A "culture of obfuscation" prevailed at South Canterbury Finance before its $1.6b govt bailout, where directors talked about dealing with "smoke and mirrors" and "half truths".

A throwaway comment at a law conference last week by the boss of the Serious Fraud Office has delayed the start of the South Canterbury Finance fraud trial.

The trial of three former heads of South Canterbury Finance in what is alleged to be New Zealand's biggest ever fraud case begins in Timaru today.

A mystery DNA sample could hold the key to tracing other people the Crown believes were involved in Mellory Manning's brutal murder.

The Mongrel Mob prospect accused of murdering Christchurch woman Ngatai 'Mellory' Manning has been found guilty by a jury in the High Court at Christchurch.

Peter Williams, QC, turns 80 this year and is finishing a new book of stories from his long legal career.

The jury in the Mellory Manning murder trial have been told not to read anything into the fact her accused killer has represented himself in court.

Conservative Party leader Colin Craig says he is trying to "raise the standard of debate'' with his defamation claim against Greens co-leader Russel Norman.

A mock fundraising campaign launched by Colin Craig to cover his defamation case against Russel Norman has collected $50,000 in less than a day.

New Zealand has been ranked sixth overall in a global index measuring the rule of law.

Conservatives leader Colin Craig has rejected Russel Norman's suggestion he's limited his defamation claim because he's afraid of what's in his emails about gay Kiwis.

Throughout his 34-year legal career, Simon Moore, QC has had a front row seat to the recounting of some of the most horrible crimes in this country's history.

Amanda Knox's former boyfriend has admitted he "has some questions" about her behaviour in the hours after British student Meredith Kercher was murdered.

The school that excluded an Asperger's student after a row with a teacher says the decision to remove the boy was not taken lightly, but it'll work with his family.

The family of an Asperger's child who was excluded from his high school after a dispute with a teacher hope he will be able to return to the school.

Kim Dotcom's lawyers and the Crown are both considering appealing aspects of a Court of Appeal ruling that search warrants on Dotcom's Coatesville mansion were valid.

The debts of a company are not the debts of the person who owns it, says Professor Susan Watson, deputy dean of the faculty of law at Auckland University.

Treating gambling addicts who commit crimes would be much cheaper than jailing them, and would reduce reoffending, says a New York judge.

Defamation experts say Conservative Party leader Colin Craig has little chance of winning a case against Greens co-leader Russel Norman.

Kim Dotcom is facing calls to pay $500,000 in debts by creditors who have watched him appear to embrace again an opulent lifestyle.

The real-life soap opera of Schapelle Corby's drugs conviction has gripped Australia for a decade.

The Government will discuss frontline police wearing small cameras on their uniforms while on duty so they can provide immediate evidence.

Most of those who seek to reduce their tax obligations are net contributors to our society, writes Damien Grant. The only complaints against them are they do not pay enough.

Criminal files will be shared between Australia and New Zealand after an agreement was signed this week.

It took almost 10 years, but convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby is set to taste freedom after Indonesian authorities granted her parole.

By this time next week, or even earlier, Schapelle Corby could be bodyboarding in the Bali surf.

Stephen Versalko, the ASB Bank fraudster who stole $18 million, will be released from prison this month, but his wife has moved on.