Latest publications
It’s mine, I got it after we broke up
In family law disputes it is a common misconception that an inheritance or other large sum received after separation will be excluded from the property pool to be divided between the parties. This issue was dealt with in the recent case of Calvin & McTier [2017] FAMCAFC 125. The Full Court of the…
Thorne v Kennedy [2017] HCA 49
Background The parties met over the internet in 2006. Ms Thorne, an Eastern European woman, was 36 years old and was living in the Middle East. She had no substantial assets. Mr Kennedy was a 67 year old property developer, with assets worth between $18 million and $24 million. Ms Thorne relocated to Australia in…
Brands as a Legal Asset
Introduction Brands are an intellectual property asset. Unfortunately they rarely appear on a company’s balance sheet. As a consequence, brands may often be inadequately identified, valued, protected and exploited. Bearing this in mind, it is wise to institute a program to protect and nurture your brands. Identification It is important to carry out a regular…
The Art of the Deal Sheet: 10 Key Negotiation Points
Deal sheets, terms sheets, heads of agreements, letters of intent, memorandums of understanding, deal memos – whatever you call them, these typically short and simple documents play a vital role in the direction and outcome of a corporate transaction. From our experience, when negotiating a potential deal and putting together a terms sheet for…
Quirks in modern awards #1: One month’s notice of termination under the Professional Employees Award
The majority of employees in Australia are covered by an industry / occupation specific modern award. Whilst many of the awards contain similar provisions, in this series of occasional articles we examine unusual award clauses which are sometimes missed by employers. Most modern awards contain wording in relation to notice along…
Quirks in modern awards #2: Five or six weeks’ annual leave under the Nurses Award 2010
The majority of employees in Australia are covered by an industry / occupation specific modern award. Whilst many of the awards contain similar provisions, in this series of occasional articles we examine unusual award clauses which are sometimes missed by employers. Most modern awards contain wording in relation to annual leave…
Quirks in modern awards #3: No “small business” exemption for redundancy pay under certain awards
The majority of employees in Australia are covered by an industry / occupation specific modern award. Whilst many of the awards contain similar provisions, in this series of occasional articles we examine unusual award clauses which are sometimes missed by employers. Most modern awards contain wording in relation to redundancy pay…
Quirks in modern awards #4: No overtime rates for casuals in the Horticulture Award 2010
The majority of employees in Australia are covered by an industry / occupation specific modern award. Whilst many of the awards contain similar provisions, in this series of occasional articles we examine unusual award clauses which are sometimes missed by employers. Most modern awards provide that all employees – full-time, part-time…
Redundancies: New case sheds some light on consultation and redeployment obligations
Depending on how an employer goes about things, terminating staff who are surplus to requirements, can have very different legal consequences. This article looks at the lessons for employers in this situation as apparent from decisions by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. The Fair Work…
Unusual wills and where to find them: What makes a valid will?
With the advent of technology, courts have had to grapple with difficult questions of whether to accept new forms of “documents” as wills. In New South Wales, the Court has previously held a DVD recording was a valid codicil (see our analysis of the case here). More recently, in Nichol v Nichol [2017]…