Criminal defence lawyers are threatening industrial action in protest of Government changes to the legal aid system.
Lawyers say they are considering work-to-rule in opposition to work being moved to salaried staff at the Public Defence Service, Radio New Zealand reported.
They believe that the move will lead to an erosion in access to justice.
They are also not happy that defendants facing less serious charges, such as burglary, are now unable to choose their own legal aid representative.
The lawyers want the Public Defence Service's share of the work reduced from 50 percent to 33 percent.
But the Legal Services Agency, which administers legal aid, said the mixed public-private defender model has proved itself in Australia and will proceed here.
