Harder vows to reinvent himself

Christopher Harder

Flamboyant Auckland lawyer Christopher Harder's final row with his legal colleagues ended yesterday and he vowed to reinvent himself after he was struck off.

After a colourful career that has included some of Auckland's most publicised cases and efforts to free hostages in Fiji, Waco, Texas and Peru, Mr Harder was struck off the law practitioners' roll after admitting professional misconduct.

He had taken a client to a brothel and made him simulate the sexual violence he had been charged with.

Yesterday Mr Harder told the Weekend Herald: "After 25 years of working 24/7 solving other people's nightmares and cleaning up their shit, and eight appearances before the tribunal, it never has been dishonesty and never the same kind of thing.

"Everything has taken its toll, I let my guard down, dropped the ball and I'll take my punishment like a man."

He will concentrate on work as an immigration specialist and employment advocate.

"No one knows mediation like I do ... so I will go back fighting for the little guy. I will reinvent myself and see what the future holds."

Mr Harder said he would also write a book dedicated to Auckland District Law Society president Gary Gotlieb.

Mr Gotlieb said Mr Harder "hated my guts because I am the strong man who got rid of him".

He said Mr Harder had been heading towards disaster for years and his removal from the roll would be a relief to the profession. He had brought the legal fraternity into disrepute.

"The important thing is that he has acknowledged his guilt and agreed to be struck off," Mr Gotlieb said.

"That speaks volumes."

He said Mr Harder had had a huge number of brushes with the law society over the years but due process had to be followed.

He said the brothel incident was only a small part of his transgressions.

"He has caused us considerable concern for many years," Mr Gotlieb said, and Mr Harder's chances of career rehabilitation were remote.

Barry Hart, a lawyer he punched during a courtroom scuffle in 2003, said after the decision was handed down that Mr Harder's nearly 25 years as a criminal lawyer were "colourful".

The Law Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal ruled that Mr Harder should be struck off but it delayed imposing its ruling until March 10 to allow him to wind up his legal practice.

The action follows complaints about Mr Harder telling a client to "**** off" and drinking alcohol during their formal meetings.

The tribunal was also told Mr Harder took his client to a brothel and ordered him to simulate the sexual violation over which he had been charged, saying it was for forensic purposes.

When the client sacked him as his lawyer, Mr Harder swore at him, abused and threatened him.

John Billington, QC, for the district law society, said it felt that Mr Harder should be struck off because he had failed to live up to the standards required of a barrister and solicitor.

"By his own admission he is no longer a fit and proper person to serve those most vulnerable and needy members of the public who came to his door."

Mr Harder was admitted to the bar on May 20, 1983, and this was the eighth time that he had faced a disciplinary hearing relating to his conduct.

Mr Harder told the tribunal that between December 2003 and May 2005 he had suffered from stress and had drunk alcohol again after abstaining for 18 years.

He was sorry to have caused anguish to anyone and felt for his wife and three adult children.

Mr Harder has been involved in several prominent trials including the case of cricket umpire Peter Plumley-Walker whose body was found in the Huka Falls at Taupo. 


Case file

The Christopher Harder case between December 2003 and May 2005:

* He told a client during meetings to "**** off". He drank liquor while attending to his client and made persistent, unnecessary calls to him.
* He asked the client to provide him with some takeaway dinners, cigarettes or cash.
* He asked him to go with him to a brothel and required him to simulate the sex act he had been charged with committing.
* Swore at, abused and threatened the man when he ended their contract.
*Made inappropriate comments to a policewoman, including, "I am not stalking you. I thought you were going to call me last night. I stayed up until midnight waiting for you to call. Do you make a habit of this? Leading men on and testing them like this."
* Failed to appear in court for a client when required to do so. 


Negotiator, author, headline grabber 

He offered embarrassment and entertainment in almost equal measure, but the downfall of Christopher Harder has brought to an end one of this country's most colourful legal careers.

Born a twin in Canada in 1948, Harder migrated to New Zealand in 1976 and studied law at Auckland University.

He was involved in some of this country's most high-profile court cases, acting as defence counsel for Neville Walker, who, with dominatrix Renee Chignall, was charged with the 1989 murder of cricket umpire Peter Plumley-Walker. The couple were eventually acquitted after three trials.

In the 1990s, Mr Harder successfully defended two men charged with murdering intruders who broke into their homes but he failed to prevent 17-year-old Whatarangi Rawiri from being sent to jail for her part in the murder of pizza delivery man Michael Choy in 2001.

Often it was Mr Harder's bizarre behaviour and shameless self-promotion that earned him the biggest headlines.

He managed to involve himself in Fiji's military coup in 1987, advocating an arms amnesty for five locals accused of arms smuggling but succeeding only in getting himself thrown in a Fiji jail for 24 hours.

In 1993, he travelled to Waco, Texas, to advise the US FBI they were taking the wrong tack in negotiations with Christian sect leader David Koresh. The agency declined his help.

Four years later Mr Harder tried again, this time in Peru when Tupac Amaru rebels seized 126 hostages at the Japanese Embassy.

At home, he appeared before the Auckland District Law Society disciplinary tribunal in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 2000.

He faced counts of failing to wear a jacket in court and being rude and aggressive towards district court judge Cecilie Rushton but, before yesterday's unsavoury revelations, his most serious offence was thumping fellow lawyer Barry Hart in a courtroom scuffle in 2003.

Mr Harder pleaded guilty in the North Shore District Court to two charges of common assault after grabbing Mr Hart by the collar and punching him as he lay on the ground. He was discharged without conviction, claiming he was on a weight-loss drug at the time which could cause an over-reaction to stress.

He pleaded guilty to conduct unbecoming a barrister before the disciplinary tribunal and was fined $1750 with $4602 costs. The tribunal said his behaviour was "abhorrent".

In a legal career spanning more than 20 years, Mr Harder published three books and even managed to record a song, Legal Sunscreen in the Public Interest.

- Anne Beston