Category: News Feeds

This week, we celebrated my daughter’s ninth birthday. Like many parents, I love retelling her birth story.  Amongst the details of her long-awaited cesarean birth is of course a lesson in trusts and estates.

In the preoperative room, nervously waiting for my  second child’s arrival, a nurse dutifully asked me if I had a health care proxy. It was like music to my ears. She was speaking my language. And out of my tote bag, under the newborn take-home outfit, the big-brother gift, and my hospital pajamas, I pulled out a health care proxy. In triplicate. I would like to think that the nurse was impressed, however, I think she was a bit taken aback by my preparedness and assertiveness in offering her an advanced directive. In triplicate.

It is not uncommon for individuals to be asked to sign a health care proxy when they are admitted into a hospital. Unfortunately these are not the best conditions under which one should be contemplating such a serious document. A health care proxy nominates an agent to make medical decisions in the event the patient is unable to make decisions for herself. A health care proxy can come into use under many circumstances. Someone may become temporarily incapacitated and may need an agent to make decisions regarding operations, procedures, or even discharge plans. Nerves, fear, and pain may cloud one’s thinking when executing a health care proxy prior to a medical procedure or worse in the midst of a health crisis. It should therefore be reviewed and executed during a period of calm when a hospitalization is not impending.

The birthing floor is generally thought of as the happiest place in a hospital. This does not obviate the need, however, for a parent to establish a health care proxy. Unfortunately, complications may occur during and following childbirth.  A power of attorney should also be executed so that in the event of incapacity, an agent can have access to the principal’s finances in order to pay bills, marshal monies, and apply for benefits.

All adults, regardless of whether they have children or not,  should execute a last will and testament. For parents, this is especially important because the document nominates a guardian to raise minor children in the event of death. The last will and testament may also nominate a trustee to manage the minor’s monies. A trustee may manage the assets during a child’s infancy, but also through adulthood, if a testator wishes.

Sometimes first-time parents will contact me during their pregnancy to inquire as to the execution of a last will and testament, prior to birthing their baby. Obviously, I appreciate this kind of zeal, however, there are certain considerations one may wish to review before appointing a guardian under their last wills and testaments. At a minimum, however, the discussion should begin.

In choosing a guardian, one must select an individual whom you trust to raise your child safely.  While you can choose someone who generally shares your values, you must recognize that it is impossible to find a guardian who will raise your child exactly as you would. Also, the last will and testament does not indicate bedtimes and food choices and school choices. It is often stated that testators cannot control from the grave. They also cannot raise their children.

As an expectant parent, it is prudent to start the conversation as to who the best guardian is in the event of tragedy. It is also important to understand that familial and friend relationships can change once a baby is born and that might affect your choice of a guardian. Family dynamics are affected by life events such as births and deaths. A distant sister may become a doting aunt upon the birth of a niece. Conversely, a grandparent may disappoint in terms of his generosity of time and resources.

From a legal perspective, a last will and testament can include both present and future children. In the event there are no children born when you execute, as long as the document is drafted correctly, one can make directions as to raising the future children. Similarly, if you execute a last will and have future children, there is generally no need to redo the last will based on the new family member, assuming the last will is drafted to include afterborn children. Having the last wills, health care proxies, and powers of attorney already intact will surely make your hospital bag a lot lighter the second time around.

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Cori A. Robinson is a solo practitioner having founded Cori A. Robinson PLLC, a New York and New Jersey law firm, in 2017. For more than a decade Cori has focused her law practice on trusts and estates and elder law including estate and Medicaid planning, probate and administration, estate litigation, and guardianships. She can be reached at cori@robinsonestatelaw.com. 

Less work done? Exodus of top staffers? Floors full of empty offices? Infighting? A pervasive climate of fear, set at the very top? Whistleblower complaints? The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is really starting to feel at home in Donald Trump’s America.

The regulator has issued 27% fewer audit-inspection reports this year, board data show, as senior staff positions remain unfilled for months….

Republicans had urged the SEC for years to give Mr. Duhnke the job, which pays about $670,000 annually…. Within months of arriving, Mr. Duhnke began pushing out longtime senior executives, according to the whistleblower letter and people familiar with the matter.… The whistleblower letter said the regulator “is permeated by a sense of fear,” due to “the numerous terminations … [some] driven by retaliation….” The board’s website shows around 50 permanent roles need to be filled, out of about 850.

Audit Watchdog Plagued by Internal Strife, Whistleblower Claims [WSJ]

The robot invasion is bound to happen any day now, and when the robots get here, I plan to be on their good side. That’s why I make it a point to welcome each and every potential robot overlord on Twitter. Better safe than sorry, I always say.

