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Former lawyer Christopher Harder has set up in opposition to the Auckland District Law Society, less than two months after declaring he would seek a career outside of the legal profession.
Mr Harder said he had established a business as a "problem-solver" for lawyers and members of the public who had issues that needed resolving.
Mr Harder, who was struck off two years ago, was set to have his application to be re-admitted to the legal roll heard by the New Zealand Law Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal in June.
But after losing several court rulings, he sought leave to withdraw the application.
"There's life outside the law," he said in June.
"There are other areas where my skills will be useful and I'll be pursuing some of those."
He said yesterday that new rules under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, which took effect on August 1, required all lawyers to have an internal complaints process and a complaints officer to deal with client concerns.
Mr Harder said he had the experience and skill to help members of the public get the best out of lawyers by helping solve problems without having to get into a formal complaints process.
Lawyers would be charged an initial $200 joining fee and $200 for each resolved issue in what he said would hopefully be a shortcut process designed to head off complaints before they developed into something more serious.
Mr Harder said he had also joined the public speaking circuit and was "being promoted as a reforming colourful character".
- NZPA
