When a practitioner moves to a new firm and takes client files with them, it is important to have a way of ensuring all critical information such as limitation dates are transferred to the new firm. The new firm should also be proactive in enquiring about these files and whether critical information has been brought […]
The post Avoid a handover hangover appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
Tactics are an essential part of mediations as practitioners seek to reach an outcome favourable to their clients. However, there are legal and ethical limits to how far practitioners can go in settlement negotiations. Practitioners in mediations should be mindful of the provisions of Part 2.3 of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) and section […]
The post Stay on the right side of the line in mediations appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
LPLC regularly receives notice of claims involving superannuation funds. To assist practitioners to avoid these types of claims LPLC has published a new practice risk guide Saving superannuation claims which addresses claims in wills and estates, conveyancing and family law. You can find the guide here. Family law is the highest risk area for claims […]
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A recent application to join two lawyers to a VCAT proceeding as concurrent wrongdoers was dismissed on the basis that the proposed case against them was fanciful. See Barouche v Owners Corporation No. 409234V (Owners Corporations) [2016] VCAT 938. Two firms had acted for two purchasers of units in the same owners corporation. After the […]
The post Lawyers don’t need powers of divination appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
LPLC’s practice risk guide Pitfalls in personal injury litigation has been updated to assist practitioners who practise in this area avoid claims. For many personal injury plaintiffs litigation is unfamiliar territory as well as being an emotionally-charged environment. Due to this and the complexities of personal injury legislation claims against practitioners arise for a variety […]
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Sometimes claims arise where a practitioner acts for both the vendor and purchaser in a conveyancing transaction. In one claim at the request of a long-standing client purchasing real estate a practitioner prepared the contract of sale and section 32 statement. The vendor also instructed the practitioner in relation to the sale. The matter proceeded […]
The post A sad tale about acting for vendor and purchaser appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
LPLC has recently refreshed our Pitfalls in personal injury litigation practice risk guide. As part of this process, we reviewed the claims against personal injury practitioners acting for plaintiffs. These claims continue to show the need for practitioners to manage not only the law but also the client and the retainer. More than 25 per […]
The post An informed client is the best risk management for personal injury lawyers appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
Reviewing a matter or project to identify what was done well and what could be done better is a very good way for law firms to improve the legal services they provide as well as minimising risk. At the recent ALPMA Summit Ron Baker of VeraSage Institute, an American-based think tank for professional knowledge firms, […]
The post Lawyers can learn from the US Army appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
LPLC recently had a claim where a practitioner prepared a business purpose declaration that was based on an outdated precedent. Most of the loan was intended to be used for business purposes or investment other than residential property. However, the borrower’s declaration that credit was provided for business and investment purposes was arguably insufficient to […]
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The Federal Court’s decision in Devon v Madgwicks (A Firm) [2016] FCA 875 highlights the need for practitioners to follow up clients who do not provide instructions when requested and to document those requests. This is especially important when the matter is urgent. The case involved a client’s claim against a law firm arising out […]
The post Be proactive with non-responsive clients appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
A new GST checklist was launched at the recent LPLC Metro series. You can find the checklist here. The checklist contains: 10 questions about GST that need to be addressed when advising in the sale or purchase of land or businesses links to numerous rulings and websites where you can find more information including the […]
The post GST – a little bit simpler appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
On average, mortgage claims accounted for 6.3 per cent of total number of LPLC claims over the last five years. Unfortunately many are still Amadio-type claims, which accounted for 30 per cent of all mortgage claims of that same time period. To further assist practitioners to avoid mortgage claims LPLC has updated its practice risk […]
The post Managing mortgage risk – guide updated appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
Practitioners who are experts in a specific area of law sometimes find themselves in unfamiliar territory without realising it. Practitioners who usually do domestic conveyancing maybe out of their depth when they receive instructions about the purchase of a commercial building with multiple tenants and where the purchaser is a self-managed superannuation fund who will […]
The post Do you know your limits? appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
LPLC has recently received claims from practitioners who acted in the transfer of family farms to trustees where the transactions were not exempt from stamp duty. Section 56 of the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) (the Act) sets out the conditions to be met for a transfer of a family farm to be exempt from stamp […]
The post Trusts and family farm transfers appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
Some clients might think preparing a transfer of land from a trustee to a beneficiary, between spouses and/or between related corporate entities should be a simple and cheap job. Experienced practitioners know these sorts of transfers are anything but simple and should be treated no differently to an arm’s length conveyance. One practitioner recently told […]
The post It’s just a transfer of land appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
Cyber-crime is a growing risk to law firms of all sizes as lawyers and the legal profession increasingly become targets of cyber-criminals. In response to this threat, the Law Council of Australia recently launched its Cyber Precedent information campaign. The website contains a number of resources to help practitioners combat cyber-risk, including: a summary of […]
The post New cyber security resource for practitioners appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
Searches are a routine part of many transactional matters but practitioners need to read and consider search results fully. Practitioners have a duty to pass all information contained in search results on to their client if it is material to the matter, even where the search was initially conducted for a limited and different purpose. […]
The post Searches are not just for ticking boxes appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
A small mistake in one matter can cause a domino effect, resulting in a similar mistake occurring in many matters and if not identified early, can cause practitioners a series of problems. In one example a firm was migrating their trademark tracking system to new software. In the transition, either due to human or systems […]
The post The domino effect and a circuit breaker appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
Practitioners need to ensure purchaser clients understand their obligations when a contract of sale is conditional on obtaining finance. The standard form contract places an onus on the purchaser to expressly terminate the contract if finance is not approved within the period allowed. If this is not done, the contract automatically becomes unconditional. These clauses […]
The post On the subject of finance – Part 1 appeared first on Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
