The overriding duties of a company director are to function on behalf of shareholders and to uphold the interests of the business. However, alongside these responsibilities come several key obligations which ensure directors will always act in the best interests of the business, rather than themselves. These are as follows: Acting with care and diligence […]

      Including alternate dispute resolution clauses in contracts aims to protect against the escalation of disputes by compelling the parties to try to solve the problems commercially, before recourse to the courts. The most common form of dispute resolution is mediation- parties are obliged to negotiate in good faith to resolve the dispute […]

Changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 came into place on 1 January 2014, bringing with them increased provisions regarding workplace bullying. Previously, workplace bullying could only be addressed through other more general areas of law such as workers compensation and anti-discrimination legislation. Now, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has begun to directly manage these […]

Private car parking operators are notorious for presenting customers with onerous terms and ‘payment notices’ for overstaying the purchased time.  Consumers should be aware that these practices are often illegal and the “payment notices” unenforceable. The rule of thumb is that if the amount claimed is a “penalty” then it is unenforceable. If it is […]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has now begun to exercise its powers under the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act), recently accusing Coles of engaging in unconscionable conduct. Coles must now defend itself against claims that, in violation of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), it used unfair tactics and pressured suppliers […]

Breaking Bad’s infamous ‘Saul Goodman’ begins his professional relationship with the series’ anti-heroes by demanding that each place one dollar in his pocket, for the purposes of enacting attorney-client privileges. Is this a dramatic device, or is this how situations really unfold in the U.S.? Would such an act be required in Australia? Legal professional […]

Over the course of the investigation, the question has arisen as to whether the players themselves are responsible for potentially contravening the World Anti Doping Agency’s code or whether the Essendon Football Club is to liable vicariously. [Note: “Vicarious liability” is the responsibility of the superior at law for the actions of a subordinate under […]

Claims by Coles that its baked goods are freshly baked in store have drawn the ire of the ACCC. The ACCC is pursuing Coles for false, misleading or deceptive claims in relation to the bakery items. If the ACCC is successful, Coles could be up for some serious dough.   The goods are either baked […]

    Recently a Federal Court Judge in the USA ruled that Apple colluded to fix e-book prices, in violation of anti-trust law. What happened: In 2010, when Apple was about to launch the iPad and iBookstore, Amazon.com had a monopoly on e-book retailing. Amazon’s success was largely due to the popularity of Kindle and […]