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Personal Property Securities Act and leases

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Personal Property Securities Act and leases

All By Lawyers Lease Publications have been updated to include new commentary on the implications of the Personal Property Securities Act  2009 (PPSA) for landlords and tenants when entering into a new lease and on assignment. The Retainer instructions and To do list precedents have also been updated to ensure that these important considerations are not overlooked.

Leases often encompass personal property, such as fit-out owned by the landlord made available under the lease, or plant and equipment owned by the tenant left in the premises on abandonment.

In such situations, the PPSA can operate to deprive the true owner of their rights if not recorded on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR). For example, unless a landlord registers a security interest on the PPSR in relation to their personal property which is in the possession of a tenant, they may not be adequately protected against claims on the property by third parties including the tenant’s financier.

At the time of entering into a new lease or on assignment, a landlord should consider whether registration of a security interest is required in relation to any personal property. Consideration should also be given to the inclusion of a PPSA clause in the lease to allow the landlord to enforce security interests in personal property. Any such clause must be reasonable, should be confined only to the relevant personal property concerning the lease and should not affect the tenant’s ability to obtain finance or provide security to their financier.

For further information on Personal Property Securities Act and leases , see the By Lawyers Lease publications and the By Lawyers dedicated Personal Property Securities publication.

Changes to Family Court Consent Orders kit and eFiling

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Changes to Family Court Consent Orders Kit and eFiling procedures have now taken effect, arising out of the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2018. These include:

  • Updated information pages in the Application for Consent Orders Kit;
  • References to ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ replaced with ‘party to a marriage’ and/or ‘party to a de facto relationship’; and
  • Updated sectional references in the Family Law Act for superannuation in the Application for Consent Orders form.

The updated kit and form are now available in the By Lawyers Family Law publications.

eFiling

The Court recommends that practitioners use the ‘unguided’ process for uploading Application for Consent Orders forms. This process was introduced as part of the Digital Court Program and makes it easier to upload forms without having to input information twice. The ‘guided’ eFiling process will only remain available until 31 March 2019.

For more information about eFiling and the ‘unguided’ process see the By Lawyers Family Law guide, or visit the Digital Court Program on the Family Court website.

Attend the 2019 Small Law Industry Summit hosted by LEAP

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On the 14th of March, LEAP Legal Software will be hosting the inaugural Small Law Industry Summit in Sydney. The summit will be the first event of its kind, with a sole focus on the future of the small law industry.

The summit presents a valuable opportunity to discover the latest innovations in legal practice, equip your firm with the necessary tools to succeed in a rapidly evolving industry and make connections with like-minded innovators in other small law firms.

The summit will feature a number of essential presentations from industry leaders including:

  • Keynote Speaker – Dr Alana Maurushat – Professor of Cyber Security and Behaviour at Western Sydney University – speaking on the role of cyber security in mitigating risk.
  • Christian Beck – Founder of LEAP Legal Software – presenting on getting the best out of human capital, a firm’s most valuable asset.
  • Rose Dravitzki – Head of Chambers at Clarence Chambers – will discuss methods of innovation through strategic business sourcing and structuring.
  • Therese Linton – Founder and Principal Consultant of The BASALT Group – examining ways that small law firms can transform the way that they work to significantly increase productivity.
  • Donna Cooper – Ethics Consultant at Ethics4Lawyers and By Lawyers contributing author – presenting on how firms can manage their ethical responsibilities in a technology-based world.

The event will be fully catered and 50% of each ticket sold will go towards supporting cyber security education through a scholarship at Western Sydney University.

Register HERE, claim 6 CPD points and automatically enter the draw to win a private harbour cruise adventure for you and up to 10 guests of your choosing.

By Lawyers will be attending the Summit – please make yourself known to our team on the day; we love to meet our clients and we value your feedback on our content.

Webinar – Challenges When Starting a Law Firm

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Whether you are an experienced practitioner or a recent graduate, staring your own law firm can present some of the biggest challenges that you will face throughout your legal career. In addition to founding a new business and attracting customers there is the challenge of practising the law in your chosen area of expertise on your own.

Being able to foresee, understand and prepare for these issues will help your firm succeed and remain agile in a highly competitive market.

Join a free webinar session hosted by LEAP and hear from two experienced lawyers and expert panellists from LEAP’s 2018 Start A Law Firm event who have both founded industry leading law firms.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Brad Watts

Admitted as a NSW solicitor in 1994, Brad has more than 20 years experience in legal practice, including as a partner, director and consultant. Brad was a contributing author for 10 years, before joining By Lawyers full time in January 2018 as the Managing Director. Brad brings a wealth of knowledge and an empathetic, hands-on approach to the business of helping small law firms get real time access to the best possible legal content via the By Lawyers legal guides and precedents.

Youssef Maksisi

Youssef Maksisi has worked both in the heart of Sydney’s legal community (Sydney CBD) as well as a boutique firm in Parramatta. He has successfully represented clients, whether corporations or individuals, in a range of legal areas, achieving excellent results. Youssef uses these experiences to ensure his firm, Maksisi Lawyers, provides high-level CBD-style expertise with the personal connection of a boutique firm.

Register for the webinar here and claim CPD points for attendance.

Join By Lawyers at the Small Law Industry Summit

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Make 2019 a year to optimise your firm’s performance by attending the inaugural Small Law Industry Summit hosted by LEAP on 14 March 2019.

