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101 Costs Answers – ALL STATES

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101 Costs Answers is the latest addition to the By Lawyers ‘101’ series of helpful reference materials.

Located in the Reference materials folder on every By Lawyers matter plan, this publication contains valuable commentary and precedents on all aspects of legal costs.

The precedents include all of the By Lawyers costs agreements/client services agreements and costs disclosures, drawn together from all By Lawyers publications into a convenient single publication.

The By Lawyers costs agreements are compliant with the strict requirements of the various state laws. They cater for all areas of law, with detailed recitals of the scope of work usually undertaken in each type of matter. This not only defines the retainer but makes it easy for practitioners to produce documents quickly upon engagement.

The 101 Costs Answers commentary includes:

Disclosure requirements

The commentary helps practitioners to navigate some of the more complicated disclosure requirements including regulated costs and the specific obligations for different types of litigation matters. The effect of non-disclosure is also covered.

Disbursements

Commentary on defining and recovering disbursements includes relevant case law and examples. The By Lawyers costs agreements are drafted to clearly identify usual disbursements.

Counsel’s fees

The commentary deals with the contractual relationship between solicitors and barristers as well as disclosure requirements. With the solicitor responsible for payment of counsel’s fees regardless of the solicitor’s agreement with the client, the By Lawyers costs agreements include counsel’s fees as specific disbursements which the client is obliged to pay.

Debt recovery

Where debt recovery is necessary, 101 Costs Answers contains letters of demand and example pleadings to assist with the recovery of costs. There is also detailed commentary on costs assessment procedures and the relevant forms for each state are available on the matter plan.

Like all By Lawyers publications, 101 Costs Answers contains interactive links to relevant legislation and cases, which are always kept updated.

Costs disclosure – Increase of legal rates during a matter

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Increase of legal rates during a matter

All By Lawyers Costs Agreements and Client Service Agreements have been updated to include a clause notifying a client that legal rates may increase during the course of a matter requiring a revision of the costs estimate provided. This clause provides for 30 days written notice of any proposed changes to legal rates. While such a clause is not required by Legal Profession legislation concerning costs disclosure requirements, providing such notice on initial costs disclosure is considered best practice.

All of our Guides contain Costs Agreements (Client Service Agreements for QLD Guides) within the folder ‘A. Getting the mater underway’. All of our agreements are compliant with the relevant Legal Profession legislation and are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure compliance.

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.

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.

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