Mar 25, 2013 –
There has been another wave of attempts to elicit funds from trust accounts operated by legal practitioners. These attempts are nothing new to the Society and are on the increase.
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Apr 14, 2016 –
It is common for solicitors to be instructed by third parties – most often accountants –
to prepare documents and/or act in transactions (or even litigation) on behalf of
clients. Whilst there is obviously nothing wrong with such arrangements of
t
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Oct 30, 2018 –
Read the Bulletin online.
The Bulletin is the Law Society’s flagship journal, featuring information on the latest developments in the legal profession, informed analysis on key justice issues, previews and reviews of major events, and engaging pr
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Jul 25, 2014 –
The provision contained in the Legal Practitioners (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 1981 and the Legal Practitioners Regulations 2014 dame into force on 1 July 2014. Those provisions include new requirements for withdrawing money from trust on account o
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Nov 14, 2019 –
Collaborative Practice involves a written commitment by the lawyers and their clients to work together, collaboratively and in good faith, to negotiate a settlement. The clients agree that if a settlement can't be negotiated, then the case will be re
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Oct 16, 2012 –
In an Audit Report for the period ended June 2011, the auditor notes that a practitioner had failed to make a required deposit to the Combined Trust Account (CTA) for the CTA period ended May 2011 and that no Notice of Withholding was provided to the
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Jul 25, 2013 –
As a part of the trust account inspection process, legal practitioners are asked to provide Professional Standards with a copy of their solicitor/client agreement.
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Oct 16, 2016 –
In the last 10 years, cheque use has dropped by a compelling 71% with Australian businesses and consumers choosing electronic payment methods over cash and cheques. As Australia rapidly embraces electronic payment platforms it is only natural to expe
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Jul 1, 2018 –
According to recent research, a large percentage of Australian property lawyers are not aware of the scale of the risk of fraud in property transactions. This is worrying as there has been a huge amount of publicity surrounding those matters for some
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Jul 14, 2012 –
However good you think your memory is, there are still risks if you rely on memory alone. A practitioner’s
memory can be supported by contemporaneous notes which can invariably be of assistance in dealing with any
professional negligence claim made
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Jun 1, 2017 –
Further to the Technology theme of the April 2017 Bulletin, the importance of client information and computer file security is underlined by a recent story from the UK where a lawyer was fined for a failure to keep client’s sensitive personal informa
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Aug 29, 2019 –
The term ‘electronic conveyancing’ refers to a conveyancing transaction where practitioners have elected to settle electronically through the electronic platform provided by Property Exchange Australia Limited (PEXA).
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May 6, 2015 –
Solicitors cannot follow their instructions blindly in all cases, especially where the rights of the beneficiaries of a trust may be affected.
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Aug 16, 2013 –
There has been an increase in claims involving fraud by and against clients interstate which is causing a pattern of
professional indemnity insurance claims.
Are you a practitioner that is too trusting when you receive instructions via an ‘agent’ o
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May 15, 2017 –
An often nearly foolproof way to be sued for professional negligence is to sue a client (particularly a disgruntled one) for unpaid fees.
Claims in negligence arising from actions by practitioners in pursuit of their fees are a common source of no
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Feb 19, 2020 –
A list of common Law Society forms, including membership, practising certificate, PSS, trust account and other ethics and practice related issues.
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Oct 6, 2011 –
It is fairly common for a legal practitioner to be appointed as an executor of an estate. However, some legal practitioners are unsure about whether they can charge fees for carrying out executor duties and whether accounts in which estate moneys are
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Apr 25, 2014 –
It is anticipated that the Legal Practitioners (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2013 will be proclaimed on July 1, 2014. This Act will result in sweeping changes to the requirements relating to incorporation of legal practices, cost disclosure and disci
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May 25, 2016 –
In my previous article in the March Bulletin, I commented on the circumstances in which a practitioner/firm needs to have a trust account. I noted that it could well be that a client makes a payment to you on account of legal fees, but in circumstanc
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Mar 17, 2020 –
Points of Law is the Law Society President's regular column in the Advertiser Newspaper.
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Nov 14, 2019 –
A Power of Attorney is a document which authorises another person to deal with many of your legal and financial affairs.
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Nov 14, 2019 –
Links and resources for commencing and managing your practice
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Aug 7, 2014 –
A legal practitioner's name was recently struck from the Roll of Practitioners from the Supreme Court. The practitioner had failed to comply with a court order with respect to the payment of settlement funds from his trust account.
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Nov 14, 2019 –
Many legal practitioners receive invitations from other professionals, such as accountants, financial advisers, and mortgage brokers, to enter into referral arrangements with them. It is important that legal practitioners considering entering into su
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