How The 2020 Pandemic Also Helped Produce The LawFuel New Zealand Lawyer Of The Year

LawFuel.com - LawFuel the law news network have announced Cassie Nicholson as New Zealand’s 2020 Lawyer of the Year.

Cassie Nicholson is Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel and was leading the legal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, drafting urgent legislation to deal with the emergency.

She not only led her own team of 35 lawyers, but also worked with lawyers across the public sector to handle a vast array of legislative drafting, which involved 110 pieces of legislation and other legal instruments that needed amendment or drafting to deal with the pandemic effectively.

One bill alone was 163 pages long and amended 45 other Acts as well.

“The orders themselves were unprecedented in recent times – particularly in the early days, we had some really challenging judgement calls,” she told LawFuel in an exclusive interview.

“We also had to think carefully how to impose these stringent controls across the entire economy but still try to build in appropriate exceptions and flexibility. There were many late night zoom conversations amongst teams of people to test multiple scenarios in different contexts.”

Highly regarded throughout government and wider legal circles, Cassie Nicholson not only puts a face on the often behind-the-scenes work undertaken by parliamentary counsel, but she is also a role model for many in terms of her leadership and legal abilities.

As a colleague commented to LawFuel: “As a parliamentary counsel drafter her efforts do not often get recognised as she works behind the scenes ensuring a positive and robust footing for legal requirements.

“Whether it’s putting in place contingency planning for emergency resurgence or highlighting where bills and other draft instruments can be improved, she displays honesty, integrity in all her work, including the people she works with.

Her status as New Zealand Lawyer of the Year follows last year’s winner, New Zealand Law Society president Tiana Epati.

The full details of her achievement and the interview may be seen here.

About LawFuel

LawFuel.com is one of the first law news sites on the Internet and has been published since 2001, handling news, press releases and legal insights from law firms around the world. It also publishes a legal jobs site and social media law sites.

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