OCTOBER 2020


greg-dickason
GREG DICKASON
Managing Director, LexisNexis Pacific

Hello, and welcome to the third edition of KeyNews in 2020.

What seemed like a crisis a few months ago now feels much more like business as usual.  Across LexisNexis® our people are more engaged and report being more productive, but there is a clear trade off with longer term creativity and the strain of the unknown.

We have been investigating our future working model and how we can continue to deliver great content and technology to the legal industry while supporting the needs of our people.  Once COVID is behind us, we anticipate a shift in work patterns. Surveys and our own global research indicate more working from home on a regular basis, an increase in remote work, and using the office for creative and collaborative work. As a result, we are redesigning our head office in Sydney to allow for more interaction and creativity, increased use of stand-ups for delivering collaborative work, and a yoga studio! If you would like a tour please reach out to your account manager, we would love to show you around and discuss our learnings.

I am also very proud of the teams continued delivery to our Rule of Law initiatives even through the COVID crisis. Our work helping to consolidate and digitise the laws of Fiji, Nauru and the Cook Islands continues even though the teams can no longer travel to these countries. Transparency of the Law is one of the four pillars of the Rule of Law equation. Having the laws clearly documented, consolidated, and available to search has significantly increased the efficiency of the judicial processes in all three countries we serve.

Keep safe.

Greg


Capital Monitor™

For many in government, the second Tuesday in May, Budget Day, is easily the biggest day of the year. Each year hundreds of journalists, lobbyists and industry representatives converge on the nation’s capital to join politicians for Federal Budget, and the peculiar ritual of all that happens before, during and after the Budget Media Lock-up. It is the day Australia’s Treasury, after months of preparation, issues its estimated revenue and expenditure for the financial year ahead, alongside forward-looking fiscal policy for the nation. The implications for business are many, from corporate tax reform to infrastructure spending, or aged care to defence.

This year due to COVID-19 budget in May was postponed to Tuesday 6 October. Only accredited members of the media and other relevant stakeholders are granted access to the six-hour Budget Lock-up, where they get a firsthand look at the strictly embargoed information, released to the general public at 7.30pm on Budget Night. This information includes several Budget Papers, Government Appropriations Legislation, Budget Portfolio & Ministerial Statements, Media Releases, as well as the Treasurer's Speech.

Capital Monitor at work in Budget Lock-up, photo courtesy of The Guardian

Operating from the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Canberra, Capital Monitor has not missed the Lock-up since the 1990s. Each year budget material is processed into fully indexed and text searchable PDFs and queued to load on to the database for search and retrieval as embargo lifts. This is why subscribers from all walks of life have come to rely on the Capital Monitor panel of experts to gather, dissect, digest and deliver pertinent budget-related material as soon as it is released. While in lock-up, the editorial team prepares a comprehensive Federal Budget Report, highlighting key financial measures, portfolio by portfolio, that link through to the appropriate pages within the original source documents for easy reference. This is published to subscribers on Budget Night, and as soon as Lock-up ends.

This year, Capital Monitor will yet again deep dive into budget measures covering health and energy, social services, employment, education, superannuation, and all things tax and business to deliver a comprehensive wrap-up of the 2020-2021 Federal Budget. All measures will be scrutinized in depth including implications for yet to be legislated reforms expected to steer the Australian economy to post-pandemic recovery. The buzz of the day will likely carry over well into the night, albeit physical distancing, with coverage of industry reaction usually humming to an end by midnight.

All content will be live on Capital Monitor’s brand-new website on Budget Night. Launched in May this year, the new website features copious enhancements, big and small, with an upgraded user interface that brings consistency across the LexisNexis suite of products, and synchs Capital Monitor's information monitoring and alerting methodology with best practice industry standards.


Lexis Advance®

New ‘Snapshot’ view for International Legislation Search Results

In August 2020 the International Snapshot Results View was implemented for Legislation, allowing easy comparison of instruments across multiple countries. To access the new results view, users can select ‘International Snapshot View’ from the ‘Legislation’ tab of the Quick Find pod on the Lexis Advance home page.