And when the robots get here, you can bet there’ll be a few robot lawyers in their midst. Personally, I plan to roll out the red carpet upon their arrival, but I doubt most other lawyers will be as accepting. You see, lawyers don’t always embrace change and innovation, and robot lawyers — well, they represent a whole lot of both.

Of course, this begs the question: Should lawyers resist the robot lawyer invasion and does it actually pose a threat to the legal profession as we know it? Those are heady questions and rather than tackle them myself, I’ve decided to hand off the task to a bunch of law professors. Specifically, the ones who wrote chapters on the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal profession in a recently released book on disruption in the legal industry: New Suits – Appetite for Disruption in the Legal World.

I was pleasantly surprised when this book unexpectedly arrived on my doorstep, since it’s a topic that’s right up my alley. It turns out that Michele DeStefano, one of the book’s editors, was kind enough to send me a complimentary review copy of this book. I previously reviewed another book of hers on innovation in the legal profession here, and you’ll find two chapters written by her on that same topic in this new book, too.

But given my peculiar obsession with robots, it was the chapters on the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal industry that caught my eye as I skimmed over the table of contents.

This topic was first tackled in Chapter 11, “Lawyer Bots: Rise of the Machines,” written by Dr. Christian Öhner and Dr. Silke Graf. I read that chapter with interest and was nodding in agreement by the end of the chapter, when the authors reached this conclusion:

We are convinced that Lawyer Bots will revolutionize many aspects of law and much of the legal industry. And if the established legal industry will not deploy them, sooner or later somebody else will. But these changes are, in the opinion of the authors, not to be dreaded. At least, not by those who are focussing on their creative potential. Lawyer Bots will help us getting rid of much of the mundane work, which is not desirable to do anyway, truth be told.”

Of course, whenever I read predictions like that one, I find myself wondering which practice areas are most susceptible to the robot invasion. In other words, can certain aspects of the practice of law truly be automated? Or are the higher-level analytical tasks performed by lawyers inexorably intertwined with the more routine transactional tasks that could arguably be automated?

While pondering this issue, I moved onto another AI-focused chapter, Chapter 21 written by Luis Ackerman entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Legal Systems.” In that chapter, I found the Holy Grail: A handy chart that broke down legal tasks and predicted which ones were most likely to be impacted by automation (obtained from a law review article authored by Dan Remus and Frank Levy).

According to Remus and Levy, those legal tasks deemed to have the potential to be heavily impacted by AI are: Document review, document drafting, case administration and management, legal research, document management, and legal writing. Those predicted to be moderately impacted by AI are: Due diligence, legal analysis and strategy, and other communications/interactions. Finally, the tasks that would likely be least impacted by AI are: Fact investigation, advising clients, court appearances and preparation, and negotiation.

So, now that you know what to expect and which tasks you’ll have to hand over when the lawyer robots take over, you might be wondering: What’s a forward-thinking lawyer to do?

No need to waste precious time pondering that question, dear readers! I’ve got you covered. At the conclusion of the chapter, the authors tackled that very query and made this dire prediction: The lawyer robots are coming; adapt or die.

Okay, that’s not really what they said. But it’s awfully close:

(Legal) professionals who refuse to adapt to technological progress will continue to have a job in the foreseeable future, but they will soon be playing in a different league than their digitally augmented competitors.

The shift to Advanced Legal Systems is going to require quite some time and resources, but the competitive advantage will pay off quickly–especially for early adopters (and the rest will inevitably have to follow). Our advice to all those hungry for disruption: Act now, from a position of strength, rethink your IT strategy, free from preconceptions, and be bold enough to not only consider radical change but actually realize it.

In other words, ready or not, here they come! And, I don’t know about you, but I, for one, welcome our new robot lawyer overlords. #robotlawyer #robotoverlord #robotinvasion

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Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter @nikiblack and she can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.

