If you’re an employer or manager of a large business, you need to ensure that the relevant workplace policies are in place.
These are basically legal documents that outline the appropriate response or actions in specified situations such as covering what is or is not unfair dismissal.
Many businesses use employment lawyers to help them draft new policies.
However, it can be difficult to know when you need new workplace policies, and exactly what these should cover.
People throughout the world need lawyers on a daily basis. As a law firm, you want them to employ you, right?
However, people can’t employ you and make use of your services if they don’t know that you exist, which means that it’s absolutely essential to build a strong online presence.
A strong online presence will help more people find you, and can put you at the head of the pack as one of the leading law firms in your area.
Making sure that you appear in the search engine results when people search for lawyers and lawyer related keywords is a major part of building a strong online presence.
All good lawyers will tell you that most cases settle before they ever come to court. This is both a necessity and the logical outcome of the judicial process.
It is necessary because if every case were to continue through trial and a decision by a jury or judge, the judicial system would quickly be overwhelmed.
It’s a logical outcome because the very nature of the legal process is designed to illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s case and give them incentives to settle.
Many Australian business entrepreneurs hire lawyers only when a problem crops up. It’s much wiser to seek the services of commercial lawyers as they can identify potential problems before they occur.
It’s natural to be extremely busy with financing, loans, hiring staff, marketing etc as you launch your new business. In our minds, these issues often take precedence over legal problems which don’t seem to be of immediate concern.
However, the truth of the matter is that smart business planning involves preventing problems before they occur and this includes working with a business lawyer right from the start.
While the majority of workers in the legal industry will deal with clients in an ethical manner, there are those who might take advantage of their clients.
The average person relies heavily on the expertise and skill of their lawyers, to make sure that they do not wind up in serious legal trouble.
They also depend on their lawyers to disclose costs, and deal with them fairly regarding fees. Since the costs for legal matters can become exceedingly high, there are laws in place to protect clients.
These laws are intended to allow sanctions against any lawyers who charge overly high fees. Costs are also able to be reviewed by independent bodies.
Australian citizens often do not appreciate having access to a fair legal system. Being able to have a hearing is something that should be available to everyone.
However, the costs associated with legal trials is often a deterrent to people who do not earn high incomes.
Steep increases in litigation costs are one factor that is making it harder for “average” Australians to seek their own justice. And then there are the alternatives for dispute resolution, which seemingly work to encourage people to forgo litigation.
A problem arises because there is a risk that people who have enough money, including government bodies and large corporations, have access to litigation.
If they cannot use mediation to get what they want, this is a viable option for these groups.
If you are in the middle of getting a website built, by a professional web design team, to conduct an online business, you may not have thought of the Terms of Use that are needed.
Commercial lawyers would tell you that these are needed to protect you as well as to inform users of your website what to expect when using your website.
Any visitors to your website become potential customers or clients and so need to have everything made clear to them about what you offer and what they should expect.
If you are thinking of setting up a business, then either you have your eye set on a property or are scouring the market for a suitable commercial setup.
If you don’t have the finances to buy the property at once, then you must surely be looking through different leasing options on offer.
Commercial leasing in Australia for small businesses is quite common, and that is why there are many options available to accommodate the needs of different businesses in the segment.
Before you can get a divorce you need to have been separated for 12 months.
Family lawyers will tell you that this does not have to be in different accommodation; you can be separated while still living in the same home if moving would cause financial difficulties.
However, one way to prove to the court that you are separated is to have separate bank accounts.
So on the day you separate, you should set up an account in a bank or other financial institution in your name only.
Even if you have no money, you can often simply set up the account with a zero deposit or a low deposit of one dollar.
Misleading Product Promotion Leads Federal Court to Order Significant Fines
According to www.lawyerslist.com.au it pays for businesses to get advice from lawyers and be careful with the way they promote their goods and services. In the case of ACCC versus Reebok Australia in 2015, the Federal Court gave Reebok Australia a fine of $350,000.
They were found as having falsely advertised their footwear in Australia. In addition to these fines, there were also restraining orders issued, an order to correct the advertising, and $45,000 in legal costs.
Cloud storage, cloud accounting packages and similar applications for communication and recording of information have changed the face of business forever.
Before you run off to your lawyers in a panic, please read some of the following information.
While these advances have been beneficial to company directors who can discharge their duties at greater speed and from almost any location, we should pause for thought about whether or not these advances can potentially place directors in breach of their duties to the company.
There is no escaping the rapid advance of technology.
People are interacting in ways that would have been completely alien to businesses and their employees just decades ago.
Keeping in step with technological innovation, people are always seeking easier and faster ways to carry out their business.
Doing business with people all over the country leaves little room for physical documents, or the signatures that are commonly used on them.
The average person might only file a handful of lawsuits and require criminal lawyers in their lifetime. Many will never file a single one. Over a period of 10 years, an Australian man filed an astounding 50 lawsuits. The result is that he is now somewhat prohibited from filing any more. The man’s name is Mr Rahman, a science teacher who is a resident in Sydney. Justice Michael Adams made the ruling, stating that the man had been using using the legal system to “harass” and “annoy” people, among other things. He is only the 12th person to be put on the register for vexatious litigation.
While Mr Rahman is still allowed to start a litigation proceeding, he must get permission from the courts first. And since he has proven himself to be such a nuisance in their eyes, that is not expected to be forthcoming. Some of his offences include attempting to re-litigate matters where a decision had already been made. In addition to that, he also sued his very own legal representatives. The result of that lawsuit was that Mr Rahman was ordered to pay them more than he had already owed.
Rahman has spent more than $500,000 in the process of filing all of these lawsuits. He is also said to be in danger of losing two houses that he owns. However, even after being placed on Sydney’s vexatious litigant register, he is still not giving up his fight. He claims that the ruling is a “crime against humanity”, and that he will go to the International Criminal Court if necessary.
With the number of elderly citizens increasing in Australia, more people are dying as a result dementia, as well as other similar disorders. Since people are continuing to live longer on average, they are also able to build up greater amounts of wealth. This can often lead to some difficult litigation, by people claiming that wills were made by those without the capacity to make proper decisions.
The appropriate court is the only entity with the jurisdiction required to decide on these matters. They will generally use a specific test, which includes the following requirements:
In these types of circumstances, it is sometimes too easy for disgruntled beneficiaries to appear, and start litigation to overturn a will. Without proof as to the mental well-being of the deceased, these cases can be particularly trying. Even if your will is upheld in the end, the legal costs might have taken a toll on your intended beneficiaries.
People often think about those who are closest to them, when making a will. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing that, many Australians are starting to leave money to charities in their wills. When doing so, it is essential that legal requirements are all fulfilled, to ensure that the gift is going to actually get to your charity of choice. Simply writing down the name of a charity that you remember is not a good idea. There are more things to consider.
Things to Consider
When naming a charity in your will, it is important to consider the following:
Double Check the Terms of Your Bequest
It is important to ensure that your gift will actually go to the charity that you have chosen. For starters, be sure that you have the name of the charity absolutely correct. There are a lot of different charities, and you cannot simply use a general term, or assume that you have the name right. While you might have given to the charity some time ago, it might not exist any more. If the charity does not exist any more, you can choose to have the executor of your will give the gift to a similar organisation. This is a good option for people who want their bequest to go to a deserving charity, no matter what.
