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Our team regularly produces articles and updates on legal developments and the implications for clients. Our latest publications can be viewed below. Alternatively, use the Search function on the left to find the topic of your choice.
Special Medical Procedures – when is treatment authorisation required? A look at the test through the lens of gender dysphoria
March 30, 2017
In a presentation at the March 2017 Medico-Legal Congress in Sydney, HBA explored ‘special medical procedures’ – the types of medical treatments that neither a child nor its parent can consent to and require authorisation by the Family Court. HBA focussed on the legal test that determines which treatments require authorisation and how treatments for […]
Trainee’s attempted murder not mishandled; Optus wins appeal against $3.9 million award
March 14, 2017
Optus Administration Pty Limited v Glenn Wright by his tutor James Stuart Wright [2017] NSWCA (17 February 2017) Key Points The Plaintiff was a labour hire employee who suffered a serious case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when a co-worker attempted to kill him. This is the latest in a long line of unsuccessful […]
Get your stairway examined – Plaintiff awarded $1.6M for “stumble, loss of balance and fall” upon a stairway
March 14, 2017
Covey v State of Queensland [2017] QSC 23 Key Points An employer’s duty is very high and can include engaging experts to inspect things such as stairways for latent defects. Even in the case of non-catastrophic injuries, where a young worker has a reasonable argument they have lost a career due to an injury, $1M+ […]
“Arrogant and argumentative but not a pathological liar” – bikie awarded $164K in CTP claim
March 14, 2017
Mashaghati v Anderson & Allianz [2016] QDC 245 Key Point Although under appeal, Mashaghati is a reminder that even if there are strong reasons to impugn a Plaintiff’s credibility, unless that evidence is directly on point it is open to a trial judge to accept a Plaintiff’s evidence. Background On 1 May 2011 the plaintiff […]
Architects (and their clients) should take care as to the terms on which sub consultants are retained
March 14, 2017
Surfstone Pty Ltd & Anor v Morgan Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd [2016] QCA 213 Key Points A structural engineering firm incorporated terms limiting liability in its retainer with the architect by reference to usual Associate of Consulting Engineers of Australia (ACEA) terms by reference to them in the engineer’s proposal. Therefore the owners of the […]
Mandatory Reporting – Cyber Breach
March 14, 2017
Introduction At some stage, you will be the victim of a data breach. The consequence of a data breach could be that the personal information of your clients is exploited. According to data collected by Gemalto in its Breach Level Index (BLI), there were 974 data breaches worldwide in the first half of 2016, up […]
‘Lean, Mean, Fighting Machine’ – Lean Law: The next big legal revolution?
March 14, 2017
In the third and final part of our Innovation series, HBA Legal looks ahead in the legal industry and building a culture of Lean law within law firms. It is commonly agreed that changes need to be seen within the practice of law. So why are law firms only hearing about Lean law now? If […]
‘Waste not, want not’ – the modern lawyer: a garbage collector?
March 14, 2017
In the second part of HBA Legal’s three-part series, we take a look at the management philosophy Lean Six Sigma and how it can operate in law firms. Henry Ford believed that “it is not the employer who pays the wages. He only handles the money. It is the product that pays the wages”[1]. Ford, […]
Innovation, innovation everywhere, so let’s all have a drink
March 14, 2017
Greek philosopher Plato once said that “out of necessity comes invention” and out of invention derives innovation. In the first of a three-part series, HBA Legal looks at the current legal landscape and the recent demand for law firms to innovate in order to stay competitive. The practice of law has remained relatively untouched over […]
Better come with a good excuse: Postman’s Application for Extensions of time in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal rejected
December 21, 2016
Devlin and Australian Postal Corporation (Compensation) [2016] AATA 487 Key Points This decision underpins the onus and standard of proof borne by an applicant who has delayed in seeking review, and therefore makes an application for an extension of time under section 29(7)of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) (AAT Act). Background Brian Devlin, an Australia […]