The former Russell McVeagh senior partner had been suspended due to misconduct in 2022
A New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa practice approval committee has greenlit James Gardner-Hopkins’ application for a practising certificate following a three-year suspension.
When he resumes practice, he will be subject to a Law Society undertaking that requires compliance with a structured mentoring arrangement.
Gardner-Hopkins was a former senior partner at Russell McVeagh. He was suspended in February 2022 on six charges of misconduct involving inappropriate sexual behaviour.
The Law Society’s Standards Committee had initially applied for him to be struck off, but an appeal to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal and the High Court resulted in a finding that Gardner-Hopkins was “fit and proper” when the penalty hearing was conducted; thus, he was given a suspension and a pathway outlined for him to resume his practice.
The practice approval committee assessed any changes in Gardner-Hopkins’ status since the suspension through a forward-looking legal test. Most of the committee determined that he remained fit and proper to return to the practice based on his insight into his offence and its effect on others, as well as steps he had taken with regard to the underlying causes of his offence and to addressing risk factors identified by the tribunal.
The committee members also accounted for the independent assessment and scrutiny conducted on Gardner-Hopkins as part of his application, which included an independent psychologist’s report.
Gardner-Hopkins will enter a two-year formal mentoring arrangement with two senior lawyers, which is subject to extension as deemed appropriate by the Law Society and cannot be changed or shortened without approval. The mentors must provide periodic reports to the Law Society, and Gardner-Hopkins is subject to review and escalation mechanisms.
Last year, women’s law associations and their members had made submissions to the Law Society calling for the rejection of Gardner-Hopkins’ application. A number of female lawyers reported that he had publicly viewed their LinkedIn profiles as a form of intimidation.
The Law Society said that while it normally did not publicise the practice approval committee’s process, it had released a summary in this case given the level of interest and the nature of Gardner-Hopkins’ offences. It accepted that its decision to reinstate Gardner-Hopkins would not be universally welcomed.
