This recorded webinar was originally part of the Property Law one day intensive 2021.

Topics include:

This session was recorded on 15 March 2022 as part of the Essentials for commercial lawyers - mandatory rule 6.1 - live webinar.

Creditor’s statutory demands – A creditor’s statutory demand for payment of debt issued pursuant to section 459E of the Corporations Act is a common method used to recover debts owed by a company. However, as a matter of public policy, courts have determined that statutory demands should not be used as a primary debt recovery tool and are liable to be set-aside on a number of grounds. 

Due to the concern that the economic impacts arising from COVID would cause a large number of companies to fail, the Federal Government introduced limitations on the use of statutory demands for the majority of 2020.  In this session, Elias will consider the use of and other recent developments relating to statutory demands. 

Practitioners should inform themselves of Rule 6.1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 which sets out the requirements for the four (4) mandatory CPD areas for NSW legal practitioners – (a) ethics and professional responsibility; (b) practice management and business skills; (c) professional skills; and (d) substantive law. It is the responsibility of each legal practitioner to self-assess as to whether a particular educational activity extends their knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to their practice needs or professional development. If so, then the practitioner may claim one (1) "unit” for each hour of attendance, refreshment breaks not included.

This recorded webinar was originally presented as part of Specialist Accreditation Week 2020

Police questioning is happening in laneways, homes and in hospital beds. With the rollout of new technology, police are now frequently questioning people at the scene of their arrest using body worn video. 

These persons may be orally cautioned but this does not go so far as to “provide for the rights of a person so detained” in accordance with the objects of Part 9 of LEPRA. 

Persons interviewed this way are not afforded the opportunity to receive legal advice prior to questioning. The Custody Notification System for Indigenous persons is not utilised. Part 9 rights are vitiated by this policing technique. 

Practitioners are confronted with the admissibility of evidence gathered in this way. The prevalence of this technique and its use in domestic violence offences are matters of professional concern. 

This presentation will explore whether this evidence should and can be the subject of objection and how to go about making objections.

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This recorded webinar was originally presented as part of Specialist Accreditation Week 2020

This session will explore developments in advocacy and the administration of justice from both a pre and post COVID-19 pandemic perspective.  

It will examine the policy and operational context of the criminal justice system in NSW pre COVID-19.  Specifically, it will outline how the business of the District Court and the Local Court, and the prison population have been effected by the drivers of the sustained growth in the number of matters brought before the courts, the District Court backlog initiatives, and the raft of legislative reform including the EAGP, sentencing and parole, high risk offender, and Table offence reforms. It will consider how some legislative reform operates disproportionately against the most disadvantaged people in our community.  

The session will then examine the criminal justice system in NSW post COVID-19.  It will look at the safety measures that have had an impact on advocacy in the criminal courts, as well as legislative changes, and consider how they might affect the criminal justice system in NSW into the future.  

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This pre-recorded webinar was originally presented as part of Specialist Accreditation Week 2020

This session gives an overview of the operations of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) including structure, workflow and workload. The session explores some of the challenges faced by the ODPP including the impact of legislative reform and this risk of vicarious trauma to their staff. Some examples of the work being done to meet these challenges are highlighted. This leads to a discussion around the role of the Prosecutor, the Prosecution Guidelines and how they translate into day to day operations. There are also insights into dealing with the ODPP productively and effectively.

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This recorded webinar was originally presented as part of Specialist Accreditation Week 2020

Tendency evidence is a well-known but complicated area of law. It’s use at common law and in accordance with the Evidence Act has been the subject of much case law and a point of contention between different jurisdictions and even different judges. The Evidence Amendment (Tendency and Coincidence) Bill 2020, which commenced on 1 May 2020, recently changed the application and admissibility standards of tendency evidence, especially in child sexual offence cases.  This presentation delves into the origins and application of the tendency provisions in the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) and examines the recent changes and new provisions introduced by the 2020 Bill.

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WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Viewers are advised that this content contains graphic details that some  may find distressing, including references to child abuse, sexual abuse, violence and suicide. 

Please use your discretion before proceeding. 

If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic or family violence and require assistance, please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) to speak with a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service. 

If you are in distress, the Solicitor Outreach Service (1800 592 296) and Lifeline (13 11 14) offer 24/7 counselling support. If you are concerned for your safety or that of someone else, please contact the Police or call 000 for emergency assistance.

