3 tips for banking and finance lawyers when responding to an ASIC enquiry, and how to avoid misleading or deceptive conduct.

Significant increases to competition and consumer law penalties have commenced and sweeping reforms to the unfair contract terms regime will follow in 12 months’ time.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is calling on Australian CEOs, from public companies, large proprietary companies and corporate superannuation trustees to review their whistleblower policies and processes to ensure compliance with private sector whistleblower laws.

This is a lesson for employers to pay attention to policy drafting to ensure the policy provides a sound basis for dismissal in the event of non-compliance. Otherwise, the Fair Work Commission may find that the dismissal for non-compliance is an unfair dismissal under Pt 3-2 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Corporate responsibility is playing an increasing role in how the world views your brand or organization, and the impact of these efforts goes far beyond basic public image or social media accolades.

The long-awaited High Court decisions in ZG Operations v Jamsek [2022] HCA 2 and Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1 signal that the contract is in the driver’s seat but flags issues with “Odco” relationships for labour hire agencies.

In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Rent 2 Own Cars Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) [2022] FCA 491, the Federal Court penalised two directors of the now-deregistered Rent 2 Own Cars Australia Pty Ltd (‘R2O’) a total of $228,000 for being knowingly concerned with R2O’s unlawful conduct, which included charging excessive interest and misleading consumers.

Managing a large and varied leasing portfolio can be challenging for any landlord.

Climate change will continue to present challenges for council landlords in how they manage their leasing portfolios.

Three Legal experts from Cooper Grace Ward delve into biometric data privacy, and some key court cases that will play key roles in the commercial use of that data in the future.

Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation has now been passed in all Australian states. This legislation provides a legal process for health practitioners to assist a terminally-ill person to end their life in limited circumstances, and subject to completing a prescribed process.

On 02 May 2019, Four things. First, my family. They have given me so much. Second, the rights of the poor and disadvantaged. Third, a few things I have read or tried to read in my life.

The growing importance of intellectual assets (IAs) means that their management has become a key imperative for business leaders globally. This paper provides practical tips to assist leaders in effectively managing IAs to drive value and mitigate risk.

COVID-19’s impact meant deeds would have to be executed electronically, however, a gap in the law means that many deeds may have failed if submitted electronically. Find out what you can do to ensure your deeds remain binding and enforceable.

Even in small law firms, your staff members often need to collaborate on a particular matter, working as part of a team. The right practice management solution can help improve the efficiency of the collaboration process within teams at your firm.

Onboarding new employees can be a difficult and drawn-out process, especially when it comes to the time and effort required for training. It can be particularly hard for small law firms, which lack the resources that the bigger firms can devote to the onboarding process. The right practice management solution can make the onboarding process much easier.

After nearly a week, the details of the Optus cyber attack are still unclear. At one point, it was thought that confidential data relating to 10,000 unlucky Optus customers had potentially been leaked by the now infamous Optus hackers.

Coachella uses new NFT marketplace to release three collections of NFTs. Why, and what was done to ensure regulations were adhered to?

On 02 May 2019, Council officers from Mid-Western Regional Council (Council), upon finding seven of the Applicant’s alpacas unattended on a public road, impounded (and later sold) those animals, purporting to exercise authority under s 116(3) of the Local Land Services Act 2013 (NSW) (LLS Act).

Plastics have become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Beginning from the 20th Century, they were marketed as lightweight, cheap and available for countless uses. However, between 1950 and 2015, a total of 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste was produced. Only 9% was recycled, 12% incinerated, and the remaining 79% either stored in landfills or released directly into the natural environment.

What are the top ten trends to look out for in 2022 and 2023 as the business world capitalises on the rapid acceleration of technology?

BNPL (buy now pay later) is an increasingly popular form of consumer credit in Australia, but is this a bubble that’s just waiting to burst? Fiona Thatcher, Senior Legal Writer for Practical Guidance, unpacks the issues for providers, merchants and consumers.

John Smith, a junior lawyer with Partners & Partners, Lawyers has begun his day earlier than usual. Snaking through the early morning CBD traffic, he starts to make a mental note of his To Do list – preparing a large class action suit for which he not only needs to wade through thousands of pages of case law, but also voluminous and complex legislation.

We have all been there: That moment in a meeting when someone announces: “We should get our external lawyers to have a look at this”

If we were to journey back in time to the birth of the crypto wallet, perhaps we would discover someone employing ‘poetic license’ behind their creation because, despite the name, crypto wallets do not contain crypto (which is kept on the blockchain) and nor are they ‘wallets’ in the traditional sense of the word.

In-house lawyers used to operate like independent advisors – there to answer any pressing legal questions you might have, or to run a document passed before signing the dotted line.