This enhancement follows positive responses to the release of the International Snapshot View for cases in June 2020. Customers with subscriptions in more than one country are now able to compare the top 3 results from those jurisdictions in a single view. The countries are displayed in order of number of results returned. To access the full palette of post-search filtering tools, the user can click through to see all results from that country.


Lexis® Draft

A new release of Lexis Draft (v10.4) is now available to download and install via our Downloads Page. The latest version includes WordRake v3.9 (with new editing algorithms and thousands of enhancements to existing algorithms for greater accuracy), and support for the new series of the Queensland Reports.

Our newest version is the result of customer feedback and a focus on improving performance, consistency and user experience. Please review our updated Technical Requirements and Installation Guide before installing.

Lexis Draft gives legal practitioners peace of mind that their documents are accurate, complete and consistent, validating their citations and proofreading their work within Microsoft Word and Outlook:
  • Accurate Citations & Research – Review cited cases and legislations, easily accessing deeper research via Lexis Advance, CaseBase® & LawNow® without leaving your document or interrupting your concentration.
  • Fast, Efficient Proofreading – Quickly scan documents for term risks, cross-references, formatting errors, details missed during a long negotiation, or unwanted residual information from repurposed documents.
  • Simple, Collaborative Editing – Easily mark and share errors for colleagues when there is more than one contributor to a document.
  • Consistent Language Review – Improve the clarity and readability of your document, keeping your writing polished, concise, and consistent when multiple staff are editing.
  • Seamless Document Conversion – PDF to Word conversion made easy.
For further information on the enhancements and bug fixes in this release, please review our Release Notes.
If you would like training or a refresher session for your team on Lexis Draft, simply contact your Relationship Manager.


Lexis Red®

Recent Updates – Lexis Red 3.14

Lexis Red is a digital platform through which you can access your preferred legal content. Through the app you can browse, search, share, and annotate faster than before. Lexis Red is available on iPad, Android tablets, Windows 10 and Macintosh desktops, and laptops.

In our upcoming release (Lexis Red 3.14), the team has focused on introducing a new legislative quick find functionality that has been widely sought by our customers. Labelled Go To Provision, users will be able to jump straight to a specific section or other provision in any legislative instrument contained in their loose-leaf services, saving valuable time and effort – especially in a fast-paced court environment.

Image: Mock-up of Legislative Quick Find feature for iPad, improving the searchability of legislative provisions in loose-leaf materials.

Additionally, 100 LexisNexis practitioner books have been made available on Lexis Red so far in 2020, and approximately 20 more titles will be added this year. Click here to see the book release plan (Jan – Dec 2020).

If you would like to learn more about Lexis Red, please contact your Relationship Manager.


LexisNexis Practical Guidance

Practical Guidance Dispute Resolution – coming soon!

This new offering will cover informal and formal mechanisms of dispute resolution, including aspects of ADR and litigation practice across Australian federal, state and territory courts & tribunals. The content will address the fundamentals and procedural steps of the dispute process, structured by jurisdiction and court. Intended for lawyers in large and mid-sized law firms dealing with disputes as well as barristers conducting matters across different levels of courts, the Dispute Resolution module in Australia will be a practical companion to our existing civil procedure analytical works.

Scheduled to go live on Lexis Advance later this year, the Dispute Resolution module will include coverage of the NSW jurisdiction. Further plans for expansion of other states and territories in the coming months include coverage of the Commonwealth, Queensland and Victoria jurisdictions.


Practice Area Round-ups

Fortnightly newsletters, our new Practice Area Round-ups are a current awareness initiative to provide subscribers with the practice area news highlights they need delivered directly to their inbox. Covering latest developments in practice and in their subscription as well as key calendar dates.

