He highlights the importance of granting the youth access to education
Nick Scott was not only the first person in his family to become a lawyer, he was the first one to go to university at all. Thus, the Lowndes Jordan special counsel highlights the importance of providing access to education for young people.
In the second part of this interview, Scott tells NZ Lawyer who he thinks would be most affected by the advent of AI in the legal profession, and what he’s looking forward to focusing on.
What’s one misconception you think people have about lawyers, and how would you correct that misconception?
Many people think lawyers had privileged upbringings. That’s not true and I’m a case in point. I was the first person on both sides of my family to go to university, let alone become a lawyer. I strongly believe that access to education is critical, so our children have the opportunity to achieve whatever they want to aim for.
What challenges are particularly pressing in the country’s legal industry?
AI and its implications for the profession. It’s amazing how quickly new AI tools are coming to market and reducing the time certain tasks take. Those tasks are often the work junior lawyers undertake (discovery, due diligence etc) which provide some of the basic building blocks of legal knowledge for a lawyer. That will mean fewer law students getting jobs within the profession and, given the natural attrition that occurs, will there be sufficient experienced lawyers in 20 years’ time?
I also have a feeling that client use of AI may lead to corporate lawyers doing a little less work in the future (as some clients will think they can prepare an adequate document for their situation using AI), but litigators will be a bit busier (as those clients later discover that the document doesn’t adequately address their situation after all).
What are your thoughts on the current state of the rule of law worldwide?
It appears to be under threat. According to the new WJP Rule of Law Index, 68% of countries declined in their rule of law in 2025, compared to 57% in the prior year. Overseas, this appears to have been driven by a rise in authoritarianism and concerns about judicial independence.
Rule of law can however mean different things to different people. In public law at Otago Law School in the 1980’s I was taught that our unwritten constitution was built on parliamentary supremacy (or sovereignty) where the legislative body is supreme over all other government institutions, including the executive and judiciary. One institution needs to be supreme, and it is appropriate that that institution be an elected body.
Are some of our Supreme Court’s recent decisions consistent with recognising Parliament’s supremacy? My view (and that of some commentators) is that the pendulum may have swung too far. While legislation does need to be read in light of new developments, the touchstone must always be Parliament’s original intention.
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
I’ve had partnership responsibilities and commitments for the last 27 years. Now I don’t, so I’ll be able to focus entirely on doing an excellent job for my clients.
