He also talks how a misquote led to a career-defining moment for him as a junior
Mike Campbell likes to say the law chose him. And the law chose well, as the recently promoted DLA Piper senior associate has since become an expert litigator, having appeared in Environment Court and tackled freshwater, infrastructure, forestry, agriculture and maritime issues.
In this August interview, Campbell tells NZ Lawyer about the time his words became incorporate into statute, and why lawyers should take the time to know the details of a file.
What made you choose a career in law, and what's your favourite part of the job?
In many ways, law chose me. I left the RNZAF at the end of 2012 wanting to get a tertiary qualification that lent itself to a profession and studying law seemed like the right choice. At the time, I had no intent on becoming a lawyer; however, through my studies I came to really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of law. As such, I decided to go into practice when I graduated.
What in your opinion has been the most memorable event of your career to date?
I made a submission to a select committee on behalf of a client in respect of a bill before Parliament to enable disaster recovery in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. The submission suggested making specific changes to the proposed provisions, which ended up being incorporated into the legislation. I got a real buzz from influencing the legislative process and having my words incorporated into statute.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned in your career and what advice can you give fellow lawyers about it?
Attention to detail is paramount. Spending time to get to know the details of a file pays dividends in the long run. I luckily learnt this lesson early on, when I was a junior on an appeal to the High Court. I noticed that the decision being appealed had misquoted some crucial evidence, which became critical in the High Court's reasoning and helped to win the day.
What should the profession focus more on?
In light of the Law Society's report into Strengthening the rule of law, I think the profession should focus more on ensuring the rule of law is being upheld in our evolving society. The rule of law is critical to a functional democracy, and lawyers play a critical constitutional role in upholding the rule of law, through providing advice and advocacy.
While perhaps viewed as lofty and abstract ideas, we need to be vigilant to challenges to the rule of law to help strengthen our core democratic institutions.
What are your thoughts on new technology and its impact on the legal profession?
I think that new technology, such as AI, has a massive potential to change how we practice law, however the fundamentals will remain the same. As technology advances it simply becomes a new tool in at our disposal to enable us to do our jobs better. It used to be that research was undertaken at libraries and correspondence was exchanged through letters. The advent of online databases and email have changed these things; however, core legal skills such as advice and advocacy have remained the same.
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
It seems trite, but I'm looking forward to tackling the new challenges being made a senior associate will bring.
