Venkat Raman
Auckland, October 1, 2022
Ashima Singh, Barrister and Solicitor at Legal Associates based in Auckland, has been appointed a Notary Public, reportedly the first India-born woman to receive such an appointment.
A notification issued by the law firm said that Ms Singh has been admitted to the Notaries Society of New Zealand, after successfully completing a rigorous compliance process.
A Co-Founder of Legal Associates along with her husband Raj Pardeep Singh, she completed her Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Auckland in 2011 and was thereafter admitted to the High Court of New Zealand.
“The new service of Notary Public is now fully operational from our offices located at Level One, 31, East Tamaki Road in Papatoetoe, South Auckland. Ms Singh proudly belongs to all communities and represents migrants, those aspiring to come to New Zealand and anyone needing any type of legal service,” the press note said.
Almost immediately after the announcement of her appointment as a Notary Public, Ms Singh was declared winner of the ‘Inspiring Ethnic Businesswoman 2022’ at the ‘Women4Women Ethnic Women Awards,’ at the inaugural event held on September 23, 2022, in Auckland.
Ms Singh has been a recipient of honours at the Indian Newslink Awards Programmes.
She received an Award for her exceptional services to communities at the Seventh Annual Indian Newslink Sports, Communities, Arts and Culture Awards 2019 and the Best Businesswoman of the Year Award at the Ninth Annual Indian Newslink Business Awards 2016.
Sources of Inspiration
As a young mother and migrant woman, Ms Singh’s passion to empower people from the migrant communities and provide legal representation for all communities inspired her to pursue Notary services. Deeply committed to social justice, she was instrumental in launching the Free Legal Clinic at Legal Associates on Saturdays (10 am to 12 pm) during school terms. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that Legal Associates is at the forefront of educating people about their legal rights, providing preliminary legal advice free to prospective clients as well as serving people who cannot afford legal representation. Legal Associates Limited continues to prominently advocate community empowerment.
About Notary Service
A Notary Service is usually sought when the validity of a document needs to be verified for overseas use. The Archbishop of Canterbury, England grants a special officer called a Notary Public to be entrusted with this duty. The Notary Public will verify the identity of the signatory requesting the service and then attest or certify the respective documents with their official seal. In some cases, the Notary will assist in the preparation and drafting of the documents to be notarised.
As a Notary Public, Ashima can sign and seal documents that people are asked to provide for overseas use such as to government agencies, courts, and commercial contracts.
Documents required for attestation by a Notary Public include proof of identification, such as an original passport and the document to be sent overseas. The Notary Public will check the document, verify identity and certify the document with her official seal.
Some documents that require to be notarised for oversea use are Powers of Attorney, Affidavits and Declarations, Property Documents, Commercial Documents, Identification Documents, Academic Records and Translation Documents.
