Адвокат в Новой Зеландии вынуждена бороться за продление отпуска по беременности и родам, пока ребенок находится в реанимации

Self-employed barrister Helen Bennet says she had to battle for maternity leave while her new baby was on life support. Photo / 123rf A self-employed barrister is urging the courts to show more grace, after she says she was forced to battle for her maternity leave while her new baby fought for its life. Christchurch-based lawyer Helen Bennett was making maternity leave arrangements and clearing about 10 months of work from her calendarin June last year, when her baby arrived early via emergency C-section and was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Bennett said she filed a trial call-over memorandum, letting the court know she’d be available for a client’s trial after May this year. She said days later, while she was in NICU, a colleague appeared on her behalf to reiterate her availability. Despite this, the trial was set down for early March. “Seeing this whilst I’m in hospital and also dealing with being in the neonatal intensive care unit with my child, [I] was then having to file my own paperwork and a memorandum to the court asking for the date to be pushed out, as I’d originally asked, beyond May 2026.” She said she filed another memorandum, including a letter from her midwife confirming her baby had no imminent discharge date and requesting an adjournment. Bennett pointed out the defendant had chosen her to represent them and she shouldn’t be forced to reassign the matter. But documents seen by Newstalk ZB show the Crown argued the trial should proceed out of fairness to the affected complainants giving evidence, and there was time for a new counsel to prepare. Bennett said the situation was intense, as her baby was on life support and had suffered at least one major medical event. “So it actually just created a whole bunch of more work in circumstances where I was trying to be there for my family and for my child. And that was something that perhaps is unique in being a barrister at the criminal defence bar, is that you are very much on your own.” The adjournment was eventually granted, by eight weeks. In another example, Bennett was trying to secure permission to appear for a client’s sentencing via video call during maternity leave. She said her client was happy with the arrangement, but documents show a judge said they “weren’t terribly enthusiastic about the idea” and would prefer Bennett instruct other counsel. She filed an application anyway after her baby was born and it was declined. In an email exchange seen by Newstalk ZB, she asked the court if the judge “want[s] me to instruct an agent or appear in court in person with my newborn who has ongoing monitoring post discharge from NICU?” She was told, “whether counsel appears in person or instructs an agent is a matter for her”. Bennett raised the matter with the New Zealand Bar Association, telling it the application was a standard one she’d used in recent months with no issues. She ended up relying on a “very gracious” colleague who picked up the work unpaid. Law Association of New Zealand Criminal Law Committee convenor Julie-Anne Kincade, KC, who is also a barrister, said at a high level the court’s response to Bennet’s sentencing hearing request was correct, but described the judge’s response as abrupt and unthinking. “She was being asked to make a choice, neither of which were in fact going to be of assistance to her client.” Kincade said lawyers want to make sure they’re doing the best by the defendant, but court pressures don’t always make this possible. She said there is a wider issue about lawyers being allowed to appear via video link in court. “There is a great deal of work going on at the moment with trying to have a more consistent approach to lawyers appearing via video link. “What has happened since Covid is it’s a bit patchy. Some courts are very good at it, some judges like it – others don’t.” Kincade said she hoped the problem this particular lawyer faced would be resolved in future by greater use of technology. With regard to the trial, she said when it comes to adjusting for personal circumstances a lot will have been done in advance and it’s desirable for the client to have the lawyer who has done that work. “Because if it has to go to a different lawyer, that means a whole lot of work has to be repeated and that can be an extra burden on the taxpayer as well.” Overall, Kincade said these problems are the same as many health issues faced by male and female lawyers, who are obliged to appear in court. But Bennett said she was surprised by the hurdles she faced. “Perhaps I was naive, and that was on the basis I had believed that the profession was moving forward and was trying to be more inclusive to not only women who are having children, but all women who want to progress their careers in law and especially as trial lawyers and appellate lawyers.” She voiced her exasperation in a LinkedIn post. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was really amazed at the positive responses that I got... many people finding that they agreed that this was really unfortunate that this happened and it shouldn’t be happening.” Crown Law Deputy Solicitor-General (Criminal) Madeleine Laracy made inquiries after learning of the post. She said there are competing factors to consider whenever scheduling issues and adjournment requests are made. Laracy said Bennett and the defendant’s particular interests were understandably and properly raised but “the Crown has responsibilities to ensure that trials proceed in a timely way, particularly where they concern aged matters or vulnerable complainants”. She said the court needs a full and accurate picture of the factors that do and don’t support delaying a trial, and it is responsible for ensuring cases are heard in the right priority. “In this case, the Crown made appropriate submissions in that regard.” Kincade said she would love to see New Zealand reframe how maternity leave is discussed and the impact on female lawyers and parents. She cited Norway as a good example because it has compulsory paternity leave that benefits all concerned. “I think that overall would be my aspiration for New Zealand to be able to look to the Scandinavian countries and learn lessons and how they deal with these points.” Emily Ansell is an Auckland-based Newstalk ZB multimedia journalist, with a focus on court, local health and social issues and general news.