Wild ride for NSW lawyers: new guidance on direct speech evidence
Wild v Meduri restores ‘words to the effect’ in NSW but remains at odds with federal standards for witness affidavits.
By Andrew Hack, Sonya Willis and Sylvia Fernandez - 2 min read
Direct speech evidence after Kane’s Hire and Gan v Xie: did you get the gist?
Courts are highlighting themes of direct speech witness evidence misuse across NSW and Kane’s Hire is being applied and settled more and more.
By Sonya Willis and Andrew Hack - 2 min read
Is IT the dominant purpose? Legal privilege and cyber attacks
Discussion of legal privilege use in the context of cyber attacks, how practitioners and clients are adapting, and how the courts are responding.
By Eden Winokur, David Dickens and Brigitte Gasson - 2 min read
Go fish? How to successfully apply for preliminary discovery
Preliminary discovery is little understood and rarely used. Andrew Bulley provides guidance on how to avoid a ‘fishing expedition’.
By Andrew Bulley - 2 min read
Writing it right: communicating correctly with courts
Whilst courts were forgiving during the COVID-19 period, recently, judges have felt compelled to remind solicitors of their expectations.
By Caroline Hutchinson, Carrie Peterson and Sonya Willis - 1 min read
Understanding the new rules for children in sexual offence proceedings
The new provisions are designed to help children give their best evidence and implement an alternative trial format, creating novel challenges for trial lawyers.
By Julia Mclean and Diane Elston - 2 min read
Duties to third parties – How to avoid an inadvertent duty to an opposing party
A recent decision has confirmed the general principle that solicitor’s duty is owed solely to their client and the Court.
By Charu Stevenson and Gina Tasoulis - 1 min read
Legal professional privilege and communicating with clients
A string of recent cases in the District and Supreme Courts of NSW highlight the importance of legal professional privilege.
By Justin Wong and Aaron Roberts - 2 min read
Paperless practice 3: Marshalling documentary evidence without paper
Electronically stored information is valuable documentary evidence because of its content, and it is marshalled in a variety of formats.
By Philippe Doyle Gray - 2 min read
‘Without Fear or Favour’: ALRC report on judicial impartiality
The ALRC report on judicial impartiality has recently been released. It makes sweeping and structural recommendations.
By Professor Gabrielle Appleby - 1 min read
Preparing expert evidence: ‘Render unto the expert the things that are the expert’s’
Lawyers should avoid interfering with the preparation of expert reports otherwise the report may be rejected as well as any oral evidence given under cross-examination.
By Brenda Tronson and Justin Pen - 2 min read