* Big verdicts — like the $8B Johnson & Johnson award — are forcing in-house counsel to reconsider how they approach litigation and settlement. Apparently rethinking “committing torts” isn’t on the table. [Corporate Counsel]

* Investigation suggests an “endemic” culture of sexual harassment and bullying at Jones Day’s London office. Try with all your might to put on a surprised face. [American Lawyer]

* Bill seeks to give Supreme Court justices international protection. It’s all coming together for the Marshal of the Supreme Court power grab. [National Law Journal]

* Panama Papers principals sue to stop Netflix movie based on their exploits. [Hollywood Reporter]

* New York removes the loophole that would have ended state criminal prosecutions based on federal pardons. [NBC News]

* Exxon will face a bench trial on claims that it defrauded the public over the risks of climate change. [Law360]

* Mayer Brown partner tells Chambers to add more ranked women or to leave him off their list. [Legal Cheek]

Update on Government Gazettes and Statutory Instruments
Part 1

The purpose of this bulletin and another to follow soon is to provide, in two Parts, an update on Government Gazettes and statutory instruments from 1st August to date which have not been noted previously in our bulletins.  Please note that a searchable numerical list of all statutory instruments of 2019 from 1st January up to and including 30th September is available on the Veritas website [link  to list].

Statutory Instruments to Implement Supplementary Budget

We start with a group of statutory instruments implementing measures in the Supplementary Budget of 1st August which the Minister of Finance decided could be enacted into law by statutory instrument rather than having to wait for the Finance (No. 2) Bill to be approved by Parliament and gazetted as the Finance (No. 2) Act on 21st August.

Excise tax on liquor and fuels SIs 160 and 161 below were published in a Government Gazette Extraordinary dated 1st August, released by the Government Printer as the Minister ended his Supplementary Budget presentation to the National Assembly.

SI 160/2019 [link] sets out the new rates of excise duty on liquor, effective on and after 2nd August 2019.

SI 161/2019 [link] sets out the new rates of excise duty on petrol, diesel and kerosene.  The SI also contains provision allowing companies with free funds to import these fuel entirely for use in their production process and pay the duty in foreign funds; the same facility will be open to designated fuel stations authorised to sell fuel in foreign currency.

Customs duty rebate for Electrical Manufacturers

SI 167/2019 [link], gazetted on 9th August, is the eighth amendment to SI 378/2019, which is the basis for this rebate.  It expands Part D of the list of items qualifying for the rebate [items for the manufacture of sound amplifiers and speaker systems].

It also obliges manufacturers benefiting from the rebate to submit an annual report to the Minister showing incremental employment levels achieved, capacity utilisation levels, value of new investments, growth in output, R & D initiatives; the report on 2019 must be submitted by end of January 2020, and so on for subsequent years.  Failure to report will be penalised by withdrawal of the rebate and liability to pay the rebated duty for the year in question.  The new fees were effective from 9th August.

Foreign currency dutiable goods: relief for specified manufacturers  

SI 170/2019 [link] gazetted on 9th August – with effect from 9th August – provides for an exemption from the obligation to pay duty in foreign currency, to a list of named manufacturers and in respect of ring-fenced quantities of specified goods.

Vehicle registration and licensing – fees in ZWL$

SI 171/2019 [link] gazetted on 9th August lists in ZWL$ new fees for registration and licensing of vehicles: for example, ZWL$ 300,00 for licensing a light motor vehicle weighing up to 1, 500 kg for twelve months.

Licensing of drivers – fees in ZWL$

SI 173/2019 [link], gazetted on 9th August, lists in ZWL$ new fees payable for all aspects of licensing of drivers, including applications for learner’s licences, certificates of competency, driver’s licences of all classes and duplicate licences and certificates. The new fees were effective from 9th August.

Toll fees for National Road Network and Limpopo Bridge at Beitbridge border

SI 172/2019 [link], gazetted on 9th August, lists in ZWL$ the new fees payable at tolling points on the national road network.  The new fees are effective from 9th August.

SI 174/2019 [link], gazetted on 9th August, lists in US$ and SA Rand the fees payable for use, whether inward or outward bound, of the new Limpopo Bridge at the Beitbridge Border Post.  The fees were previously stated in US$ only, and these figures remain unchanged.

Courts, Master’s Office and Deputy Sheriffs: New Fees Denominated in ZWL Dollars

Gazette of 9th September

High Court 

SI 187/2019 [link] – High Court (Civil Cases) (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No. 10)

Note: An error in the Schedule, item 2 [“Original summons sounding in money”], was corrected by SI 207/2019 of 20th September [link].

Magistrates Court

SI 188/2019 [link] – Magistrates Court (Civil) (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No. 1).

