Publicity-hungry Auckland district law society president Gary Gotlieb, a crime barrister who wants more legal aid money, is at it again. Mr Gotlieb warned feisty Investigate magazine publisher Ian Wishart that if he dared publish anything from struck-off barrister Christopher Harder’s upcoming “tell all” book that offends him he will sue the pants off him. Or at least try. Mr Gotlieb reminded Mr Wishart that he successfully sued the National Business Review and won damages when it published material about him he didn’t fancy.
(Just for the record, NBR published a story, some might say appropriately, on April 1 last year about disciplinary proceedings brought against Mr Harder by the Auckland district law society. The story referred to the role of Mr Gotlieb as counsel before the Court of Appeal in a case that was related to the disciplinary proceedings. Mr Gotlieb claimed the story carried the imputation that he deliberately misinformed the Court of Appeal in respect of the Harder disciplinary proceedings. In September last year NBR published a “clarification” in which it said it did not intend that this imputation be taken from the story. The paper said if any reader drew this inference then it unreservedly withdrew any suggestion that Mr Gotlieb deliberately misinformed the Court of Appeal and regretted any such inference. NBR said the parties had reached an amicable resolution, amicable enough for Mr Gotlieb to accept in good faith Case Load’s invitation to the paper’s last Christmas party). It is well known there is no love lost between Mr Gotlieb, backed by the awesome might of the Auckland district law society, and Mr Harder so this story is far from over.
As the pokers are heated watch this site for more revelations from The Gotlieb File.
Case Load Publisher’s Note: Don’t be fooled by cheap imitations. You are reading the REAL Case Load right here. This is not a cover version. Letters of complaint will be published in full.
Keep it coming to jockanderson@ihug.co.nz Posted July 14, 2006