Now available for Banking & Finance; Corporations; Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy; Employment; and Intellectual Property. And coming in September: Competition; Mergers & Acquisitions; and Property.


Practice area highlights

  • PG Banking & Finance – New checklists and guidance on how to conduct VOI checks for property financing transactions remotely during COVID-19 pandemic. New guidance on LIBOR transition. New guidance on product intervention orders. New precedents including drafting notes to assist practitioners during negotiations.
  • PG Business – New precedents on franchising, significant enhancements to shareholder agreement precedents.
  • PG Competition – New toolkit on Consumer Data Rights, assisting practitioners’ understanding of this emerging area impacting key industries (e.g. banking, energy, telecoms). New guidance and checklists on the laws associated with contracts containing most favoured nations clauses, structuring joint venture arrangements to comply with competition law and issues of dual listed companies.
  • PG Consumer - New and updated guidance on gift cards, receipts and proof of purchase, Consumer Data Right regime, Banking Code of Practice, ASIC product intervention power for consumer financial products, design and distribution obligations for consumer financial products, excessive payment surcharges and ACCC investigative powers. New consumer credit tools.
  • PG Corporations – New guidance on product intervention orders, and deregistration and reinstatement. New Modern Slavery content outlining requirements all corporate lawyers need to know. New guidance on requirements for directors who have an interest in a decision. New precedents (Register of members; Consent to become an initial member) augmenting existing resources for incorporating a company. New checklists: Calling a meeting of the board of directors; Post-registration matters for a company; Steps for a whitewash process.
  • PG Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy – new checklists on Data Security: (i) Determining applicable sources of legal obligations for data security; (ii) Issues to consider when planning an organisation’s response to a data security breach; (iii) De-identification of personal information
  • PG Employment – New guidance and checklists on JobKeeper for casuals, misclassification of casuals leading to significant underpayments and standing down workforce where Jobkeeper is not available. New clause precedent for pre-conditions, assisting in new-hire relationships and meeting conditions such as the right to work. New guidance, precedents and checklists on modern slavery. New white-label training materials for in-house counsel and governance, risk & compliance specialists to deliver to staff on workplace issues, starting with modern slavery and wage theft (underpayments).
  • PG Family – New subtopic on bankruptcy in family law matters and new guidance on appeals procedure.
  • PG Governance – New precedents covering performance of functions of board and management. New subtopic on Corporate Governance when dealing with overseas companies.
  • PG Insolvency – New guidance and tools covering options for directors of companies in financial distress, providing practitioners with information on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. New precedents covering various insolvency issues.
  • PG Intellectual Property – New guidance on Brexit and IP. Coverage of Protecting and Registering IP has been restructured to make it easier for practitioners to find what they’re looking for. New guidance on joint authorship.
  • PG Mergers & Acquisitions – new guidance on the proposed major reforms to Australia’s foreign investment regime as well as on e-signing and updates to checklist for the use of electronic signatures under the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth).
  • PG Personal Injury NSW – Substantial new topic dealing with the Comcare scheme. New guidance on intentional torts, cruise ship claims, civil aviation claims and prisoner claims.
  • PG Personal Injury Qld - New topic on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) and the Comcare scheme.
  • PG Personal Injury Vic - New topic on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) and the Comcare scheme.
  • PG Property – New guidance for practitioners on the law and procedures for rectifying, varying and surrendering leases. New tools, checklists and guidance on signing and witnessing property documents during the COVID-19 pandemic. New commercial and retail leasing precedents, with drafting notes and guidance for practitioners on alternate clause wording.
  • PG Succession – New guidance and checklists for remote witnessing of documents during COVID-19 pandemic. Expanded elder law topic, including new guidance on voluntary assisted dying legislation in Victoria and Western Australia.
  • PG Tax – New guidance on how the Jobkeeper schemes operate and how to subscribe to the schemes.