Gazette of 13th September

Master’s Office

SI 192/2019 [link] – Administration of Estates (Master’s Office) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2019 (No. 8)

Constitutional Court

SI 193/2019 [link] – Constitutional Court (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No. 1)

Customary Courts

SI 194/2019 [link] – Customary Law and Local Courts (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No. 9)

Labour Court

SI 195/2019 [link] – Labour Court (Fees) Regulations, 2019

Small Claims Courts

SI 196/2019 [link] – Small Claims Courts (General) (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No. 6)

Supreme Court

SI 197/2019 [link] – Supreme Court (Fees) (Civil Cases) (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No. 7)

Deputy Sheriffs’ Fees and Allowances

SI 198/2019 [link] – High Court (Fees and Allowances) (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No. 22) , amending SI 82/2000, and repealing SIs 109/2012 and 58/2016.

Collective Bargaining Agreements in ZWL Dollars

Insurance Industry

SI 165/2019 [link], gazetted 9th August, sets out wages and allowances for the period January  to June 2019 following an arbitral award issued on 17th April 2019, to be reviewed for the period July to December.

Mining Industry

SI 175/2019 [link], gazetted 23rd August, sets out the minimum earnings for 2019 for workers in the Mining Industry.  The agreement is stated to be subject to review on a quarterly basis, based on the prevailing economic situation in the industry.

Agricultural Industry (General Agriculture)

SI 177/2019 [link], gazetted 23rd August, sets out new minimum wages for the effective from 15th May.

Tobacco Industry – Tobacco (Miscellaneous) Sector

SI 178/2019 [link], gazetted 23rd August, sets out an agreement applicable to the fixing minimum wages and allowances for the three months July, August and September.

Tobacco Industry [Cigarette and Tobacco Manufacturing sector]

SI 179/2019 [link] and SI 180/2019 [link], gazetted 23rd August, cover wages and night shift allowance for the for the periods January 2018 to June 2019 and July to December 2019, respectively.

Civil aviation: New Personnel Licensing Regulations

SI 176/2019 [link], gazetted on 16th August, was the latest in a series of statutory instruments updating regulations under the Civil Aviation Act.  It sets out the new regulations on licensing of pilots, engineering and other personnel in a substantial A4 book.

Dams Declared “Inland Waters”

SI 166/2019 [link], gazetted on 9th August, declares six dams to be inland waters for the purposes of the Inland Waters Shipping Act: Tugwi-Mukosi; Mazowe; Acadia; Zhove; White Waters; and Mtshabezi dams.  The effect of the declaration that the Act, and the regulations made under it, will now apply to these dams.  The Act and regulations provide for such matters as registration and survey of some classes of vessels used on inland waters and standards of competency for those commanding them and their crews.

Zimbabwe Centre for High Performance Computing

SI 168/2019 [link] gazetted on 9th August is the Manpower Planning and Development (Zimbabwe Centre for High Performance Computing) Regulations, 2019.  The regulations provide for the establishment of a new body corporate – a new parastatal – in the form of a Government institute to be known as the Zimbabwe Centre for High Performance Computing [ZCHPC].   The Centre will be the custodian of the national supercomputer and its system and provide supercomputing services not Government and to individuals and organisations requiring such services.  As the ZCHPC has been in existence at the University of Zimbabwe since 2015, the SI appears to something of an afterthought.

Does all this really fall within the scope of the Manpower Planning and Development Act as a whole, let alone the provisions of the Act cited as enabling the regulations?  These are questions for the Parliamentary Legal Committee.  Our initial reaction is that this SI may be ultra vires and not fit for purpose.

Gazette of 20th September 2019

Zambezi River Authority – Employees’ Conditions of Service amended

SI 201/2019 [link] gazettes comprehensive changes to the terms and conditions of service of employees of the Zambezi River Authority [ZRA], as approved by the Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Note: The ZRA is a corporation jointly and equally owned by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a governed by a four-person council consisting of the Ministers of Energy and Finance of each country. Its primary function is to operate and maintain the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River.  Its headquarters are in Lusaka.

Wages and allowances for Chemicals, Fertilisers, Battery and Plastics Manufacturing Industry

SI 202/2019 [link] sets the 2019 wages and allowances for the various sectors of the industry.

Customs duty rebate for electrical manufacturers

SI 203/2019 [link] amends the principal regulations by adding more goods to the list qualifying for the rebate in addition to those already added following the Supplementary Budget in August [see below]..

Customs  and Excise Tariff Amendment

SI 204/2019 [link] reduces customs duty on certain goods [including to zero on lithium solar batteries] and states excise duty on specified liquor and tobacco items in ZWL.

Statutory Instruments 205/2019 onwards will be covered in Part 2

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

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Calling All Legal Ops Leaders: The 2019 LDO Survey Is Live

Calling All Legal Ops Leaders: The 2019 LDO Survey Is Live

LDO and Above the Law

What law school got top marks in the 2018 Best Law Schools for Practical Training by preLaw magazine, a National Jurist publication?

