Having qualified as a mature student, ‘Mr Gold’ was denied admission to practice as a lawyer by the High Court because of personality defects reflected in disproportionate and misguided aggression against those he perceived as having wrongly challenged him, plus his tendency to blame others.
The applicant, given the alias ‘Mr Gold’ in court proceedings, challenged Law Society refusal to give him the required character certificate needed for admission to the roll of barristers and solicitors.
Academic and professional qualifications alone are not sufficient for admission; applicants must also satisfy a ‘fit and proper’ test.
The fact Mr Gold responded to the Law Society refusal by making professional conduct complaints against both staff and members of the Law Society’s practice approval committee, all of whom were lawyers, gave the High Court a flavour of Mr Gold’s behaviour.
He also laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, a complaint subsequently abandoned, alleging the Law Society discriminated against him on grounds of gender.
The High Court was told Mr Gold’s admission to the bar was blocked by the Law Society on evidence of his family violence following allegations aired at a Family Court hearing, allegations strongly disputed by Mr Gold. In 2023, a protection order was made in favour of his then separated spouse.
After the Family Court hearing, Mr Gold laid complaints about three different lawyers involved: the lawyer acting for his spouse, the Family Court-appointed lawyer acting for a child and his own lawyer.
Justice O’Gorman dismissed Mr Gold’s appeal against Law Society refusal to issue a character certificate. His behaviour falls short, by a clear margin, of the high standard required for practice as a lawyer, she said.
A misguided tendency to make personalised attacks against those he perceives to have wrongly challenged him and to retaliate by inappropriate use of legal processes makes Mr Gold unsuited to the practice of law, she said.
‘Mr Gold’ v. NZ Law Society – High Court (10.2.25)
25.062