Five years ago, Clarissa Rayward started an online community for like-minded legal professionals, which has become so much more than just a knowledge-sharing discussion board, she says – “conne
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.
‘Take a risk’ and run your firm from overseas
By Jerome Doraisamy|18 February 2021
When Rebecca Murray moved to Washington, DC and continued to operate her Queensland-based firm, she was worried she’d lose clients. Not only did that not happen, but she also became an award-winning sole practitioner.
In October of last year, Lawyers Weekly spoke to Cornwalls senior associate Sarah Bullock – who won Senior Associate of the Year at the 2020 Australian Law Awards – about her 16-month stint working for her firm from Canada. In that conversation, Ms Bullock explained why remote work from overseas is viable for more lawyers most-pandemic, and advised lawyers how they can successfully pitch an employer for such a working arrangement.