Founders Story

Here’s how it all started

FOUNDER VINAY DEOBHAKTA

Vinay Deobhakta

As the Founder and Managing Director of McKenzie Friend Professionals Limited, I warmly welcome you. Whatever the reason you have found yourself visiting our website, the information we have painstakingly gathered for your benefit is respectfully extended to you here.

My background?

I enjoyed an extensive legal background for over 20 years, not only as a Barrister (Court Litigation) and a Solicitor (Commercial Law) but as the son of an English trained former State Attorney of Uganda and the first Judge of Indian origin to preside in New Zealand.

My successful career spanned across several jurisdictions in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and Wales. I was popular with both clients and peers alike and excelled with a high profile career.

I earned the position of Partner in 2 practices in New Zealand after serving with top tier law firms in New Zealand and London. It has been said by others, that I had a “glittering legal career”.

My why?

In 2010 I received a letter from the New Zealand law society notifying me of a client complaint. Prior to this, I held an exemplary disciplinary record.

My client at the time (who was being investigated by the IRD for tax evasion), had objected to my collecting directly, an overdue amount of my fee ($4,000.00) instead of depositing this money into my instructing Solicitor’s account and then asking the solicitor to pay the monies to me on account of my fee.

This was in breach of the law society’s administrative rules.

Despite my admission, to the debt collection of $4,000.00 of my own money, the renewal of my practicing certificate was immediately withheld by the law society until they “resolved” the matter.

In turn I was prevented from making a living in New Zealand or the United Kingdom and Wales in the profession I was educated and experienced in.

A bankruptcy charge followed.

There was only one principal creditor – ASB Bank who panicked after the 2009 downturn and sold my rental property on a prestigious street in Tauranga with a valuation of $720,000.00 for a meagre $306,000.00 at mortgagee sale. I refused to pay the shortfall and hence the bankruptcy application by ASB followed. Had the bank taken more care there would have been plenty for the debt and forwarded to me the change.

It was disappointing to read internet posts referring to me as having a multitude of creditors!!

Upon the completion of the standard 3 year bankruptcy term, the law Society immediately laid a disciplinary charge for “misappropriation of client funds”.

Although I tried to defend the charge, the disciplinary tribunal had clearly formed a pre-conceived idea of the matter. They certainly were not objective like good judicial officers should be. They conducted a farce of a hearing and this culminated with them striking me off the Roll of lawyers. This hearing was set down for 2 days. During the hearing, it was arbitrarily, (despite my protests) reduced to a ½ day hearing at a cost to me of approximately $39,000.00.

I will say, the amount of $4,000.00 was never published until 2014. It was disappointing to read misleading articles published online suggesting the “misappropriation of client funds” was $26,000.00 (in one article) and $15,000.00 in another article. These articles also omitted to say the $4,000.00 was a well overdue debt from an outstanding invoice I had issued months earlier to this complaining client.

Not to minimise the administrative wrongdoing, but for the purposes of context, in 2018, a New Zealand lawyer who was convicted and sentenced in the criminal court for his part in a $41M hotel fraud, was allowed to continue to practice law for just over 12 months until the day before his sentencing.

Zero convictions

By comparison, my matter was never a criminal or fraudulent matter. I have ZERO convictions! It remained in the realms of the law Society.

My wrongdoing was a breach of the administrative/financial rules of the Law Society.

Although I admitted to banking the $4,000.00 owed to me, into my account rather than my instructing Solicitors account first, some have said the penalty of striking me off the Roll of lawyers was draconian.

Not to mention questionable given the contradictory rules of service around the relationship between instructing Solicitors and Barristers in New Zealand as opposed to Australia at the time.

This remains extreme and unusual in its execution given it was my first time before the disciplinary tribunal. In most cases an offending lawyer would expect a fine or at worst a brief period of suspension. I had effectively been suspended for a period of 3 years by the time I was charged by the law society.

Excessive time needed with my lawyer to defend my position, resulted in unnecessary and huge legal fees, and provided me no justice at all. This is when I recognised there was a gap in the legal market – the seeds for McKenzie Friend Professionals Limited were germinating!!

So you see, my why is…there is a need for all walks of life to have access to fair, educated, affordable quality support in a McKenzie friend, should you find yourself facing injustice.

Sharing my knowledge

My experience with the Law Society places me in the unique position and affords me the opportunity to pass on my legal and business knowledge through the design of the “Vinay Deobhakta McKenzie Friend Method” training course.

I work every day as a businessman now, and I invite any self -litigant looking to represent themselves in our court system, to attend our training program based on my legal education and experience. After all, you can’t “unlearn” being a lawyer…

I choose to impart my knowledge to those who are genuine in their wish for fair and just outcomes, and who need the court system to be demystified.

This is truly the gold standard of Self Litigation in New Zealand.

You are your best advocate to effectively communicate your position in court and I am the best at helping you navigate your way around the court system.

Together we will achieve better outcomes for your family.

Accredited McKenzie Friend option

After participating in our self-litigants program, you will have the additional option to have one of our Accredited McKenzie Friends (New Zealand Qualifications Framework assessed) to accompany you to your hearing. This will save your family unnecessary grief and potentially irreversible damage, not to mention substantial legal fees.

All our accredited McKenzie Friends carry Professional Indemnity Insurance.