Legal practices involves ethical decision making and complying with professional responsibilities to the courts, clients and the rule of law. Failing to get these things right can not only lead to misconduct complaints but can also result in professional indemnity claims.
The Law Institute of Victoria has a range of information and resources available for practitioners about professional conduct and ethics on its LIV Ethics webpage.
This checklist covers the key issues you should consider when acting for the purchaser during the sale and purchase of a business.
This checklist covers the key issues you should consider when acting for the vendor during the sale and purchase of a business.
This booklet provides a guide, in question and answer format, for beneficiaries about what it means to be a beneficiary, what is required of them and what is involved in managing and finalising an estate in Victoria. The information is general in nature and not specific legal advice. For more information beneficiaries should contact their legal practitioner.
This booklet provides a guide, in question and answer format, for executors about their role, their obligations and what is involved in managing and finalising an estate in Victoria.
For more information executors should contact their legal practitioner.
This checklist is designed to help practitioners avoid common mistakes when acting in superannuation matters. Practitioners may find it helpful to use it alongside our Superannuation practice risk guide
With the proliferation of time limits in legislation today, missing limitation dates is a mistake that occurs in many areas of the law leading to claims. This LPLC Practice Risk Guide lists the limitation periods that have caught practitioners out in recent years. It also gives some claims examples of how the mistakes have occurred and the lessons we can learn from those mistakes.
This LPLC Practice Risk Guide focuses on helping practitioners to avoid the types of claims relating to superannuation matters that arise in family law, wills and estates and property work. In all areas simple oversight is the most common cause of claims.
This list is designed to help practitioners keep track of file handovers, including some key steps in the handover process.
This checklist is designed to help principals or their delegates manage a file transition within the firm when a practitioner leaves. It is limited to client work only and not other employment issues like return of equipment
Claim free conveyancing is an LPLC Practice Risk Guide produced to help practitioners identify and avoid the most common mistakes resulting in claims in conveyancing transactions. The guide aims to raise awareness of how and why mistakes occur, and put practitioners in a better position to stay claim free.
This LPLC Practice Risk Guide provides examples of how things can go wrong in commercial litigation and how practitioners can minimise the risk of a claim. Managing the client's expectation during litigation is the key to containing risks in this area.
Family law clients are often preoccupied and in emotional distress, they require particular care. It is an area where simple risk management steps can make a difference. This LPLC Practice Risk Guide examines the most common family law claims we have seen over recent policy years and provides a practical checklist to help you minimise the risk of receiving a claim.
This checklist covers tips and resources practitioners can use to manage regular and effective supervision.
With the proliferation of time limits in legislation today, missing limitation dates is a mistake that occurs in many areas of the law leading to claims. This LPLC Practice Risk Guide lists the limitation periods that have caught practitioners out in recent years. It also gives some claims examples of how the mistakes have occurred and the lessons we can learn from those mistakes.
This LPLC Practice Risk Guide focuses on helping practitioners to avoid the types of claims relating to superannuation matters that arise in family law, wills and estates and property work. In all areas simple oversight is the most common cause of claims.
Claim free conveyancing is an LPLC Practice Risk Guide produced to help practitioners identify and avoid the most common mistakes resulting in claims in conveyancing transactions. The guide aims to raise awareness of how and why mistakes occur, and put practitioners in a better position to stay claim free.
This LPLC Practice Risk Guide provides examples of how things can go wrong in commercial litigation and how practitioners can minimise the risk of a claim. Managing the client's expectation during litigation is the key to containing risks in this area.
Family law clients are often preoccupied and in emotional distress, they require particular care. It is an area where simple risk management steps can make a difference. This LPLC Practice Risk Guide examines the most common family law claims we have seen over recent policy years and provides a practical checklist to help you minimise the risk of receiving a claim.
The cybersecurity environment is constantly changing and with the release of the VLSB+C Minimum Cybersecurity Expectations, all practitioners have an immediate requirement to ensure that they are complying with current standards.
