators in New Zealand.  Get in touch and see what we can do to help you.


Latest News

Te Hunga Rōia Māori O Aotearoa Hui-ā-Tau

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By AMY C.
Lawyer/Rōia
I attended the 2019 Te Hunga Rōia Māori O Aotearoa annual conference in Wellington, from the 28th to the 31st of August. The theme was Nā ko te pō he rā ki tua (Here we are in the dark, a new day is yet to come).

According to the conference organisers the theme not just applies to Māori, but also to “those whom the legal system has let down, ignored or forgotten. Too often the legal system leaves Māori in the dark, and Te Hunga Rōia Māori has a responsibility to bring Māori out into the light”.
​​The attendees represented a magnificent mix of skill, experience and knowledge from across the legal spectrum. Three hundred people registered and attended the hui-ā-tau, a hundred of whom were university law students; the remainder were practitioners, academics and members of ​the judiciary.

​We were greeted with a beautiful powhiri on the Wednesday afternoon at Pipitea Marae on the Victoria University campus. It was a great start, providing  the  unique  mix   of 
culture, warmth and passion that only a Maori led event can bring.

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The talks were educational and inspiring, and workshops covered a wide range of topics including Maori land law, a critical look at the criminal jurisdiction, family law, iwi policy making, the judiciary and even how the LLB is taught. It was amazing to see such passion and expertise on the law from a Maori perspective.

​Highlights for me were the keynote  speech from the Chief 
Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann, the student moot competition final in the Supreme Court and two talks that focused on family law and its place in the legal profession.

mphasis was placed on the small-yet-important changes family lawyers are able to affect in people’s lives. It is our job as family lawyers to work with our clients and the whole whanau to achieve the best outcome.  I learned a lot, the hui was well worth it and I will definitely be back next year. Ānei tātou nā ko te pō; anā tātou he rā ki tua.

Family Violence Reforms

By BEN W.
Lawyer/Rōia
On July 1st 2019 the Family Violence Act came into effect, repealing and replacing the the Domestic Violence Act 1995. The new law was a response by the government to what seems to be an ever-increasing epidemic in New Zealand. While the changes it made weren't necessarily radical they have provided a great deal of clarity to those of us who work in the field.

Most significantly, the new Act has more clearly defined family violence. For example, the Act now specifies that dowry-related abuse falls under the definition of family violence. That isn't to say that lawyers or the judiciary wouldn't have viewed it as violence under the Domestic Violence Act. Then,  economic abuse was defined as violence anyway, and dowry-related abuse sensibly fell under the economic abuse category.

However it is important legislation keeps up with decisions made by the courts, and by including instances such as dowry-related abuse in the new Act the government are making a stand and calling out the behaviour as unacceptable.
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This is a common theme throughout the Act, which also specifies that things like violence towards a partner's pet, or elder abuse, fall under the definition of family violence. Again, these are things that would have come under the jurisdiction of the old Act, but specifying it leaves no doubt in society.

The Act also includes new provisions on sharing information. Family violence agencies and social services are encouraged by the legislation to work together and share information, in the interests of identifying and ultimately preventing family violence.

Under the Act these ‘NGOs’ are allowed to request information about someone involved in family violence.

The information holders then have discretion to decide whether or not to make a disclosure if they believe it will help the recipient use the information for a valid purpose (e.g. preventing family violence or making a  risk assessment).

There have been many other practical changes in the Act, such as extending the maximum length of a police safety order from five to ten days. Also introduced to the statute books is the Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018, which amended various Acts (such as the Crimes Act 1961) to include, amongst other things, the new offences of strangulation and assaulting a family member, and making a Protection Order being in place when an offence is committed an aggravating factor to be considered at sentencing. It has also made the safety of victims, and in particular children, a priority when determining bail.

Overall the changes are welcomed, and we look forward to seeing how they help New Zealand rid itself of the scourge of family violence.

Please scroll down to see where you can go to get help with family violence in New Zealand. Remember, it's not OK to be violent toward anyone!

Greater service, faster response
Legal response team a ‘unique’ approach ​

By JARROD C.
CEO/Kaiwhakahaere
"Le client n'a jamais tort" (The customer is never wrong) was the motto of hotel pioneer César Ritz and was a value shared throughout the world as far back as the start of the 1900s.
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Coming from a hospitality background myself I understand how this is important but in the profession of law it can create some conflict. For example, lawyers are experts in their field and their job is to help people through the complex maze of our justice system.

The way to reconcile this is to say "the customer is always right, but the client often needs guidance".
Traditionally     when      you
engage a lawyer you are treated as a client but not as a customer.

Over the years we have worked to find a way to do both and it has been a fascinating journey. I'm confident that with the introduction of the new 'legal  response team' (LRT) we have reached our goal.

Our 12 lawyers are now divided into three seperate groups: litigation lawyers (who deal with matters before the court); junior lawyers (who are in training and assisted by the principal lawyer), and; the new and unique LRT.
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 There are three people in the LRT. Aidey - the team's coordinater - is joined by Ali 
and  Ruby  (both  lawyers). Their role is to ensure new customers are inducted into the firm, have a good understanding of what to expect, receive immediate legal advice if needed and are assigned to the most suitable litigator if the matter is heading to court.

The LRT will provide general legal advice for ACC, employment, family and civil matters as well as assist clients who need legal aid support.
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‘Great Service, Faster Response’ is the motto of the new team and they’re looking forward to making the Portia experience even better!

