On the Hearsay Blog, we explore current news stories and legal issues. Hearsay is a podcast for lawyers and legal watchers that allows listeners to obtain their Continuing Professional Development points by listening to interesting, engaging content on the go.
The requirement for continuing professional development, or CPD, is a reflection of the fact that a career in law is a career of lifelong learning. As the law changes, we must update our knowledge of it to give the right advice to our clients. As lawyers, we are constantly improving our professional skills and knowledge, developing […]
Lawyers in Tasmania must complete 10 mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) points each CPD year 1st May – 30th April to maintain their practising certificate. The CPD rules can be found within the Law Society of Tasmania’s Practice Guideline 4. CPD points are self-assessed, and it is the lawyer’s responsibility to record their activities. Tasmanian lawyers must earn at least 1 […]
In the 21st century, social media platforms have quickly become an essential method for people to communicate with others, in both personal and professional capacities. Social media is an opportunity for lawyers and law firms to quickly and easily communicate their personal brand to the market in a way that is often visually appealing and […]
‘Legaltech’ is a term used to encompass a variety of emerging technologies and software that focus on improving legal services and workflow processes, such as algorithmic document review and document automation. In 2019, the sector was estimated to have generated USD$17 billion of revenue worldwide, and is set to continue to rapidly develop in coming […]
Once an offender has entered a guilty plea, or been found guilty, it’s up to the court to determine the offender’s sentence while taking into account any mitigating and aggravating factors under section 21A of Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) (Act) that are relevant and known to the court. As many as 85% of […]
With more than 13 million Australians in lockdown at the time of writing due to the Delta strain of COVID-19, we have seen a mass return to working from home (WFH), and law firms are no exception. Business development projects are sometimes treated as things to do when billable work is quiet – as if […]
Expert witnesses provide their professional opinion about a relevant area they specialise in that relates to the case. Other witnesses in court are limited to relaying facts of what they saw or heard and are generally not allowed to express their opinion, unlike expert witnesses. The rules governing the admission of expert witness opinions as […]
With the recent changes such as Office of the Registrar General of NSW’s abolition of certificates of title in favour of a completely electronic ‘eConveyancing’ system under the Real Property Amendment (Certificates of Title) Act 2021 (NSW), the future of legal practice is undeniably digital. Predictive coding in the law refers to an automated document […]
With approximately 3 million Australians expected to be aged 70 years or older this year in 2021, compared to 2.5 million people in the same age bracket in 2015, Australia’s population is aging rapidly. This trend is due to a combination of factors, including our country’s high life expectancy, low fertility rates, and the ageing […]
Collaborative family law practices have experienced a surge in popularity over the past decade as couples are increasingly looking for less adversarial methods to approach separation. Collaborative law differs from other forms of alternative dispute resolution because the parties commit to the collaborative process by taking the alternative – litigation – off the table. Instead, […]
Sexual harassment in the legal industry is more publicly acknowledged than ever before, and industry leaders need to effect cultural change and implement prevention strategies to ensure their employees have a safe working environment. In April 2019 the Redfern Community Legal Centre published a report titled ‘Legal Responses to Sexual Harassment at Work’ which made […]
Since COVID-19 related lockdown measures began in March 2020, courts and tribunals across Australia, and the advocates who practice in them, have either embraced, or been forced to embrace, the reality of virtual and remote advocacy. The pandemic has catalysed a ‘new normal’ where virtual hearings are commonplace and legal professionals must enhance their skills […]
Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in March 2020, courts and tribunals Australia-wide were forced to convert to technology-aided, virtual court appearances for much of 2020 – and many of those courts and tribunals are, at the time of writing in June 2021, continuing to use videoconferencing and other remote technology to conduct hearings. […]
NSW is set to become the first state in Australia to impose automatic lifetime bans on criminals convicted of serious animal cruelty from ever owning, working with, or breeding animals under proposed section 31AA of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Bill 2021 (NSW). As at 10 June 2021, the Bill is awaiting royal […]
By now, nearly every legal professional, even those in the most traditional of firms, will have spent an extended period of time working from home as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, even if only temporarily. Whether willingly or unwillingly, almost every Australian law firm has been a participant in the world’s largest impromptu working-from-home […]
While you would be forgiven for thinking that the COVID-19 pandemic might suppress M&A activity, law firm acquisitions are on the rise as firms around the country grapple with the challenge of law firm succession. Sam Coupland, director of advisory firm FMRC, suggests that the appeal of acquiring other firms is ‘higher than ever’, as […]
Until recently, decisions like Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v Owners Corporation Strata Plan 61288 (2014) 254 CLR 185 and Woolcock Street Investments Pty Ltd v CDG Pty Ltd (2004) 216 CLR 515, in which the High Court held that builders and engineers do not owe a duty of care to owners’ corporations or to purchasers of […]
On Sunday 25th April 2021, health and aged care provider UnitingCare Queensland experienced a cyber-attack to their network, causing loss of access to the national My Health Record system across their hospitals and aged care facilities. Based on previous attacks and the nature of the information to which UnitingCare has access, it is believed that […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented changes to economic policy around the globe, and Australia, and New South Wales, are no exception. Alongside the Federal Government’s payments such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker as the marketable centre-pieces of their COVID-19 economic relief scheme, the NSW State Government rolled out a plethora of tax cuts in […]
The new small business restructuring process (SBRP) under Part 5.3B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (‘Corporations Act’) came into effect on 1 January 2021 with the aim of streamlining insolvency law and its processes to ‘save’ viable small businesses. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg stated that the SBRP is part of the government’s plan to help […]
When you think of workplace health and safety, you probably think of industrial accidents involving heavy machinery, causing physical injuries at construction sites and other high-risk workplaces. Mental health risks may not immediately come to mind. However, increased awareness of the mental health impacts of unsafe work practices over the past decade, together with the […]
Lawyers in Western Australian lawyers must complete 10 mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) points each CPD year 1st April – 31st March to maintain their practising certificate. Western Australia’s CPD rules for lawyers can be found in the Legal Profession Rules 2009 (WA). CPD points are self-assessed, and it is the lawyer’s responsibility to record their activities. Only QA approved providers can offer […]
Lawyers in Queensland must complete a minimum of 10 mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) points each CPD year 1st April – 31st March. The CPD rules are contained in Part 6 of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005 (Qld). CPD points are self-assessed, and it is the lawyer’s responsibility to record their activities. Queensland lawyers must earn at least 1 CPD point from each of the following core areas: […]
All NSW lawyers must complete a minimum of 10 continuing professional development (CPD) points each year to maintain their practising certificate. CPD points are self-assessed, and it is the lawyer’s responsibility to record their activities. The NSW CPD rules are set out in the Legal Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 (NSW) under the […]