Session 1: Ethics

Disciplinary and Professional Complaints: Walking the Ethical Tightrope

Despite the best of intentions, no lawyer is immune from a complaint or disciplinary action. A poorly handled complaint can have a potentially devastating impact on your reputation and your ability to practice. This practical session examines how lawyers can avoid, manage and respond to complaints, including:

• Complaint receiving bodies – who are they? What is the process?
• Responding to the initial complaint – the right way and wrong way when dealing with the regulator
• Best practice to resolve matters efficiently
• Disciplinary proceedings – case examples and approaches to take
• Disclosure obligations, including offences and show cause events

Session 2: Professional Skills

Drafting to Avoid Unfair Contract Terms

The unfair contract term provisions under the Australian Consumer Law raise significant issues for all businesses that utilise 'standard form contracts'. Forthcoming changes to the laws will significantly increase the risk associated with these laws, as it will soon be illegal to include 'unfair terms' in such contracts, exposing businesses to the risk of significant financial penalties.

This session will provide a summary of the new laws, and discuss how careful drafting can effectively manage the associated risks. Issues to be covered include:

• Undertaking an effective 'unfair term' review
• Documenting 'reasonable basis' for potentially unfair terms
• Understanding the ACCC's views as to what is 'unfair'
• Effective negotiation strategies to avoid the application of UCT laws
• Understanding when an onerous clause can still be 'fair'
• Techniques for drafting enforceable, once-sided clauses
• Use of mutuality and interpretation clauses to mitigate risk

Session 3:  Practice Management & Business Skills

Getting Noticed - Marketing Techniques for Lawyers

New clients and files don’t just magically happen. While we all wish we were natural-born rainmakers, the reality is it takes a combination of hard work, clever marketing and the development of effective networks. This session covers:

• Gaining clarity on the type of practice you have – the key to marketing success
• The importance of marketing that is measurable and tracking the results
• Business development starts with low hanging fruit - your existing clients
• Developing referral sources – active marketing for referrals
• Developing your connections to entities with potential clients – getting out there
• Devising a social media marketing strategy
• Incorporating marketing in your business plan
• Case study – your firm’s online presence: infrastructure and content

Jennifer Shaw, Partner, Bartier Perry, Sydney, NSW

Jennifer is a Partner in our Dispute Resolution & Advisory team with over 20 years of experience in the legal profession. Jennifer has in depth experience in professional disciplinary matters. She is a panel member of the Law Society’s Professional Conduct Advisory Panel and she acts for and advises solicitors who are subject to disciplinary complaints, show cause events, suspensions and related proceedings. She has also acted for and advised peak professional bodies in relation to the prosecution of disciplinary matters before specialist Tribunals in NSW and the ACT. In addition to her professional conduct practice Jennifer acts and advises in relation to disputes across a broad range of industries including professional negligence, contract disputes, construction disputes, intellectual property disputes, family provision/estate disputes, debt recovery, winding up and bankruptcy.

Nicole Marcus, Associate, Bartier Perry, Sydney, NSW

Nicole is an Associate in the Dispute Resolution & Advisory team at Bartier Perry. Nicole has over 6 years of experience in the legal profession, having also worked as an enforcement lawyer at ASIC for over 2 years.

In relation to disputes, Nicole assists her clients with professional negligence, real property, contracts, regulatory matters including ASIC investigations, debt recovery (secured and unsecured), winding up and bankruptcy.

Josh Simons, Partner, Thomson Geer, Adelaide, SA

Josh is a Partner of national law firm, Thomson Geer, where he specialises in intellectual property and competition law. Best Lawyers Australia has recommended Josh for intellectual property and competition each year since 2010.

Josh was the Deputy Chair of the Law Council of Australia's Competition and Consumer Committee between 2008 and 2022. He led the Law Council's working group in relation to the extension of unfair contract term laws to small business contracts, including coordinating of written submissions and meeting with Treasury regarding the drafting and implementation of the new laws.

Josh undertakes competition and consumer law advisory work for clients in a diverse range of industries, including franchise networks, major retailers, food and beverage suppliers, manufacturers, government bodies, and consumer healthcare providers. He regularly designs and implements competition and consumer law compliance programs, including in relation to managing unfair contract term risk.

Matthew Burgess, Director, View Legal, Brisbane, Qld

Matthew Burgess co-founded specialist firm View Legal in 2014, having been a lawyer and partner of one of Australia’s leading independent law firms for over 17 years. Matthew’s passion is helping clients successfully achieve their goals.

Matthew specialises in holistic estate planning (including trusts, tax, asset protection, structuring, business succession and superannuation).

He has been recognised for many years in the ‘Best Lawyers’ list in relation to trusts and estates, and wealth management/succession planning and either personally or as part of View in Doyles’ in relation to taxation, and wills, estates and succession planning.

This webinar is suitable for lawyers practising in commercial law - Australia wide and it has been designed to deliver the 3 compulsory subject CPD units for the CPD year ending 31st March 2023.

Lawyers can claim 3 CPD units – 1 unit each for Ethics, Professional skills and Practice Management & Business Skills.

WA lawyers – Please note that TEN is unable to verify your completion of recorded webinars to the Legal Practice Board of WA. TEN is an accredited provider.