The By Lawyers South Australian Magistrates Court (Civil) Guide has been reviewed and updated to ensure that the precedents and commentaries are in line with current law and practice.

The extensive review was performed by our author Josephine Battiste, barrister at Mitchell Chambers.  As with all our authors, Josephine takes a practical approach, drawing on her considerable experience to cover all aspects of procedure and focus on practical tips that will help lawyers confidently represent their clients and successfully run civil matters in the Magistrates Court.

Highlights from the By Lawyers South Australian Magistrates Court (Civil) Guide include:

• expanded commentary on settlement options, including Enforceable payment agreements, Pre-filing Alternative Dispute Resolution services in the Magistrates Court and Offers to consent.
• new commentary on statutory actions;
• new commentary and precedents in relation to service outside of South Australia;
• expanded commentary on entry of default judgement, calculating interest on judgement debts and setting aside default judgement entered against a defendant;
• expanded commentary on preparing and filing a defence;
• new commentary and precedents on summary stay or dismissal of claim and striking out statement of claim, defence or reply; and
• a new section on pre-trial processes covering discovery, the initial directions hearing and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

New precedents include a combined Offer and acceptance and an example List of documents for both plaintiff and defendant. All of the existing precedents in the guide have been reviewed to ensure they reflect current law and practice.

We invite you to explore this publication and to consider the wealth of assistance the guide offers for lawyers appearing for clients in civil matters in the Magistrates Court.