In this very un-normal business environment, one thing many of us are struggling to come to grips with is how to keep up the relationship with our clients. You should be touching base with your clients now but you should be doing so in a helpful and non-obtrusive way. Now is the time to bring your network to work for the benefit of others. And that means being thoughtful and authentic, not salesy and slick, says Sue-Ella Prodonovich of Prodonovich Advisory.
Uncertainty continues to haunt casual employment after WorkPac lost its bid to have the Federal Court reconsider the Courtās earlierĀ SkeneĀ decision, viewed through the lens of a different labour hire worker, say Jamie Wells and Seone Woolf of King & Wood Mallesons.
The Federal Courtās, albeit not total, approval of common fund orders, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the likely approval of contingency fees in Victoria mean that, more than ever, litigation funders and plaintiff law firms will be on the lookout for class actions, says Alex Haslam of Gilchrist Connell.
From a hand sanitiser called Covidfighter to delivery services branded The Quarantine Concierge, the coronavirus pandemic has led to numerous trade mark applications to IP Australia seeking to capitalise on the outbreak. And while some applications will be expensive failures, others have good prospects for success, say Spruson & Ferguson’s Blake Knowles and Rhiannan Solomon.
The New South Wales Court of Appeal’s ruling that the Supreme Court does not have the power to make an order effecting a so-called āsoft closureā of the class in a representative proceeding in anticipation of a potential settlement at mediation means that defendants may face a heightened degree of uncertainty when trying to negotiate a commercial resolution of a class action.Ā However, there are methods of addressing that uncertainty in negotiations, say Moira Saville, Alexander Morris and Armen Varvachtian of King & Wood Mallesons.
As the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic IP offices around the world, like IP Australia, are accommodating the current reality. As with courts and other governmental institutions, these offices have adopted measures such as relaxing statutory deadlines and handling matters in accordance with social distancing practices. But there are several important points to observe in terms of engaging with IP Australia during this time, writes Gilbert + Tobin’s Lisa Lennon, John Lee, Chris Williams, Mindaugas Skavronskas and Sidney Kung.
As many businesses enter unchartered waters with COVID-19, litigation funding can help avert a lose-lose situation in which businesses fail to exploit and monetise good meritorious claims and law firms are left with litigation resources being potentially underutilised.
It has not taken long. Media reports of lawyers investigating potential class actions in connection with the Ruby Princess debacle will not be the last we hear about plaintiff law firms exploring class action litigation arising from COVID-19, say Chris Pagent and Brad Woodhouse of Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
While these unprecedented and challenging times are placing profound pressure on the operations and financial position of businesses, itās important to remember that companies are not exempt from complying with the competition and consumer laws. King & Wood Mallesons’ Peta Stevenson, Caroline Coop, Lisa Huett and Simon Cook give companies a guide to navigating unexpected challenges when dealing with competitors, consumers and other parties during the COVID-19 health crisis.
If contingency fees are really so bad that they should be opposed as a matter of principle, why did each of the Productivity Commission, the Victorian Law Reform Commission, and the Australian Law Reform Commission recommend their introduction? The answer is that on close analysis, the arguments against contingency fees do not bear scrutiny, says NSW barrister Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz.