Benefits of membership
The benefits of NZILE membership include:
- ‘Registered Legal Executive’ status for Affiliates, Associates and Fellows
- Associate membership of the New Zealand Law Society for Registered Legal Executives
- Registered Legal Executives can witness enduring powers of attorney
- Fellows of the Institute can witness statutory declarations
- Our national journal Envoy, branch newsletters and a national email newsletter, The Legal E.
- Branch seminars and networking opportunities
- JobLink employment liaison service for members and law firms
- Triennial conference (last held in September 2009 in Auckland)
All our members are required to abide by our Code of Ethics and are bound by our Rules. Becoming a member of a professional body which requires high standards indicates that both the legal executive and their firm also subscribe to and maintain high standards of practice.
Registration for our Affiliate, Associate and Fellow members was implemented several years ago, with the support of the New Zealand Law Society. Registration differentiates qualified and experienced legal executives from non-members whose firms call their staff legal executives, but who may or may not be qualified or even doing the work of a legal executive. Since 26 September 2008 Registered Legal Executives are, with lawyers and appointed officers of trustee corporations, the only people eligible to witness donor signatures to enduring powers of attorney under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Act 2007.
NZILE Fellows may witness statutory declarations under the Oaths and Declarations Amendment Act 2001.
Latest testimonial
My recent upgrade to Fellow membership is recognition of my experience and the hard work I have put in since gaining the NZLS Legal Executive Certificate and from a professional point of view it means I am more valuable to my employer. It also reminds me how valuable The New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives is for members. If it was not for the hard work of the Institute over many years in gaining professional recognition for legal executives, legislation would not have been passed to allow us to witness enduring powers of attorney and take statutory declarations.
Carol Johns, Fellow, Christchurch.
