Posted on 3 March 2020
Open Polytechnic students have claimed four of the six top places in the New Zealand Law Society’s (NZLS) 2012 Legal Executive Diploma examinations.
Top places were achieved by Maritsa Cousins - Introduction to Law Office Practice exam, Lyn McCarthy – Estates Law and Practice exam, Rachel Barr - jointly with two others from different institutions – Estates Law and Practice exam and Wendy Goodbrand – Litigation Law and Practice exam.
Open Polytechnic student Maritsa Cousins, who received the top national mark for the Introduction to Law Office Practice exam, also won the prize for Overall Highest Achiever in the NZLS Executive Diploma at the Open Polytechnic awarding her $500 worth of Thomson Reuters products. Maritsa says learning of her achievements came as a ‘lovely surprise’.
“I felt that I had achieved an overall good result, and was delighted with my mark in the Law Office Practise exam, but it never crossed my mind that I could be considered for an Overall Highest Achiever award. I am very thankful.”
Open Polytechnic Legal Executive Programme Leader, Cedric Hunt, says he was delighted to learn of the successes of Open Polytechnic students in last year’s exams.
“Our congratulations to all students who worked so hard during the year towards completing this much sought after qualification. It is gratifying to see such effort rewarded and the particularly commendable achievements of these students.”
All four winning Open Polytechnic students will receive a $150 prize from the New Zealand Law Society for their efforts. A further two students (Joanne Firman and Lyn McCathy) have received high achiever prizes from the Open Polytechnic and sponsored by Thomson Reuters for their exam marks.
Each year students from seven different tertiary providers around the country sit one or more of the six examinations that make up the NZLS Executive Diploma.