by Elias Tabchouri, Principal Lawyer at Macquarie Law GroupAs a lawyer accustomed to spending every working day in court I sit contemplating what the future holds for the legal industry. What is not in dispute is that the legal industry is an essential service and therefore must continue. The way it will proceed is the real question that many of us are still coming to terms … [Read more...]
Same-Sex Marriage On Track To Be Legalised By Christmas
n a historic and jubilant moment for Australian politics the bill to legalise same-sex marriage has passed the Senate today, without amendment, with 43 senators voting yes and 12 voting no.Many senators have described today as the proudest in their parliamentary careers.The bill will face its final hurdle in the House of Representatives next week when MPs resume the … [Read more...]
Anti-Terrorism Laws: Continuing Descent Down A Slippery Security Slope
How does a society balance the values of freedom and safety? And what role do political leaders have in maintaining that balance? If we take recent comments from our political leaders seriously, then they either don’t care about these questions, or consider themselves helplessly unable to resist the demands of the nation’s law enforcement agencies. Either reality is … [Read more...]
Behind The Scenes: National Golden Gavel War Zone 2017
t's the most wonderful time of the year!There is nothing so delightfully raw and primal as watching a group of Australia's best young lawyers tongue-lash each other at the National Golden Gavel competition.Hosted by comedian James Smith, the National Gavels, which took place on Friday 20 October 2017, is more than just a hardcore legal industry public … [Read more...]
Law For Non-Lawyers Course: Curtailing Freedom Of Contract
The law is often required to find ways of balancing competing interests; hence the frequent imagery of scales in the law. One of the overarching principles of contract law is the concept of ‘freedom of contract’, which essentially protects a person’s right to enter freely and voluntarily into any contract of his or her choosing. The law is not there to protect you from making a … [Read more...]
World’s Biggest Legal Event: International Bar Association Conference Sydney 2017
he biggest international legal event of the year, the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference, begins in Sydney this week with more than 4000 solicitors from around 110 jurisdictions around the world expected to attend.Federal Attorney-General, the Honourable George Brandis QC, and Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, spoke at the Opening Ceremony last night which … [Read more...]
Escalation, Vilification, Discrimination: Marriage Equality Debate Must Be Lawful
n the light of escalating tensions between the "yes" and "no" campaigns, both the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and leader of the opposition, Bill Shorten, have reiterated that the marriage equality debate should be civil, respectful and, importantly, lawful.Last week, emergency laws under the Marriage Law Survey (Additional Safeguards) Bill 2017 to ban vilification, … [Read more...]
Will Space Law Be The Next Big Area Of Legal Practice In 2018?
Could space be the final frontier not just for exploration but also for jurisprudence? With the launch of inter- and intra-galactic commercial development, there may be worlds of opportunity waiting for solicitors and barristers to boldly go where none have practised before ...he new space race is heating up – the race to commercialise the cosmos. Both the United States … [Read more...]
Junior Lawyers: 5 Traits That Will Guarantee Your Career Success
You've landed that elusive role at a large commercial law firm. Few are fortunate enough to get the chance to commence their careers like this. You probably hustled your way through law school, with many sleepless nights and coffee-fuelled study sessions, dreaming of the day when you'd finally get that coveted piece of paper. And you got there. Congrats! Unfortunately, though, … [Read more...]
New Changes = No More Outgoing Passenger Cards When Travelling Overseas
e've all been there.Feeling wrecked and disorientated after staying up until 3am completing last minute packing before a major international trip that same morning. Arriving late to the airport, you're faced with filling out an outgoing passenger card including your name, flight number, intended destination and duration of your trip as an enormous queue snakes around black … [Read more...]
Student Survival Guides: Is Your University Watching You?
he University of Melbourne, University of Sydney and many other Australian tertiary institutions are the latest to use ‘learning analytics’ strategies, something that teaching institutions around the world are apparently lauding as the key to refining curriculums, improving the services they offer and the overall student experience.The University of Melbourne is reportedly … [Read more...]
Think Like A Lawyer: Proven Ways To Supercharge Your Career This Year
"If there are no ups and downs in your life, it means that you are dead" - Author unknown.hese days, there is a tremendous amount of pressure (most of it self-inflicted) on young Australians, particularly recent graduates, to have your life and career working in perfect synchronicity.Most of us set some pretty ambitious work/life resolutions for the year ahead. … [Read more...]
Trusting Your Instincts When Making Career-Changing Decisions
n a subconscious level, we know that we should learn to block out extraneous influences and trust our gut more with decisions.From everyday predicaments like whether you should go to the gym or go out for dinner with your friends; forego precious sleep and watch just one more episode of Mindhunter; to bigger life decisions like whether you are on track with your career or … [Read more...]
#QuickLaw: Can You Legally Own A Hashtag?
’m a big fan of the #perthisok hashtag (I know, judge me accordingly) but I never really considered that someone could have intellectual property rights in something that seems so unassuming.Hashtags have proven to be very valuable tools for businesses, with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts that include hashtags returning twice the engagement rate of those without one. … [Read more...]
#BucketOpinion: Cate Mullins On Why Slash Careers Give You A Competitive Edge
rom a young age, we are conditioned to have a fixed and certain view about our careers and the persona that society attaches to it. Questions like “what do you want to be when you grow up?” or “what does your partner do for a living?” all feed into this psyche. But this is dated and dangerous.Gone are the days of a job for life, and thank God, how boring. Today we must all … [Read more...]
#QuickLaw: Getting Out Of A Parking Fine The Right Way
Parking tickets are the pits.Most of the time you find yourself pinged because you thought you would risk it and park in a "No Stopping" zone while you popped into the shops for 10 minutes. You did it. Admit it.Other times, you may genuinely believe that you have parked legally, only to discover a dry retch-inducing yellow envelope sitting happily atop your windscreen … [Read more...]
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Mira Stammers from Legally Yours On Why Old Ways Will Never Open New Doors
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Mira Stammers from Legally Yours On Why Old Ways Will Never Open New DoorsBy Sarah LynchMonday 5 September 2016In the September Issue of BucketOrange Magazine, we catch up with Mira Stammers, founder & CEO of Melbourne-based legal startup, Legally Yours – a legal marketplace that connects clients with fixed-fee lawyers. With a string of … [Read more...]
Hurry Up, Parliament! We’re Dreaming Of Copyright Law Reform
News of the release of the Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Bill 2016 exposure draft was probably drowned out by the tiresome election coverage and any hope of immediate action in the first few months of the new government is pipe-dreaming. This is indeed a bothersome state of affairs for copyright reform advocates.Copyright law is … [Read more...]
Sexual Consent Dyslexia: Why “No” Does Not Mean “Yes”
video by the Thames Valley Police brilliantly captures the issue of sexual consent using the analogy of making a cup of tea.The short film features stick people, together with a simple narration and cycles through some of the main scenarios where consent lines can blur and potentially lead to coercion, manipulation, sexual assault, rape and, in many cases, … [Read more...]
Laws Of The Political Jungle: The Marriage Equality Bill
To everyday Australians, the inner workings of Parliament House can seem complex and confusing.When it comes to making Australian laws:what role do politicians play in the life cycle of a Bill? what rules govern whether a proposed Bill lives or dies? how are laws actually made?In the first of our Laws Of The Political Jungle series, we provide a … [Read more...]