ABOUT
Creative Legal Services is a boutique legal agency offering a new, alternative way for the creative sector to access legal services in New Zealand.
Creative Legal Services is not a law firm and our legal consultants are not called lawyers. Although our legal consultants don't hold current New Zealand practising certificates, they do have extensive experience working as lawyers and advisers in the arts and entertainment industries. By not operating as a law firm, we're able to deliver specialist legal expertise to the creative sector that is affordable and accessible.
Our objective is to help you protect and enhance the return from your creative work. Whether you're a writer, visual artist, photographer, playwright, choreographer, musician or film maker, Creative Legal Services can help you protect your legal interests.
Services
• General Consultancy
• Document Review
• Copyright
• Contracts
• Moral Rights
• Confidentiality Agreements
• Rights Clearance
• Chain-Of-Title Review
• Referrals*
*As a non-law firm, there are some legal services that Creative Legal Services is not able to provide, such as advising on, or appearing on behalf of anyone in proceedings before a NZ court or tribunal, or advising on relationship property. Similarly, some areas may be outside our scope of practice, such as criminal or immigration matters. In such cases, we may refer you to an appropriate independent specialist lawyer or other professional as necessary.
Legal ConsultantS
Caroline Stone
Caroline completed a BA in Otago and an LLB in Auckland before being admitted to the NZ High Court as a Barrister & Solicitor in 1991. She worked at a civil litigation firm in Auckland before working in Japan and New York, where she was admitted to the Bar in 1996. Caroline assisted in the set up of a New York creative agency and provided legal services to their represented visual artists, which included negotiating and drafting licensing contracts and dealing with copyright infringement issues, while also providing pro-bono legal services through Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and maintaining a practice in US immigration law.
Since returning to New Zealand in 2006, Caroline has continued practising US immigration law and providing legal services to artists through the creative agency in New York, as well as working with several New Zealand artists and brands, helping them protect their intellectual property rights.
Caroline has been on the board of Artists Alliance since 2014 and the Flying Nun Foundation since 2016 and is currently admitted to practise in the State of New York.
William Somerville
William graduated in law and accounting and has worked as a litigation lawyer, for an international film distributor and was a taxation partner at PWC.
He has also served on many boards, including the City Mission, the Melanesian Trust, the charitable funds manager Trust Investments as well as many arts organisations including Artspace as a founding trustee and chair, the New Zealand Film Commission, Objectspace and currently Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust.
William has a wide knowledge of the legal and financial issues of the arts world and can provide well rounded advice on issues that arise within it.
Katrina Lajunen
Katrina is a very experienced commercial and intellectual property legal advisor. Katrina studied at the University of Otago where she completed an LLB (Hons, 1st class) and BA (History). Upon graduation Katrina moved to London for a working holiday but found herself putting down roots and ended up living there for more than 20 years.
Katrina started her legal career as a qualified lawyer in London working at a large commercial law firm (Hogan Lovells). In 2007 she moved in-house to work for Viacom (now known as Paramount), first at MTV and then at Nickelodeon where she headed up the Nick UK legal team for a number of years advising on a wide range of commercial and intellectual property matters.
Katrina returned to New Zealand with her husband and two children at the end of 2021. In her spare time she enjoys beach walks, bike rides and supporting her children in their sporting endeavours, cheering from the side lines.
While Katrina does not currently hold a practicing certificate, she was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in May 2002 and as a solicitor of England and Wales in 2004.
