"All it is, is the Law Society is keeping its options open. No final decision has been made," says a Law Society spokesman. If the society wins final leave, it still isn’t committed to a Privy Council appeal.
The threat of an appeal has been hanging over Dempster’s head since April when a Court of Appeal decision effectively stripped lawyers of their conveyancing monopoly.
The Law Society’s decision to pursue the case is even though Justice Minister Phil Goff is expected to introduce legislation this month which will strip lawyers of their conveyancing monopoly in any case. It will also strip real estate agents of their monopoly on selling property.
Dempster, a former assistant land registrar for the government, has been fighting for 13 years for the right to practice conveyancing in New Zealand.
