The outgoing leader explains why a three-year term in the role is ideal
In October 2022, Frazer Barton became the first South Island-based president of the New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa since the 90’s. He was re-appointed to a second term in the role in 2023, and has remained in the role until now.
Following the announcement of David Campbell as the Law Society’s new incoming president, NZ Lawyer caught up with Barton to discuss the leadership change; in the first part of this interview, he tells us why he’s confident in his successor, and why a three-year term as president is just right.
You've been Law Society president since 2022 – how does it feel to finally be letting go of the reins?
It's been a really busy, at times challenging experience. A three-year term is about right – as it’s turned out, it's been three and a half years for me. I deal with people from my equivalents in other countries, and often it's just a one-year term and I just feel that's not long enough. A three-year term is right on, it's good because you need to have institutional knowledge. You need to build that up and then you need to have relationships and build on those relationships. Like in meeting with ministers, you meet them every few months and so you need to build on that.
I'll be ready to hand over the reins, and I've got a lot of confidence in the management team, the board and the new president. I'm really confident the Law Society will be in safe hands. I'm not bothered by the transition; it's time to let someone else take over.
Did you have a hand in choosing David [Campbell] as your successor? If you did, what in your opinion made him the right person to step in?
David is a partner at Dentons, formerly known as Kensington Swan, and they've done a lot of legal work for the Law Society back over decades. And so David has come through the ranks having a really in-depth understanding of the structures. His firm has been a great supporter of the Law Society and the profession.
David and I have been working really closely together over the last four years – I've seen him in action and I've got a lot of confidence. When the going gets tough, he's the sort of guy you want to be standing by your shoulder. He's got great analytical skills; there would be a big discussion in a Council meeting and David might say, “I haven't got much to say” but he's got pages of notes that he's gone through to sum everything up and captured the mood of the meeting. He's sensible, articulate and is an outgoing personality. He's dedicated. He'll be good.
What can you tell us about the transition period?
In the past, the incoming president might not have a lot of knowledge or understanding of what was involved. But these days, there's a much greater level of knowledge and awareness. David has a good feel for what he's getting himself into, so what we'll be doing is, we’ll be bringing David into some of those meetings with ministers and other parties. So he'll be involved with those going forwards.
The handover date is at the end of March [2026], so I’m briefing him and giving background material and introducing him. It should be a really productive time to make sure that we have a smooth transition and that there's no lack of institutional knowledge or problems with relationships. That's the goal over the next few months.
