Recorded Webinar: Commercial Law CPD Compulsories

This webinar comprises 3 one-hour sessions covering each of the compulsory CPD subjects for commercial lawyers for the CPD year ending 31 March 2025.

Session 1: Professional Skills

When in Doubt… A Practical Guide to Assessing Mental Capacity

When many practitioners hear of a client losing capacity, they often think of an ageing client losing testamentary capacity. However, the skill of being able to assess whether your client (of any age) has mental capacity to provide instructions is a fundamental aspect of the role of every solicitor - not just those in wills and estates. This session examines the practicalities of assessing a client’s mental capacity and provide guidance as to:

• The role of the lawyer and what signs they should look out for to identify if mental capacity is, or may soon become, a real and pressing issue
• The further enquiries lawyers are expected to make (and when) to inform their assessment of capacity (and cost implications of same)
• Discussing this with the client, charging for services undertaken in the process and how to manage confidentiality issues while making enquiries as to capacity and possible substitute decision makers
• The types of documents and records firms should be creating and retaining for use as potential evidence in court - what makes a good file note, and when may video recording be appropriate
• What to do when you receive medical opinions about capacity - what role does it play in the legal assessment of capacity and what have the Courts recently said about this?
• When and how to seek the appointment of a substitute decision maker

Session 2: Practice Management & Business Skills

Getting your House in Order: Preparing for the New Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financial Laws

The Commonwealth Government recently released the second round of consultation to expand Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws. This round of reforms will not only expand the regime to include lawyers, but it will also create additional obligations to verify the source of money deposited into their accounts. These reforms are poised to be one of the most significant change to practice management impacting the legal profession. To help lawyers consider what these reforms will mean for their own practices, this session shall:

• Provide an overview of the changes anticipated to come into effect with respect to lawyers, along with other professional service providers, focusing on the new obligations of lawyers and challenges for compliance in practice
• Consider how similar legislation has been implemented and the impact it has on firms in those jurisdictions, including New Zealand
• Explore through case studies, examples of issues which have arisen in practice in other jurisdictions, such as the intersection with current VOI practices, verifying client instructions, the level of further investigation will be required etc
• Discuss the role lawyers will be expected to play to overcome these implementation challenges and outline practical steps to prepare for the changes and where to go for further guidance

Session 3: Ethics

Talk to Me: How to Effectively (and Ethically) Communicate with Clients

The most effective risk management strategy for a lawyer is having a good, trusting, working relationship with their clients. Communication is absolute key to establishing such a relationship. This session shall look at the professional skills involved with good client communication and how this assists to discharge the ethical obligations a lawyer has to their client and to others. Specifically, this session shall:

• Summarise the ethical duties and obligations a lawyer has which may be breached through poor communication, including from lapses into informality
• Look at recent case studies which have attracted criticism of the court and workshop how improved communication practices could have prevented these
• Consider the different reasons for communication, the level of formality required in certain situations and how to ensure all staff maintain appropriate ethical standards when communicating to court and on behalf of the firm
• Look at the practical issues and risks associated with the use by lawyers or firm of messaging apps