The Problem – Roughly 500,000 commercial disputes are filed in courts around Australia each year. That is a lot of disputes! Going to Court should be the last resort for everyone involved in a commercial dispute. Why so? Because – Litigation is a time waster; Litigation is very costly; Litigation is a major distraction to... View Article
SS: So who is Christopher Whitelaw, where do you come from and how do you come to be practising law in Burnie? CW: I have to confess I am an import from NSW. I lived in Sydney for 35 years until I arrived here in December 2016. I was and am a barrister and mediator.... View Article
Elder abuse happens in many different ways. Physical abuse by family members, by aged care facilities and by other forms of carer for the aged. Financial abuse. Misuse of Powers of Attorney to sell of assets or spend money held in bank accounts. Duress applied to decision making by the elderly. Undue influence in making... View Article
Are barristers at risk of being replaced by Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Susan Kiefel, Chief Justice of the High Court and Tom Bathurst, Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court, seem to think so. At a recent Australian Bar Association Convention this is what they had to say – For barristers to remain competitive and relevant... View Article
The bad news keeps on coming! In summary – Long delays by judges delivering judgments, sometimes over 3 years; Long delays punishes litigants and denies justice; Whole court system is grossly under-resourced; Some lawyers are too aggressive and use tactics that add to delays and costs; Too many family law lawyers failing to make genuine... View Article
A family court judge just recently ordered the wife in a family property dispute to pay her former husband’s legal costs of $30,000. Why? The judge said the wife failed to make a genuine attempt to negotiate a settlement with the husband. He said she and her lawyers adopted an overly aggressive and combative approach.... View Article
Are you following the fairly regular news on the family court? The Family Court is caught up in a struggle between politics, lawyers, the public and law reform. What do they all agree on? That there is a pressing need for reform. The current financial and wellbeing costs of engaging with the court system is... View Article
Who is a dodgy building certifier? They are building certifiers who certify defective building work as being compliant with the the Building Codes, Regulations and Standards. Therefore, home owners are most definitely at risk. Building a new home? Having an extension built? Wanting to do some expensive renovations or refurbishments? Your local council will require... View Article
Today, anyone caught up in a family law dispute needs to look at the alternatives to going to court. There are alternatives that may work quicker, better and much less stressful and costly for the parties. There are specialists in the field of managing and resolving family law disputes outside the court system. We offer... View Article
An effective triage system is an essential step in effective dispute management. Family law disputes are no exception. For many years now I have been a strong advocate of early triage to facilitate quicker and less costly dispute resolution. Triage is applied to determine the best options and best strategies to manage and resolve disputes.... View Article
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