One Source of Truth

Posted by: Karen Thompson

 

Without wanting to sound like an Oprah groupie, I remember my 'light bulb' moment when I got serious about formulating a tangible proposal to put to my Managing Director about going paperless.  It wasn't inspired by seminar rhetoric that it would improve productivity and cost effectiveness, although they are the Holy Grail for any legal IT team project.  It was when I realised that the 'dual' system we were operating under was inferior to the smoke-filled law offices of the 1950s and 1960s, where the most advanced technology was the kettle in the tea room.  I was shocked to realise that with all our technology, sophisticated systems and advanced processes, we were at a significant disadvantage to the 'Mad Men' type law offices operating 60 years ago with only a yellow legal pad, pen, phone and rolodex and all their files securely in a bank of filing cabinets behind them. 

Why? Because in all our wisdom we had created a rod for our back with a dual system, computer and paper based, operating side by side requiring double the workload to maintain and fraught with risk management issues and lengthy delays.  Even on the best day, when secretaries had all their filing up to date, it only took a single email to come in on a matter and the paper file was once again out of date, unsynchronised, thereby creating 2 sources of truth. 

John Clarke stated that sometimes you need to 'Go back a little to leap further forward' and that is what we did at Anderssens.  We looked back to the efficiencies of our senior partners' era and learnt a thing or two.  (Yes those smoke filled, male dominated times have something to teach us technological savvy, cerebrally advanced Gen Xs and Ys). 

We needed to return to the single system the legal profession had spent 100 of years perfecting, however converting it to an electronic only format.  

In our quest, we did find the Holy Grail (minus the nicotine stained paper files!).  Productivity and cost effectiveness have improved which has greatly benefited our service to clients as a result of operating from one source of truth, however unlike our senior predecessors our lawyers are no longer tethered to their desk, filing cabinets and typing pools.  They can operate from anywhere confident their information is secure and up to date and available in any format this modern day legal industry demands.

Anderssen Lawyers - Winner ALPMA Thought Leadership Awards 2013!

Posted by: Scott Thompson

I was very honoured to accept, on behalf of our firm, the inaugural ALPMA/Telstra Thought Leadership Award for 2013, presented at the ALPMA National Summit's Gala Dinner in Sydney.  The  Australasian Thought Leadership Awards 'shine a light on innovative projects and new initiatives being conducted by firms across the legal sector in response to the changing legal landscape and provide recognition for firms who have successfully implemented innovative projects and strategic initiatives'.
Over the last 12 months, Anderssen Lawyers have been engaged in 'unlearning' the way we practice law and 'relearning' exciting, highly automated legal workflows in a 100% paperless environment.  This environment is available to us 24/7 from anywhere in the city, country or globe and from any device.

For decades, the legal industry has been rewarded for its inefficiencies; the more inefficient you were, the longer the job took and the more the client paid and the harder the lawyer had to work.  Anderssens has always challenged this notion, firstly by quantifying any economical savings made by our innovative projects and passing those savings directly onto clients and secondly by living a culture & developing technology to support and promote a remote working model.  This provides staff with the ability to balance work and personal commitments, and results in healthy, contented staff and a firm with an enviable reputation as an employer of choice.
Thought leadership is predominantly preached as something we do, rather than earn or achieve.  By questioning the entire concept of how best to deliver professional legal services to clients battling a challenging economic climate and changing technological landscape, together with genuinely investing in the lives of our staff, thought leadership has emerged instead as a result of those actions and relationships.  I thank ALPMA, Telstra and the panel of judges for recognising this new way we do law. - Scott Thompson
The Firm has been requested to participate in an ALPMA Webinar detailing our project on 7 November 2013.  Please Click Here to learn more about that event.
Click Here to read more about the Firm's Awards.

Brisbane Marathon Festival 2013

Posted by: Scott Thompson

On the morning of Sunday the 4th August, the Anderssen's Fit4Life team braved the early morning cold and took part in the Brisbane Marathon Running Festival 2013. The Brisbane Marathon Running Festival is one of the oldest Australian running events, celebrating its 22nd year.
It was a beautiful morning with three of the Anderssen's team starting the half marathon in the dark and watching the sun rise whilst crossing the Story Bridge. The 5km event saw four Anderssen team members smash the run with personal best times and one runner conquer the 10km event.
The morning was spectacular fun and a great achievement for the team.

 

New duty exemption for limited recourse borrowing arrangements in Queensland

Posted by: Kylie Wilson

Recent amendments to the Duties Act 2001 (Qld), which apply retrospectively from 26 October 2011, now provide for an exemption in Queensland when a property is transferred by a custodial trustee of a bare trust to an SMSF where that property has previously been held on trust in compliance with section 67A(1)b of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth).

There has always seemed to be some confusion surrounding the Duty implications at the end of a limited recourse borrowing arrangement in Queensland where the property held by the bare trust is required (in the ATO's view) to be transferred back to the SMSF.  This exemption now clarifies the position but it is still very important that SMSF trustees have the right documentation in place at the start of the arrangement and retain that documentation throughout the life of the loan so that these documents can be produced to the Office of State Revenue when the loan is fully repaid and the property is transferred from the custodial trustee back to the SMSF. 

