News

New findings from the Governance Institute of Australia offer an insight into the extent to which legal professionals are perceived by the general public to be either ethical or unethical.

There is no reason why legal professionals cannot achieve their goals if they experience struggles with their emotional and psychological wellbeing, argues David Westgate.

A recent judgment has posed questions about what constitutes a valid execution of a contract, write three MinterEllison lawyers.

Criminal and law enforcement responses to the use of illicit drugs have not worked, and a revamp of the system – in accordance with coronial recommendations – is needed to reduce the number of deaths, argues one legal advocacy group.

The government’s proposal to merge the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia into a single generalised court has been rejected by over 65 law groups and governing bodies in an open letter to the Attorney-General.

Although welcoming the $88 million legal aid injection for the “chronically underfunded” system as a step in the right direction, the NSW Bar Association said the government should consider further funding to improve justice.

Profit growth expectations of Australian law firms have diminished, with businesses pushing into non-legal services to meet evolving client demand, according to Commonwealth Bank.

Victoria’s legal professional board reported more than $5 million in compensation was paid to clients of dishonest lawyers, as five practices are appointed managers in order to ensure trust account compliance and a further 14 are referred to police.

The Law Society of NSW has welcomed news of an $88 million funding boost set to be provided to legal aid services over the next four years.

Proposed changes to consent laws could enforce harsher penalties on “catfishers” who trick victims into sexual activity, enforce fundamental rights to withdraw consent during sexual activity and take away elements of bias from a juror’s decision-making.