Recorded Webinar: Succession Lawyers - 3 CPD Compulsory Topics

This webinar comprises 3 one-hour sessions covering each of the compulsory CPD subjects for succession lawyers.

Session 1: Ethics: Solicitors as Executors: Ethics and Commission

Presented by: Carolyn Sparke QC, Victorian Bar, Melbourne

For solicitors named as executors, the issue of commission is a tricky one. This session looks at issues around solicitors acting as executors, your rights to commission and what obligations of disclosure you have. It covers:

• The solicitor executor – what ethical issues does this raise?
• What costs can a solicitor executor ethically charge?
• Managing beneficiaries from an ethics perspective
• Disclosure to beneficiaries and disclosure to the court
• Executor decision-making – the importance of considering all claims
• Ability to claim for professional fees and charging clauses in wills
• Determining commission
• Solicitor executors who are also beneficiaries

Session 2: Practice Management Business Skills: Navigating the Cost Conundrums in Your Wills and Estates Practice

Presented by: Mike Dudman, Principal LIV Accredited Specialist in Costs Law , Blackstone Legal Costing, Sydney

This session looks at the billing and costs issues facing succession lawyers. It shows how you can meet the challenges head on and how you can ensure your legal practice thrives in today’s highly competitive market. It includes:

• Costing estate files – pitfalls and opportunities
• Limiting write offs – risk management and pro?t control
• Alternative fee models and impact on pro?tability
• The use of uplift fees
• Monthly retainers and other tips to manage cash flow in estate litigation
• Understanding the Court’s recent attitudes towards costs

Session 3: Professional Skills: Mediation in Wills Disputes: When is a Deal not a Deal

Presented by: John Armfield, Barrister, Second Floor Wentworth Chambers, Sydney

Private mediation has become popular in all forms of litigation including disputes over wills and family provision matters. Mediation which is court ordered is usually easy enough to enforce. But what if a deal which has been brokered through private mediation falls over? This presentation considers the risks and the related and preventive strategies:

• The risks:
  • change of mind generally
  • undue influence and coercion in family disputes - can this vitiate settlement agreements?
  • mistake and misrepresentation
• NSW only - unfair contracts legislation
• Case review - Tomac v Papp, Dark v Dark, Di Marti, Angius v Salier, Boardman v Boardman, Jennings v Jennings
• Risk mitigation:
  • agreements to agree generally - Masters and Cameron in the context of mediation
  • procedure when parties do the deal
  • processes the mediator should follow to minimize risk