As the legal landscape evolves at unprecedented speed, staying ahead has never been more vital for lawyers and their clients. In our latest installment of the Expert’s Edge, we speak with senior portfolio editor Rebecca Atkins BA (Hons) LLB about what it takes to keep Westlaw’s content current with developments in New Zealand criminal law.
Could you give us an overview of what your role as legal editor at Thomson Reuters entails?
I oversee and manage the commentary and legislation content for Adams on Criminal Law. The majority of my role involves procuring and editing manuscript from a large and diverse team of authors across New Zealand.
My day usually starts with horizon-scanning for legislative developments occurring in the criminal law space, paying close attention to Bills nearing assent and any fast-moving/under urgency Bills and discussing their progress and implications with the relevant authors. The rest of my day is mostly spent coordinating incoming manuscripts (sometimes thousands of tracked Word pages at a time) and editing for clarity, accuracy and usability on Westlaw. This involves verifying every single case citation and legislation reference, checking quotations and pinpoint paragraph locations, and ensuring the style and structure of cross-references to other commentary, cases and legislation will support robust linking to primary materials on Westlaw. After editorial review, the manuscript is converted into XML (a complex mark-up language) and I complete a quality check to confirm every tag, link and piece of new or amended content is correct.
Once approved, the update publishes across hardcopy, Westlaw and ProView — followed by another round of checks in each medium. All of this is driven by strict update cycles. I work closely with the authors to align manuscript submission to deadlines and am constantly reassessing priorities as legislative and case law developments evolve. At any given time, I’m shepherding three or four Adams updates through different stages of this process.
What interests you in Criminal law?
Criminal law has been a life-long interest for me. My late father worked as a criminal defence lawyer, then a Law Commissioner, and later a District Court Judge. I grew up around thoughtful discussions about the criminal justice system — first listening in at home, and later as an active participant while studying law and criminology at Victoria University. That early exposure in my family life fostered a lasting curiosity about how criminal law impacts people’s lives and our broader social fabric. My admission to the bar in 1999 while working for Brookers, then later roles at Sweet and Maxwell in London and Thomson Reuters NZ sharpened my curiosity and deepened my commitment to the field of law and legal publishing. Stepping into the editor role for Adams in 2023 felt both natural and a deeply meaningful progression of my career at Thomson Reuters.
What are some key developments currently shaping criminal law?
Recent updates have focused on the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Act 2024, the Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Act 2025, and the Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2025. Looking ahead, the Adams team are closely following several significant shifts expected over the next six months, including:
- a comprehensive rewrite of the Arms Act 1983;
- the Budapest Convention and Related Matters Legislation Amendment Act 2025 and its implications for the Search and Surveillance Act 2012;
- the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill, which proposes targeted amendments to the Crimes Act.
Each of these developments has wide-ranging impacts on practice, procedure and enforcement, and we’re preparing commentary to guide practitioners through the changes as they land.
How does Westlaw consistently offer the most current, comprehensive and accurate legal information in criminal law?
Timeliness and rigor are the core of our approach. I keep our authors closely informed about the legislative pipeline, flagging which parts of Adams will be affected, what new or revised analysis will be needed, and when. I schedule and prioritise updates to publish on, or as close as possible to, commencement dates. Our authors – subject-matter leaders in their fields – continuously monitor new case law.
When their analysis arrives, I review it for currency, accuracy and completeness, and ensure every New Zealand decision referenced is available to view on Westlaw. The result is a living, constantly updated, authoritative resource that practitioners can rely on for both precision and speed.
Consulting Editor for Adams on Criminal Law
Justice Mathew Downs, High Court of New Zealand, Auckland
Authors for Adams on Criminal Law
Henry Benson-Pope, Lecturer, Law Faculty University of Otago
Warren Brookbanks, Professor of Law, Auckland University of Technology
Jeremy Finn, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Canterbury
Zannah Johnston, Crown Counsel, Auckland
Andrea King, Chief Advisor, Courts and Justice Services Policy, Ministry of Justice, Wellington
Nessa Lynch, Professor of Law, University College Cork, Ireland and Research Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington
Elisabeth McDonald, Professor, School of Law University of Canterbury
Melissa Perkin, Barrister, Auckland
Paul Rishworth QC, Barrister, Auckland
Anthony Rogers, Barrister, Auckland
Neville Trendle, Barrister and Former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Wellington
Debra Wilson, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury
Warren Young, Policy and Law Reform Consultant and Former New Zealand Law Commissioner, Wellington
Thank you to Rebecca Atkins, senior portfolio editor and her team of expert authors in criminal. As a legal professional, if you are in need of the most up-to-date and trusted criminal legal content in New Zealand, look no further than the Criminal Practice Area on Westlaw New Zealand.
Other articles in The Expert’s Edge series: Current Civil Litigation insights, Current Employment insights and Current Aviation and Space insights
