Shortland Trustees before court on property charges

A spokesman for the NZLS said the court case was in its infancy and he could not comment on the case itself. Photo / Supplied

A company - the directors of which are a group of heavy hitters from a respected Auckland law firm - is before the court on property charges.

Shortland Trustees (Wallingford) Limited, backed by partners and consultants from legal firm Morrison Kent, faces two charges laid by Auckland Council over a Grey Lynn property.

One is a relatively minor matter under the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act while the other charge under the Building Act, which alleges the company failed to comply with a notice to fix in August that could attract a penalty of up to $200,000.

One of the directors of Shortland Trustees is Bryce Town, who has been the convener of the Auckland District Law Society Property Law Committee for the past seven years.

Another is Ian Lowish, a fellow partner at Morrison Kent and convener of the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) standards (disciplinary) committee.

Despite the allegations, the respective law society's both backed their committee chiefs and said they would not be stood down just because they were implicated in allegedly criminal offending.

A spokesman for the NZLS said the court case was in its infancy and he could not comment on the case itself.

"We operate on the principle of people being not guilty until proven guilty," he said.

ADLS chief executive Sue Keppel confirmed Mr Town would continue in his role but also refused to comment further.

Mr Town said they were determined to defend the case, which he called "a nonsense" and "a flawed prosecution".

"There's no basis for a limited-liability company to be charged," he said. "We don't think there's any case to answer."

The lawyer, who has more than 30 years' experience, was also critical of the way Auckland Council had not served them.

"We found out a couple of weeks ago," Mr Town said. "There was no opportunity to address concerns the council might have."

Shortland Trustees will be back before the court in January.

Charges were originally laid against six individuals but ministry staff confirmed they had been administratively withdrawn.