By Lawyers are proud event partners of the Small Law Industry Summit and our Managing Director Brad Watts will be presenting on the use of legal practice management techniques to ensure growth.

Since 2007, By Lawyers has been dedicated to helping lawyers enjoy practice more and our Managing Director Brad Watts has over 20 years experience in legal practice and has built several successful firms from the ground up.

The Small Law Industry Summit will also be showcasing not-to-be-missed presentations from industry leaders on topics such as:

  • Cyber-security and risk management;
  • Artificial intelligence and the next generation of legal technology innovations;
  • Getting the best out of your firm’s most valuable asset;
  • Internal governance and due diligence;
  • Succession for you and your practice;
  • Turning talent into a high performance culture; and
  • Increasing profit: The lifeblood of the small law industry.

See the full Summit Agenda here.

Attendees will be able to claim 6 CPD points

Secure your place at the Small Law Industry Summit here.

Personal Property Securities – Expiry of default registration period

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On 30 January 2019 over 120,000 Personal Property Securities Register registrations will expire.

The first security interests were registered on 30 January 2012, and the default registration period for a security interest in consumer property or property described by a serial number is seven years.

It is important that anyone who has a security interest registered in 2012 reviews that registration to check its expiry date. The Australian Financial Security Authority provides a useful expiry report service.

If a registration expires it will no longer be perfected for the purposes of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009. In order to protect the secured parties’ interests, the security interest will need to be renewed before the registration expiry date.

The By Lawyers Personal Property Securities publication details how to renew or amend a registration and will assist in all Personal Property Securities Register matters.

Matter type changes

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There has been a technical change to the structure of our Defamation & Protecting Reputation and Neighbourhood Disputes publications. They have been changed from federal matter types to state-based matter types.

Subscribers may notice that the title of the Defamation publication now includes a state name. This is nominative only. The content of the Defamation publication is unchanged and remains the same across all states.

For state-based guides and precedents to be visible from existing matters, LEAP Desktop users will need to change their matter type from Other areas of law > Miscellaneous > Disputes to Other areas of law > Disputes.

Family Law updates – FED

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Family Law updates are included in the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2018, which provides for amendments to numerous statutes, including the Family Law Act 1975 and the Marriage Act 1961.

These updates have been incorporated in the commentaries for Property Settlement and Divorce in the By Lawyers Family Law Guide.

Final property division orders being made out of time by consent – de facto couples

Section 44(5) of the Family Law Act 1975 now provides that de facto couples may consent to final property division orders being made out of time, without the necessity for a judge to grant leave. This means that de facto couples who reach agreement to a property division more than two years after separation can now have orders made using the Application for Consent Order process. This will be done by including an order that they consent to the making of orders out of time, rather than having to issue proceedings to seek the leave of the court.

Renumbering Superannuation Interests sections in the Family Law Act

Effective 22 November 2018 Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act, being the Superannuation Interests sections, will be re-numbered in a more logical sequence. Section 90MA will become s 90XA and so on down to s 90MZH being replaced by s 90XZH.

 

Practice management – The key to a successful law firm

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Our Practice Management guide has undergone a substantial review to better address the challenges facing small law firms now. We have tailored our Practice Management Guide to provide assistance for all firms, whether start-up, breakaway or well established.

Our Practice Management guide contains commentary on running a successful legal practice, covering the following main areas:

  • How to perform a Legal Practice Health Diagnostic Check – a very useful tool for identifying existing strengths and areas where the firm can improve, or as a check-list for start ups.
  • Business planning for a law firm – including a SWOT analysis and environmental scan.
  • Ethics and professional responsibility – crucial to establishing reputation and managing risk.
  • The solicitor/client relationship – how to value and manage client relationships.
  • The employer/employee relationship – all of the essential information required for a firm to become an employer of choice.
  • Practice management – the essentials of managing the work performed by law firms including, matter and data management, financial management and trust accounting.

The By Lawyers Practice Management guide also contains many helpful precedents, such as:

  • Example costs disclosures.
  • Example invoices.
  • An example mission statement for a law firm.
  • A risk management plan.
  • Employment forms – including an application for employment and a new employee check-list.
  • An example asset register.
  • Forms for conducting file reviews.
  • Document safe custody records.
  • An example law firm client satisfaction survey.

Also included in the guide is our Reference Manual – 101 Policies and Procedures which covers most aspects of running a legal practice. Firms can seamlessly implement these policies and procedures as their own with a view to later development and enhancement, or use them as the basis for refreshing and enhancing existing policies and procedures already in place.

The By Lawyers Practice Management Guide also includes helpful articles including The 11 habits of highly successful small law firms by the Global Executive Chairman of LEAP, Richard Hugo Hamman.

Family Law Courts e-filing updates -FED

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The Family Law Courts have announced that they will shortly release a number of enhancements to the online filing system, which are a result of their survey of the legal profession in 2017. In summary, the changes will include:

  • the ability to file a greater number of applications online;
  • support for fee reduction/exemption applications for financial hardship;
  • online lodgement for correspondence;
  • ability to indicate;
    • safety considerations;
    • urgency; and
    • the need for interpreters;
  • ability to upload 30 MB sized documents; and
  • support for parenting orders sought with Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) Exemptions.

More information will be published – and the By Lawyers Family Law Guides updated – when the Court releases more details of the facilities.

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