To successfully run a small law firm, you need good oversight of what’s going on at your firm on a day-to-day basis. The right practice management solution can assist greatly in improving the oversight you have of your firm’s operations and processes, and enable you to make better-informed decisions.

If we were to journey back in time to the birth of the crypto wallet, perhaps we would discover someone employing ‘poetic license’ behind their creation because, despite the name, crypto wallets do not contain crypto (which is kept on the blockchain) and nor are they ‘wallets’ in the traditional sense of the word.

Thousands of measures are proposed across Australia annually, and hundreds end up being legislated, ranging from relatively minor, to wide-ranging policy that can have major social, economic, or industrial significance.

As global and local economic conditions continue to tighten, the challenge facing newly elected Anthony Albanese who would want to kick off his legislative agenda as soon as possible is growing by the minute.

Expert tips for delivering value as a General Counsel from Alex Mitchell, Asia Pacific General Counsel at Unisys. Video interview and career advice for in-house lawyers.

Preparing for disaster or crisis? Free download: crisis management checklist. Natural disasters, industrial accidents, stakeholder activism, cybercrime or the loss of a contract are only some of the events that could precipitate a crisis and cause reputational damage.

If the wind of change a new Government typically carries failed to create a buzz in Australia’s new Parliament, a diverse crossbench, in both the Lower and Upper Houses, and invigorated public discourse, certainly will.

Election promises aside, Australia’s newly minted Government plans to introduce climate change legislation as soon as the 47th Parliament convenes this month for the first time.

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago LexisNexis announced a creative and we think ambitious project – we are going to launch the first ever NFT of one of our Guidance Notes.

Drafting is essential but can be tedious, time consuming and error prone. How can technology help?

In Kozarov v Victoria [2022] HCA 12 (Kozarov), the High Court decided an employer had a common law duty to take reasonable steps to manage mental health risks inherent to an employee’s job.

LexisNexis is giving you a chance to be the very first owner of the first ever Non-fungible token - NFT (that we know of) of “Practical Guidance on NFTs”. Yes, we are going to NFT the guidance note on NFTs!

ASIC reminds directors, auditors and preparers of FYE 2022 financial reports to focus on key factors affecting asset values, making adequate provisions for changing circumstances, using assumptions and judgments that are documented and disclosed appropriately.

The NSW Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal from the purchaser of a hotel business affected by COVID-19 public health orders, finding that although the contract was not frustrated, the vendor could not insist on completion and had repudiated the contract by purporting to terminate.

Lawyers and other professionals must apply their expertise to the hard problems of law, business and society in a saturated information environment on a daily basis. What’s more, the legal, financial and geopolitical landscape in which we work is constantly evolving and becoming increasingly complex. In this context, new technology solutions are indispensable tools for achieving our goals, staying agile, and maintaining competitiveness.

On 21 April 2022, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) issued risk management guidelines (in the form of a letter) for APRA-regulated entities that engage in crypto asset related activity. The guidelines outline APRA’s risk management expectations and a policy roadmap for regulated entities that engage in crypto activity.

Managing a large and varied leasing portfolio can be challenging for any landlord, and most landlords are constantly looking for tools to assist them to efficiently manage their leasing portfolios, particularly during a quickly changing regulatory landscape, like we have during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been calling for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of their culture and heritage.

There will usually be an increase in applications for access to information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA) in the lead up to any election or after a significant change in government policy.

Courts have had to decide many cases in which a dismissed employee claims damages for breach of contract, the alleged breach being the failure to give the amount of notice that was implied into the contract (because there was no express term specifying the period of notice to be given).

The contract is in the driving seat, but who is in control, where are we going and, most importantly, how do we get there safely?

Aurora borealis (the Northern Lights). Stunning landscapes. Outdoor hot-tubs, year-round. All of these, you will find in Iceland. And yet, recently this country has been in the headlines not for these things, but for its work practices? The 4-day work week.

Formerly a lawyer, Lindsay now manages a team of talented Product Managers with responsibility for driving new products developments as well as the roadmaps for existing products. Having once been a customer of LexisNexis, Lindsay is passionate about driving efficiency improvements for lawyers enabling them to spend more time building their practice and achieving the best results for their clients. We took the opportunity to ask Lindsay a few questions about LexisNexis new service, Lexis Web Service APIs and how it helps firms achieve efficiencies.

No doubt, too many times you’ve been told that your business is about to be disrupted. That innovation, or a particular technology, will change the way the law works and how legal firms make money. That the sky is falling and your days are numbered – the Amazon of legal is just round the corner! Or even worse, they are already here!