Practice Area Updates


Employment
Decision on meaning of casual employee under the Fair Work Act: WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato

FEDERAL

WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato is a recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia examining the definition of a casual employee under the Fair Work Act 2009. The case turned on an analysis of the nature of the relationship between employer and employee, which was found to include essential features of a full-time employment arrangement. Workplace Law: Fair Work has been updated with leading commentary on this case and its treatment of established authority in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene. The Australian Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents has been updated to include precedents reflecting the necessary terminology to establish the intended employer/employee relationship beyond doubt.




Occupational Regulation
QCAT occupational regulation for health practitioners

QUEENSLAND

Keeping pace with the continually expanding jurisdiction of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, our dedicated publication QCAT Practice and Procedure has been expanded to include a new chapter on occupational regulation for health practitioners. One of a series of 'matter type' chapters, the chapter provides practical and concise guidance on running an occupational regulation matter through the Tribunal, including a procedural guide and coverage of the relevant law.




Civil Procedure
Publication of new uniform civil procedure rules

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The new Uniform Civil Rules 2020 commenced 18 May 2020. The landmark legislation for the first time introduces uniform rules for the SA Supreme, District and Magistrates Courts, and have been designed by the Rules Committee to coincide and integrate with the launch in the SA courts of electronic filing. Civil Procedure South Australia has been updated to incorporate the new Rules, with an initial chapter of commentary and guidance from author and member of the Rules Committee Master Peter Norman. Annotations to the new Rules will be added progressively as the first wave of cases are decided under them, and as the authors work through the annotations to the 2006 Rules and carry them over as appropriate.




Civil Procedure and Arbitration
Expansion of WA title to include arbitration rules

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Authoritative analytical work Civil Procedure Western Australia will soon be expanding to include coverage of and annotations to the Supreme Court (Arbitration) Rules 2016. Over the years since their commencement these Rules have seen increased usage in WA as arbitration becomes an established part of dispute resolution, in both domestic and international contexts. General Editor Judge Gething of the WA District Court will oversee the expansion and the authorship of commentary for these Rules.


The Law of Bankruptcy Notices and Creditors’ Petitions
Q & A with Nicholas Simpson

Gaining an understanding of the law of bankruptcy has become a necessity during 2020. COVID 19 has dealt many sectors and individuals unexpected risk and concerns related to bankruptcy, insolvency and creditors petitions. Decoding and anticipating the consequences of COVID related legislation and policy is a critical skill. We took the opportunity to ask Nicholas Simpson of 13th Floor St James Hall, author of the new text The Law of Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Petitions some key questions.

Q: Do you anticipate an increase in bankruptcy filings post 2020?

It is more than likely than not that creditors will issue bankruptcy notices once the temporary measures have come to an end or even towards the end of the temporary relief period. That will create huge increases in proceedings being filed before the Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court seeking sequestration orders. No doubt it will also result in substantial lodgements of debtor’s petitions with the Australian Financial Security Authority. Obviously, the Government’s approach to extending the temporary measures have been drawn from these very issues, however the noted outcomes seem inevitable.

Q: How is remote access affecting Bankruptcy practice – are there any special challenges for this area with remote technology?

The move to remote technology has been a steep learning curve for practitioners, particularly in relation to court appearances. The preference by the courts, save for exceptional circumstances, is to conduct hearings remotely. Such a preference can be problematic when issues of credit loom large. In my experience, the more challenging aspects have related to audio problems and inconsistent internet connection, which are unique to this process.  All that being said, the courts should be applauded for the almost overnight changes that they have had to accommodate to ensure that proceedings are able to continue.

Q: There are 29 very helpful precedents in your book relating to Bankruptcy and Creditor’s petitions – do you have a top drafting tip?

Always use your precedents as a baseline or guide. They must always thereafter be used according to the facts of your case. Tailor them and ensure that their relevance stands out. That, I hope, is how the precedents in my book are used.

To read the full article, visit our Practice Intelligence page.  For more information about The Law of Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Petitions visit our eStore or speak to your Relationship Manager.



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