LawFest 2020 - revealing the future of law

LawFest is the legal technology and innovation conference of the year that attracts legal professionals from across the country, and abroad. If you want to learn how to adapt and thrive in an industry that’s facing considerable change, and explore opportunities to adapt how you deliver legal services for today and the future, then you need to be at LawFest on 18 March 2020 in Auckland.

Portia Principal Lawyer Erin Ebborn will join Justice Minister Andrew Little on a panel discussion around the future of law, while CEO Jarrod Coburn will present his take on the 'Lawyers Act 2025'.
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Jarrod Coburn is a commentator on management and law and has shared his opinions on the subject quite a lot of times.

Appearing in Court

Lawyers Tania Williams Blyth, Kiriana Tan and retired Family Court Judge, John Adams, scripted and produced a series of videos with funding from the New Zealand Law Foundation and supported by the University of Waikato's Te Piringa - Faculty of Law.

Visiting Family in Prison

On 1 September 2016 the Department of Corrections changed their policy about who can visit someone in prison. If there previously was a parenting order that provided for children to have contact with someone in prison then that contact could usually occur without an issue.

The changes mean that anybody (child or adult) who wishes to have contact with someone in prison, must now be approved as a visitor. Contact includes phone contact, as well as written contact such as letters and cards.

Click here to find out more information.

Getting Fair Outcomes

Ebborn Law and FairWay Resolution Services have worked together for three years, ensuring people entering the family justice system have the best chances to gain a fair outcome - be they in court or in a mediation setting.
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Mediation (sometimes called alternative dispute resolution) is an option in almost any dispute. For family matters people with low incomes can get free legal advice and free mediation. Call us or FairWay Resolution (0800) 77 44 20.

Ebborn Law Blenheim

We're located at 13 Charles Street. Our Blenheim branch gives Marlborough access to eight more legal aid lawyer and should mitigate the problems the area has faced because of high demand.

Portia Christchurch

We're in the central city at the BNZ Centre, opposite Ballantynes at 111 Cashel Street. Remember we are now called Portia! Go up the lifts (next to the pharmacy) and find us on level 1.

Portia Timaru

Our Timaru office is open and can be found under our new brand name: Portia.  It's located at 3 Butler Street (close to the courthouse) and is open daily between 9 AM and 5 PM.

About Ebborn Law/Portia

For a number of years Ebborn Law has been disrupting the legal marketplace.  We are known not only for a high quality of advocacy, but also for being innovative, adopting technology, sharing our knowledge with the wider profession and finding new ways to support our clients.

Family law is our specialty

Our approach is to be flexible to your needs and to do things that make life easier for our clients, so we have longer opening hours, we accept both private and legally-aided clients and offer a variety of products to help you with your legal matters - including fixed fees!

Ebborn Law is the largest provider of family legal aid in the South Island.  We also provide FLAS - the Family Legal Advice Service and offer a holistic approach to helping clients navigate the family justice system.

Experienced and respected

With over 40 years experience as litigators, Erin Ebborn and Jay Lovely offer sound advice and excellent representation. Their team covers the full spectrum of family, criminal, ACC and employment law matters, as well as appeals, and we are a major provider of legal aid and FLAS services.
Our team are active participants in the profession, variously holding positions on the executive board of the Family Law Section of NZLS, the Canterbury Family Court Association and the FLS committee of the Canterbury-Westland branch of the New Zealand Law Society.

Innovative

We are always looking to the future to see how we can lead the way in providing family law in New Zealand. We also like to be actively involved in community: buying from local suppliers where we can, providing an excellent workplace and supporting our clients to link to social service providers.
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You can engage with us from the comfort of your own home if you choose: we are VLaw enabled practitioners, and provide video linked services to any part of New Zealand (including Chatham Islands) and overseas.

Experts

How Much Does it Cost to See a Lawyer? Maybe not as much as you think, as the government provides assistance for some people through Legal Aid and FLAS. Here are the costs of initially talking to a lawyer:
  1. If you earn below the threshold and the matter is related to the care or contact of parents or guardians with children, you can apply (once per year) for the Family Legal Advice Service (FLAS);
  2. If you earn below the threshold and the matter is urgent or not related to the Care of Children Act then you may apply for legal aid;
  3. If you earn above the threshold or want advice on a legal matter not covered by legal aid or FLAS then a one-hour consultation will cost $450 (incl. GST). We will be happy to provide a no-obligation quote for any further work.

We have legal products that range from a DIY approach to the full service.


Give our friendly staff a call on 0800 339 223 or email suppport@portia.law. If you live outside of Christchurch, you can call us on (0800) 339 223, 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week.

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Member of the
New Zealand Law Society
Canterbury-Westland Branch

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Free Phone Helplines

Aviva
Family Violence Services

0800 2848 2669
Youthline
0800 376 633
Te Whare Hauora
0800 11 74 74
Womens Refuge
0800 733 843
Lifeline
0800 543 354
CAB Language Link
0800 788 877
Support for men - contact the Canterbury Men's Centre
Postal Address
DX WX33342 Christchurch


P | (03) 339 2233
F | (03) 339 2283
E | support@ebbornlaw.co.nz
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Finalist in 2 Categories

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Canterbury
Family Violence Collaborative
Award 2015

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