Legal Insights Newsletter September 2025

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Mai Chen on a career that matters, the future of cultural intelligence, and AI in law

If you are involved in the legal world in New Zealand and haven’t been living under a rock, you will likely know the name Mai Chen.

It is hard to think of someone who has so tirelessly devoted herself to, and had so tangible an impact on, New Zealand’s legal scene in the last few decades, winning her a spot on the Most Influential Lawyer List (NZ Lawyer) for a number of years.

Chen's journey from a six-year-old Taiwanese immigrant who spoke no English to one of New Zealand's most respected barristers reads like a masterclass in determination. Born in Taiwan and arriving in Christchurch as the first Taiwanese family in the South Island, she built her career by consistently doing "stuff that nobody else has ever done".

Read of the Month:

Children’s voices in the family justice system — hearing children’s views before making life-changing decisions for them

This article examines whether children in Aotearoa, New Zealand, currently receive adequate opportunities to participate and have their views heard when decisions are being made for them under the Care of Children Act 2004.

It begins by outlining why it is indeed important that children’s views are heard and then examines the reasons why this is not always happening in practice, both in Family Dispute Resolution and the Family Court.

The article recommends the establishment of a new role, separate from that of a lawyer for the child; its specific focus being on ensuring that children are truly able to express their views and be heard within the family justice system.

Written by Katy Wallace for the New Zealand Family Law Journal

READ FULL ARTICLE

The Future of Legal Drafting - Access the Recording & Your Questions Answered

At the beginning of this month, we conducted a free webinar, Future of Legal Drafting: How AI is Transforming Legal Work. Many insights were shared during the webinar, including how an AI-powered legal drafting ecosystem can help you deliver consistent, accurate, and compliant documents at a lower cost.

VIEW THE WEBINAR HERE →

Discover insights such as:

✔	How agentic AI makes a lawyer’s research and drafting experience more personalised, intuitive, and powerful.
✔	Quick ways to deliver high-quality work at a lower cost, such as using real-time clause suggestions and intelligent risk checks.
✔	A practical demonstration of Lexis® Create+, the new drafting ecosystem inside Microsoft Word.

A significant number of questions came in during the session, so we’ve compiled a Q&A document to respond to the insightful questions raised.

SEE Q&A DOCUMENT

DISCOVER LEXIS CREATE+

Chris Patterson (Barrister) on Lexis+ AI with Protégé™

Patterson uses AI across multiple aspects of his practice, from LexisNexis® AI-powered legal research engine to personal organisation tools that free up time for billable work.

Lexis+ AI by LexisNexis has the ability to review and summarise large amounts of documents, assist barristers with drafting oral presentations, document analysis, and extract key insights.

Patterson was a beta tester for Lexis+ AI – he said that the platform exceeded his expectations and reinforced to him that AI will be integral to the future of law. The technology has become so integral to his practice that he cannot imagine operating without it.

DISCOVER LEXIS+ AI WITH PROTÉGÉ

Protégé – Discover New Feature Enhancements

We’re excited to announce new features added to Protégé, your next-generation legal AI assistant in Lexis+ AI that will further streamline your legal research and practice.

Designed to work the way you do, Protégé makes your Lexis+ AI experience more powerful, personal, intuitive, and will elevate your productivity to new heights.

We’ll also be sharing some practical tips designed to improve your proficiency with Lexis+ AI and featuring a number of new features – many of which stem directly from your feedback.

DISCOVER NEW FEATURES


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