A quick chat with...
Lyn Wain, Solicitor - Legal Services in the Advice Team, Inland Revenue & ILANZ Committee Member
How long have you been on the ILANZ Committee for? I joined the Committee recently in May 2020.
What do you hope to achieve as a ILANZ Committee member in the year ahead? I’m keen to see more activities and opportunities to connect and widen our networks for professional support and well-being, as we are prone to being isolated. I also hope to see more sponsored online CPD events especially for ILANZ members outside of Auckland and Wellington.
What do you do? I work at Inland Revenue in Christchurch as a solicitor for Legal Services in the Advice Team and I’ve been doing this job for 8 years. The work that I do mainly involves providing legal advice and support in the tax technical area to our internal customers. This also includes taxpayer disputes work, private and short process rulings plus for the last two years, I’ve been a health and safety representative for my business group where I’m based.
What do you like most about your job? There’s plenty of variety and lots of challenging work. In short it’s always taxing but never boring!
What is a career highlight so far? Being part of a dynamic world-class revenue organisation, witnessing the transformation within IR in the last 5 years to a customer-led, technology driven and future-fit workplace and how we’ve been able to respond at pace and support the Government and New Zealanders during COVID.
What are some challenges or issues that you think in-house lawyers are facing today? Doing more for less, wearing too many hats and balancing multiple pressures. In-house lawyers can also be misunderstood and seen as a roadblock, so it’s about making sure our customers understand that we are all on the same team and explaining why we are giving the advice we do.
What are some fallacies that you have heard about in-house lawyers? In-house lawyers aren’t of the same calibre as those in private practice.
What are your hobbies? I love exploring the beautiful outdoors right at our doorstep, with my husband and I also enjoy singing in big group choirs. It was a privilege to be able to perform to a live audience in the Town Hall in October this year and our last concert in early November was dedicated to all musicians around the world who are unable to do so.
Anything else you would like to add? What a year it’s been and glad I live in Aoteroa