Regional Workshop: Gladstone – Day One

Family Provision Applications are the most common “challenges” to a will. They enable spouses (including de facto spouses) and the deceased’s children (including step-children) as well as the deceased’s ‘dependants’ to bring an Application to the Court under Part 4 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld).

Receive step-by-step guidance on how to approach the drafting and evidentiary aspects of a Family Provision Application on behalf of an applicant or defendant in the context of a parent, spouse, former spouse, child or step-child of the deceased with particular regard to:

- identifying key questions to ask an applicant or defendant
- evidentiary considerations – what to argue and how to support it
- lessons from recent successful and unsuccessful applications
- tips specific to second marriages, black sheep and dysfunctional families
- how to challenge or defend the capacity of a deceased person in an FPA.

• The blended family – the issues that arise;
• A brief overview of the tools available to document and give effect to your client’s wishes including life interests, rights of residence, trusts, superannuation nominations, financial agreements and other documents.
• A closer look at financial agreements;
  - what they must include for family law purposes;
  - what they may include for succession purposes;
  - how effective are financial agreements for family law purposes/succession purposes;
• What provisions to include in a financial agreement when dealing with a second or subsequent spouse;
• The will and other documents to compliment the financial agreement.

On 6 December 2011, the Strategic Cropping Land Act 2011 was given assent by the Governor in Council. The Queensland Government anticipates that the new legislation will commence on 30 January 2012. Regional practitioners are likely to come into contact with this legislation for resource projects including coal seam gas and underground coal gasification as well as urban development and industrial development, which will all be assessed under the new legislation.

This session identifies the concerns that land owners are likely to have in relation to how the trigger maps identify strategic cropping land. You will also be provided with guidance on how to challenge the classifications with an on-ground assessment using the prescribed criteria.

- Significance of an area allocated for protection or management
- Impacts of the SLC on landowners and resource companies
- Challenging the trigger maps identifying strategic cropping land
- Examples of how to apply the on-ground assessment criteria
- Guidance on using the interactive resource and tenure maps

Mediation is often the best possible avenue of action for resolving outcomes. It can also be a particularly effective method of building good will with your clients. Presented by nationally accredited mediator, Anand Shah, this session sets out common types of scenarios for which mediation is particularly suitable.

Receive insight on how to employ techniques to identify issues, develop options and facilitate a consideration of alternatives for the purpose of making decisions about future actions and outcomes. As a third party assisting the participants to reach their own decision, you will receive guidance on how to:

- practical considerations for preparing clients involved in the mediation processassist the participants to define and clarify the issues under consideration
- assist participants to communicate and exchange relevant information
- invite the clarification of issues and disputes to increase the range of options
- provide opportunities for understanding
- facilitate an awareness of mutual and individual interests
- help the participants generate and evaluate various options, and
- promote a focus on the interests and needs of those who may be subject to, or affected by, the situation and proposed options.

Practitioners representing clients in criminal matters have had some longstanding practices challenged by a series of appellate decisions in 2011.

Five distinct areas that criminal practitioners need to be aware of with particular regard to issues highlighted in recent decisions, include:

1) BROWN v QPS ²⁰¹¹ QDC 301, POLICE v WARCON ²⁰¹¹ QDC 28 on the regular habit of duty lawyers announcing their client’s plea to the court rather than letting the client plead guilty themselves
2) R v AAM E.P. A-G (Qld)²⁰¹⁰ QCA 305 on the assessment of clients with psychiatric and intellectual handicaps by duty lawyers
3) R v DORAHO ²⁰¹¹QCA 29 and the dilution of the rule in R v Kitson on parole release dates
4) R v NERBAS ²⁰¹¹ QCA 199 on the dangers of being too forceful and persuasive in conference with your client during a trial
5) BJG v R ²⁰¹¹ QMC 1 (and many other cases) which are establishing the guidelines for cross examination of witnesses at committal post the Moynihan reforms.

Employee protection now reaches well beyond the old termination provisions, and prospectively includes all decisions made during the employment period. These new ‘workplace rights’ provisions protect employees from adverse action and place practitioners on notice of the need to advise how adverse action can give rise to serious workplace disputes and successful claims. This extended scope reduces the ability of an employer to take action against employees and requires all action to be carefully considered.

This session will address:

- clarifying the breadth of freedom of association provisions in the Act
- proving contravention; your roadmap for representing employees
- advising employers on issues with individual flexibility agreements
- linking adverse action with issues concerning paid parental leave
- steps to take when defending claims of adverse action
- evidencing the ‘real reasons’ for an employer’s decision
- application and limitations of broad general protection provisions
- safety checklist before taking any disciplinary step against an employee in a union.

Presented by the Queensland Law Society Banking and Finance Law Committee, this short seminar provides a summary and guidance for solicitors advising commercial clients in relation to the Personal Properties Securities Act. This reform will affect how securities are regulated and how business is conducted. Highlighting the essential provisions and fundamental changes this seminar provides delegates with an opportunity to:

- identify transactions that will fall within the new regime, including traditional securities over personal property (bills of sale, charges, liens, pledges) and also retention of title provisions in sale contracts, finance leases, hire purchase agreements, assignments of debt, certain leases, consignments, flawed asset arrangements
- be introduced to new concepts and means of protecting interests, and receive a broad overview of several hundreds of pages of new legislation
- understand the timeline of reform
- determine what you need to do to assist your clients in navigating the reform
- ask questions about the new regime.