Lawyer struck off for smuggling contraband to murderer she later married seeks second chance

In February 2015, Reid – then known as Davina Murray – was struck off the roll by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal after being found guilty of smuggling in an iPhone, a packet of Marlboro cigarettes, and a lighter into a correctional facility during a 2011 visit.

She provided the prohibited items to Liam James Reid, who she was acting for at the time and who is serving a life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 23 years for the 2007 rape and murder of Christchurch woman Emma Agnew.

While Reid maintained during her trial that a prison officer had planted the items Liam Reid was found with, claims that led to charges against her, the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal ultimately found her unfit to practise as a lawyer.

However, in April 2023, Reid sought to have her name restored to the roll of barristers and solicitors, arguing her conviction was minor, the consequences she faced were severe, she had not reoffended, and she had since restored her mana.

But the Specialists Courts and Tribunals Centre disagreed, stressing that her conduct was far from a minor infringement, describing it instead as “a gross breach of trust and an abuse of her privileged position as a lawyer”.

“Her record of blurring professional boundaries, becoming over-involved with clients, blatantly disregarding the law, advancing untruth or obscuring the truth: blight her ability to satisfy us that she is now a fit and proper person to be re-enrolled,” the Tribunal stated.

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Unconvinced by the ruling, Reid pursued an appeal to the High Court in August that year, only to face another setback when her application was once again dismissed.

Despite setbacks at every turn – with both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court declining to hear her case, along with an unsuccessful bid for leave in the Supreme Court earlier this year – Reid remains determined in her pursuit of a return to legal practice.

Reid returned to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal last week to argue that no statutory limitation period prevents her from reapplying for admission, according to The New Zealand Herald.

This position was acknowledged by counsel for the Law Society of New Zealand, Paul Collins, who noted that section 246 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act recognises “human frailty” and provides a pathway to redemption for practitioners who have fallen short.

However, as reported by The New Zealand Herald, Collins told the tribunal that Reid had not yet demonstrated the level of remorse and insight required to satisfy the “fit and proper person” standard necessary for readmission to the profession.

He pointed to earlier appeal decisions, which outlined the need for a “sufficiently full and unambiguous acknowledgment” of her offending, including its significance and broader implications.

Both Reid and her counsel, Alan Galbraith KC, argued that she presents a very low risk of reoffending, pointing to how she visited her husband in prison “hundreds of times” since her conviction and strike-off without any further incidents of smuggling contraband, according to The New Zealand Herald.

However, the Law Society maintains that risk alone is not determinative, with Collins emphasising that the assessment also goes to “generally the quality of the person as an officer of the court and a lawyer”.