If you have any questions about the exemption please contact Kylie Wilson or Tony Allen.

SARA Launched

Posted by: Megan Tilbrook

Development Red Tape

The State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) was launched 1 July 2013.  The introduction of the new agency is part of the Governments range of reforms that aim to reduce "red tape" in the development industry.

SARA provides a single point for the state assessment or referral of development applications which are to be referred to or assessed by the state.  All development applications where the State has the jurisdiction to assess an application are to be lodged and assessed by the Department of State Development Infrastructure and Planning.  The Department will then produce a "coordinated, whole-of-government approach to state development assessment".

More information on SARA can be found Here 

E-Trials

Posted by: Megan Tilbrook

I attended a great presentation earlier this week at the Planning and Environment Court, hosted by the Queensland Environmental Law Association in relation to e-Trials and how they will work in practice.  An eTrial is the same as any other court hearing, however all documentary evidence is managed electronically by the courts.
The Courts are encouraging the parties to discuss the possibility of an e-Trial at the commencement of litigation, and it clear that there will be many more in the future with the Chief Judge suggesting that all trials should be electronic!
There can be some real savings for litigants if an e-Trial is conducted and as noted by the Courts it  " removes the need for multiple physical copies of documents to be provided to the parties and Court, and reduces the time taken to sift through folders looking for an elusive document."  This could obviously save Court time, and therefore cost.  One recent example discussed during the seminar was a trial expected to last for 6 weeks being reduced to 5 weeks on the basis it was to be an e-Trial. 
The concept of an e-Trial is particularly exciting for our firm, given that we already manage all our files electronically using a stringent paperless policy.  For us, being able to proceed a matter to e-Trial will be seamless, more cost effective for our clients and reduce time and waste. Anderssen Lawyers were one of the first firms to conduct an 'e-Trial' in the Planning and Environment Court back in 2008.  We have been developing paperless systems ever since to ensure that our technology and staff are poised ready for these advancements when they were available in the Courts.

Planning and Environment Court Decision

Posted by: Dale Ellerman

A helpful decision has recently been delivered by the Planning and Environment Court about the operation of s388 of the Sustainable Planning Act which contains the decision rules for applications to extend to approvals – this decision is of particular relevance to planners preparing these applications www.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2013/QPEC/009.

New Smartphone App for Graziers

Posted by: Kylie Wilson

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Honourable John McVeigh, recently launched a new smartphone app that allows graziers to determine stocking rates and carrying capacity in any paddock.

The app, called Stocktake Plus, is free and uses GPS technology to support and assess land type. For client's interested in trying the app to see if it is of advantage to their business it can be found at

www.stocktakeplus.com.au or on iTunes. I would be interested to hear from any graziers that have used the app and if they found it worthwhile.

Herron Todd White - April 2013 Report

Posted by: Scott Thompson

Below is the link for the monthly report from Herron Todd White regarding National Property Market Report and April in Review. http://www.htw.com.au/Month_in_Review/Month-In-Review-April-2013.pdf

Rabobank's Agribusiness Bulletin

Posted by: Kylie Wilson

Below is a link to Rabobank's Agribusiness bulletin for March.  Many of our clients will find much of this information of interest given current economic conditions.
Agribusiness Monthly is prepared by our Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory division. The report provides monthly commentary on Australian and New Zealand agricultural conditions.
Key highlights:

• Autumn climate conditions across Australia are expected to be mixed. Drought has been declared for most of the North Island in New Zealand, with the South Island challenged by ongoing dry conditions
• Official interest rate settings in Australia and New Zealand remained steady at the most recent central bank policy meetings. The focus continues to be on labour markets, both locally and abroad
• China has overtaken Korea in export volumes of beef from Australia, and is now the third largest export market behind Japan and the US, while exports to the Middle East broke records in February
• Dairy commodity prices have continued to rise on the back of continuing pressure on milk production and export supply in most key dairy export regions
• Australian wheat prices are expected to weaken relative to CBOT prices, making Australian exports more competitive on the global market

To view the full report, please click here.

Herron Todd White Rural Breakfast Seminar

Posted by: Megan Tilbrook

Anderssens' planning and environment team recently attended the Herron Todd White annual Rural Breakfast Seminar.
 HTW did not provide the positive forecasts for the rural property sector that I was hoping for.  The focus was on rural property in the northern States and it was clear that there have been relatively few sales during the last 12 months - many involving liquidated properties.  Due to the large amount of stock currently on the market, reduced buyer interest and restricted finance options it is expected that the next 12 months will continue to present challenges.
The seminar was concluded with an intriguing presentation on the Carbon market under the Carbon Farming Initiative, or the CFI.  The CFI as it presently exists poses several deterrents to property owners to get involved, with a permanence period of 100 years and the significant start up costs.  Currently high tech R&D is underway to minimise the set up costs and the risks.  From the talk in the room it was clear that there are developing opportunities for property owners to trade on the carbon market and that the way people deal with this commodity will be rapidly changing.