Hint: The ranking is based on a number of factors including clinics, externships, simulation courses, and interschool competitions.

See the answer on the next page.

Over the last few days the President has been preparing an alternative government for our country. To begin this process, he has made appointments and assigned duties to officials in the party, to ensure readiness.

Today the President is announcing two bold steps taken as part of the elaborate and carefully thought process of preparing to serve the people of Zimbabwe and make our country great. The President is doing this in preparation while the citizens consider the resolution of our national crisis.

In preparing the MDC’s task as a government the President understands that our problems emanate from the lack of integrity and accountability in our public work. The President emphasises that public officials are the human interface between the state and the citizens. He wants local governments, run by his party to be an exemplary interface that is accountable and of high integrity. President Chamisa has zero tolerance for corruption and any lack of efficacy in public officials.

The President has with immediate effect constituted an Integrity and Accountability Panel (IAP) which shall enforce his zero tolerance to corruption policy. He has provided this team with terms of reference are specific and definitive.

This committee shall perform its duties through a process that includes meeting with all stakeholders such as residents and organised local groups. The five member strong panel, that has been carefully verted, will be led by a very highly regarded lawyer in this country. One who has to this day served this country with integrity and commitment, Advocate Thabani Mpofu.

The President will require him to execute his duties with continued honour and hard work and has instructed him to remain uncompromising in his commitment to the highest standards.

Secondly the President has assigned duties to his Vice Presidents, as a way of ensuring better efficiency and a smoother operating political party in preparation for an all-star and high calibre government. He wants a machine that is properly oiled with all its nuts and bolts properly positioned and tightened. Our country cannot take any chances and does not have the luxury of time, and this has informed the President’s assignment of duties to the Vice Presidents.

The President has allocated these responsibilities to ensure the effective execution of his mandate to transform the MDC into a modern 21st century Party of Excellence. These assignments are put in place in order to ensure the MDC can define a new Zimbabwe and prepare to form the next government and do so very soon. The Vice Presidents shall hold these responsibilities on a rotational basis as shall be determined by the President, from time to time.

In line with the Constitution the President has designated that with immediate effect the Vice President shall resume working on the following areas.

Vice President, Honourable Lynette Karenyi, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to two clusters, which are:

1.Parliament, and
2.Party Building

Vice President, Professor Welshman Ncube, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to the following clusters:

1.Administration, and
2.International Relations and Diplomacy

Vice President, Honourable Tendai Biti, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to:

1.Policy and Ideology, and
2.Local Government

Dr Nkululeko Sibanda – Presidential Spokesperson
Movement For Democratic Change

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Dedicated to the 6 civilians who were killed by the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) on 1 August 2018, the report is the most comprehensive appraisal of Zimbabwe’s human rights situation produced every year by Zimbabwe’s biggest and oldest human rights coalition, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum).

In the Foreword to the report, the Chairperson of the Forum Jestina Mukoko notes that 72% of the human rights violations documented do not require money to resolve.  “They only require the state to turn off its architecture of violence and torture,” she says, “Surely, this is not asking for much.”

15 Chapters of the report are dedicated to an assessment of the human rights situation along thematic areas that include elections, governance, economy, socio-economic rights, civil and political rights, children’s rights, women’s rights, sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, environmental rights, business and human rights, freedom of the media, courts and access to justice, independent commissions, and ratification of international treaties. The final chapter of the report makes a raft of recommendations for state and non-state actors.

Key among the recommendations is the call for an inclusive and comprehensive national dialogue to create a culture of respect for human rights and restore the dignity of all persons. The report recommends greater compliance with the constitution, genuine and authentic reform of repressive laws, respect and strengthening of independent commissions, reform of the security sector as well as fair and impartial application of the law.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Ms. Blessing Gorejena, the Executive Director of the Forum noted that she hoped that the report will help in escalating the conversation on the nation’s human rights priorities.  In presenting the findings of the report, the Forum’s Programmes Coordinator, Dzikamai Bere said that the motivations for observance of high human rights standards should not be to please any foreign governments, but that rather for the benefit and dignity of the people of Zimbabwe.

Officially launching the report, Mr. Tabani Moyo of the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) stated that the report is not about the past but the future.

“This is not just a report of the past,” said Mr. Moyo, “but a projection of what our future will look like and what work we need to put in to ensure that we build a society in which all people will enjoy their rights.”

To download the full report, use this link.

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