The Dean Waters murder trial in 1997 was a truly extraordinary case which resulted in the acquittal of Waters to the charges of murder and manslaughter, notwithstanding that, in admitting to the shooting of the deceased, he told police and gave evidence that he was following the commands of his father.

For an act to be criminal, the act must be voluntary: Woolmington v Director of Public Prosecutions [1935] A.C. 462; Bratty v Attorney-General Or Northern Island [1963] A.C. 386 (approved by the High Court in Ryan v the Queen 121 C.L.R. 205 [at pp214 and 215].

The converse is that, even if the accused had earlier formed an intent to commit the particular crime but subsequently, developed a mental state, for example, a dissociated state of the mind, such that, his or her actions were involuntary or unwilled, then the accused may be entitled to an outright or qualified acquittal. 

That may be the result, notwithstanding the common law [rebuttable] presumption that the act of the person is ‘willed’.

A careful analysis of the law of involuntariness will assist you in applying it to the alleged commission of any offence.

This recorded webinar was originally captured during the Specialist Accreditation conference 2021 - Business Law stream. 

This session looks at the latest cyber risk issues affecting law firms. It discusses:

• Current cyber risk landscape
• Case studies of law firm breaches
• Trends specific to property/business law accredited specialists
• What you need to do to manage your practice’s cyber risk
• Horizon scanning for 2021-2022

Advances in technology and rapid uptake of the digital environment in all sectors of the economy mean that advising on data and privacy rights and obligations are key skills required of lawyers. 

These developments have also led to an ambitious law reform agenda, seeking to modernise and transform the Privacy Act 1988. This seminar will cover some of the key issues, including: 

• notice and consent
• approach to AI and emerging technologies
• security and data breach
• cross border and related legal issues
• pending changes to the Privacy Act 1988 

Practitioners should inform themselves of Rule 6.1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 which sets out the requirements for the four (4) mandatory CPD areas for NSW legal practitioners – (a) ethics and professional responsibility; (b) practice management and business skills; (c) professional skills; and (d) substantive law. It is the responsibility of each legal practitioner to self-assess as to whether a particular educational activity extends their knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to their practice needs or professional development.

Join a panel of elder law experts as they discuss some of the recent developments in aged care and elder law, including:

• Impact of COVID-19 and legislative amendments on privacy and records and the COVID-19 App

• Recent common law cases

• RV and Ministerial orders, screening and Orders regulating entry into residential aged care facilities (including flu vax)

• New visitor access code

• Duty of care and infection control

• Recent cases from the guardianship tribunal

• Newmarch House – legal implications for practitioners acting for staff and residents of aged care facilities that have tested positive for COVID-19

Kim Boettcher, Barrister, Frederick Jordan Chambers

Lucinda Smith, Partner, Thomson Geer Lawyers

Rodney Lewis, Senior Solicitor, Elderlaw legal services

Alison Choy Flannigan, Partner, Hall & Wilcox Smarter Law

This videocast was originally captured during the Specialist Accreditation conference 2021 - Employment & Industrial Law stream. 

Around 2.1 million people with disability in Australia are of working age.  This session looks at the following topics around disability and employment:

• What do the numbers tell us?
• Segregated employment
• Disability discrimination issues – areas of unlawful conduct; reasonable adjustments; inherent requirements
• Intersection of WHS laws and disability discrimination

This recorded webinar was originally captured during the 2021 Government Solicitors Conference

Using a background framework of recent natural disasters including bushfires, storms, floods, and a global pandemic, Dominique Hogan-Doran SC examines:

• Government responses to the Royal Commission’s report including the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020 and National Emergency Declaration (Consequential Amendments) Act 2020
• Responses to recommendations
• Mitigating risk and reducing disaster losses

Addbacks - one of the least understood aspects of Family Law - In this session, Malcolm will explore whether addbacks remain a valid part of family law property matters, how to know whether spending should be added back or dealt with pursuant to s75(2)(o) of the FLA (or some other way), and will examine the development of case law around this issue over the last 20 years. 

Practitioners should inform themselves of Rule 6.1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 which sets out the requirements for the four (4) mandatory CPD areas for NSW legal practitioners – (a) ethics and professional responsibility; (b) practice management and business skills; (c) professional skills; and (d) substantive law. It is the responsibility of each legal practitioner to self-assess as to whether a particular educational activity extends their knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to their practice needs or professional development.