The mentor and mentee relationships remain just as critically important as they were before the global pandemic but how young lawyers build and maintain connections has undergone a radical change. Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, College of Law executive director Ann-Maree David breaks down what lawyers now need to do.
Budget 2021: Are family lawyers happy?
By Jerome Doraisamy|13 May 2021
Following the almost half a billion dollars in funding to strengthen the family law system, Lawyers Weekly spoke with practitioners in this space to get their reactions and thoughts on what more needs to be done.
On the evening of Tuesday, 11 May, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the provision of $416.2 million over the next four years to support women and families experiencing family and domestic violence through a number of measures to increase information sharing and support in the family law system.
New initiatives announced in the budget include:
$85 million over three years from 2022-23 in additional funding for enhanced social supports under the Family Advocacy and Support Services and for 26 new locations, including in regional areas.
Fixed fees reaping rewards for smaller firms
By Jerome Doraisamy|27 April 2021
SME law firms are witnessing an increase in requests for fixed fees, as well as greater profitability – and the future looks bright for charging in such a fashion, too.
Australian cloud-based legal practice management software Smokeball has just released its
State of Small Law Australia Survey results, for which it interviewed 134 small law firms across Australia in February of this year.
The results, the provider noted, show that there is a substantial increase in clients asking for their matters to be done by way of fixed fees, and that the outcomes for law firms are more profitable. This movement towards fixed pricing isn’t necessarily segmented to particular practice areas and niche boutiques, either – respondents are seeing fixed fees in practice areas across the board, from family law to litigation, conveyancing to wills and estate planning.
Legal profession hits back at Porter for ‘flawed’ Family Court merger
By Naomi Neilson|18 February 2021
No matter how the government tries to sell it, the legal profession holds fast to claims that the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court merger is “flawed” and based on “widely discredited” evidence that will only hinder the delays it sought to manage.
Despite years of criticisms from major legal bodies, expert commentary, responses from those at the top of the courts and evidence that the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court merger would only hinder the system even further, the government has approved it. While it has been marketed as a way to improve costs and delays, the legal profession has warned that it will only have detrimental consequences.
Social media key to successful legal career, young lawyer says
By Naomi Neilson|08 February 2021
The time for putting away phones at work and sneaking peaks at Instagram and Twitter notifications might be over as more firms see the benefit of prioritising a strong, healthy social media presence. According to one young lawyer, this kind of connectivity is key to her work, her network connections and to finding new, potential clients.
In a colourful, bright and regularly updated Instagram feed, a divorce and family lawyer from Brisbane Family Law Centre (BFLC) has continued to attract valuable networking connections and clients in ways that competitors have not yet mastered. Young lawyer Kiarah Kelly said she also owes her BFLC position almost entirely to her online brand.