We are pleased to announce that Holman Webb is co-sponsoring the inaugural International Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Seminar Series. The project is an initiative of the NSW Young Lawyers’ International Law Committee in partnership with the Australian International Disputes Centre and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.

The aim of this project is to give Series participants a greater understanding of different areas of international dispute resolution in private law, public law and investment disputes, as well as treaty and contract negotiation. The twenty-five Series Participants were selected by application.

Last year Holman Webb Lawyers Brisbane successfully obtained orders against a company director and a company officer for contempt of court. The contempt orders were necessary to enforce injunctive orders previously obtained by HWLB on behalf of Beech Ovens Pty Ltd. These proceedings are an exemplar of the personal liability which directors and company officers have for the actions of their company in complying with Court orders.

The Fair Work Commission’s Expert Wage Panel determined to increase the National Minimum Wage and Modern Award rates of pay by 2.4%.  The new rates of pay will come into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2016.

Specifically, from 1 July 2016 the National Minimum Wage will be $672.70 per week or $17.70 per hour.  The rates of pay in all Modern Awards will also increase by 2.4% and consequently increase the amount of any applicable loadings or penalties, however that increase may not be 2.4%.

Associations and charities alike understand the need to negotiate their way through changing patterns of contact and response from government, and have seen how the government’s attitude to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and regulation of charities has changed lately.

Holman Webb is delighted to announce that we have been selected as finalists in the following Australasian Law Awards 2016 categories:

• Law Firm of the Year (up to 100 lawyers)
• Insurance Specialist Firm of the Year

Standard form contracts have long been under a cloud and have troubled contract theory because they may arise even though there may have been no ’meeting of minds’ between the parties. Even so, merchants have found them very useful, probably for as long as there have been merchants. In Schroeder Music Publishing Co Ltd v Macaulay [1974] 1 WLR 1308 Lord Diplock noted the ’ancient’ history of standard form contracts and approved those between merchants facilitating terms of trade, but criticised the growth of one-sided contracts between parties of unequal bargaining power.

It`s important to pay attention to the way the personal information of your company is secured. If you mishandle the confidential information of your customers, it can cause them a financial or reputational loss and lead to a decreasing of trust and considerable harm to your good name.

So what should you do to maximise protection and minimise the consequences if there is a breach?

In the context of claims for negligence, there are few authorities providing guidance in relation to conduct that amounts to bullying. The District Court of New South Wales has recently determined a claim by a plaintiff who alleges that he sustained a psychological injury as a result of three instances of workplace bullying that occurred over a 5 year period (see Lal v Australian Administration Services Pty Ltd).

Congratulations to Alison Choy Flannigan and John Van de Poll for being selected as finalists in the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2016 for the Health and Insurance categories.  

The winners will be announced at a black-tie gala on 28 April. 

We wish Alison and John the best of luck.

We are delighted to announce that three of our firm’s senior team members have been selected in the Ninth edition of the oldest and most respected guide to the legal profession, Best Lawyers.