This webinar addresses the five key areas of practice management necessary to build and maintain a quality legal practice. It will look at the important issues in each of the areas of governance, client engagement, work production, people management and risk management.
This webinar focuses on the key areas of perceiving emotions in self and others and emotional management strategies for individuals and relationships. Presented by Jacqui Martin, Langley Group.
In this webinar LPLC's Chief Risk Manager, Heather Hibberd, explores the legislative requirements surrounding Solicitor’s Certificates, along with the risk management issues associated with using video conferencing technologies in the context of COVID-19 restrictions.
Seminar from 2019's Risk Management Intensive. Presented by Donna Cooper, Ethics Consultant, Ethics4Lawyers.
Seminar from 2019's Risk Management Intensive. Presented by Heather Hibberd, Chief Risk Manager, LPLC.
Supervision is not a ‘nice to do’ if you have time. There is a general obligation to supervise in rule 37 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015. In Rule 37.1 a solicitor with designated responsibility for a matter must exercise reasonable supervision over solicitors and all other employees engaged in the provision of legal services.
Practitioners who act for multiple parties are often caught unaware by conflicts, which can be difficult to anticipate and arise before the danger becomes apparent. This leaves the practitioners exposed to allegations of breach of duty and the conduct rules, and preferring the interests of one client over another. In acting for more than one party, you create a minefield for yourself.
Many claims by lender clients have involved allegations the practitioner failed to properly deal with the issue of security.
In this episode of More Than Knowing The Law Deb Assheton from training and development organisation The Amplify Group joins LPLC’s Chief Risk Manager Heather Hibberd on a journey to empower practitioners to say no and equip them with tools and frameworks to guide them through difficult conversations.
LPLC’s Chief Risk Manager Heather Hibberd is joined by Lav Chhabra, principal of Perpetuity Legal, a small boutique practice of three people that specialises in wills and estates and elder law. Lav talks candidly through his journey to becoming a small business owner and lawyer, and reflects on what approaches were essential to his success.
In this episode of More Than Knowing The Law, LPLC's Chief Risk Manager Heather Hibberd is joined by Liz Harris from Ovid Consulting, a lawyer and consultant who provides advice to the legal sector, to talk about how new law practice owners can shift their mindset to becoming a new business owner as well as a lawyer providing a service
In this episode of More Thank Knowing The Law join LPLC’s Chief Risk Manager Heather Hibberd and Leadership Development Specialist Anna Hinder from Searl Street Consulting as they discuss how all practitioners, no matter their seniority, can benefit from good supervision.
Paul Zaparas from Zaparas Lawyers - a firm that specialises in personal injury law - joins Chief Risk Manager at LPLC, Heather Hibberd to explore how a good business philosophy, coupled with fine tuned systems and processes, can have a positive impact on risk management without compromising the bottom line.
In this episode of More Thank Knowing The Law join LPLC’s Chief Risk Manager Heather Hibberd and Helen Suke, Principal at Suke and Associates - a boutique family law firm - as they reflect on the challenges brought about by the COVID pandemic and discuss the changes the firm has had to embrace in order to adapt and succeed.
Just knowing the law is not enough to guarantee success as a lawyer. More Than Knowing the Law is a podcast series from the Legal Practitioners’ Liability Committee that explores how to minimise and manage risk through building good business culture and approaches. In each episode join Heather Hibberd, LPLC’s Chief Risk Manager, and an expert guest, as they share stories and provide insights to help you build YOUR successful legal practice.
The Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 have been in operation since 1 July 2015. The objective of the Rules is to provide the minimum requirements for continuing professional development for solicitors.
Links to frequently visited legal organisations.
A list of law associations and groups and contact details for each.
The legal profession is overrepresented when it comes to mental illness and in Australia, lawyers are more likely than the general population to experience depression and anxiety.