A total of 791 lawyers from around the country did not reapply to be legal aid providers by the Ministry of Justice's cut-off date of December 31, 2011 and, as result, about 1500 legal aid cases will need to be reassigned to other lawyers.

Justice Robert Chambers, a former President of Auckland District Law Society, has been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, and Justice Douglas White, a judge of the High Court based in Auckland, has been appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal.

A fundraising dinner feature Dame Silvia Cartwright as guest speaker will be held at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre, 58 Waipuna Road, Mt Wellington on Thursday, February 23.

A formal function will be held in March to launch the University of Auckland Faculty of Law's New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice, which began operating on January 1, 2012.