“Never read the comments” is often said to be one of the cardinal rules of the Internet – indeed, if you need reminding of the importance of the rule, the Internet will helpfully supply you with T-shirts and cross-stitch patterns so that you don’t forget. However, whenever there is a rule, there will be exceptions which

Although we can help you with a wide array of legal issues at StevensVuaran Lawyers, it is fair to say that our International Humanitarian Law (IHL) practice is not enormous.   In that field of law, the people you want to speak to are the Australian Red Cross (as part of the International Red Cross and

If a contract says that it can only be varied in writing, then it can only be varied in writing, yes? Well, actually (under Australian law), it ain’t necessarily so.  Perhaps surprisingly, Australian law will give effect to oral variations of contracts even if the contract contains a “no oral variation” (or as it is

[Editorial note – this article was first written by Angus in 2012 when he was at DibbsBarker.  As (a) the article is no longer available on the DibbsBarker website, following the demise of that firm and (b) the article still holds up pretty well in 2018, we have republished it for you]  Any employers who

The discovery that a formerly trusted employee has been defrauding their employer throws up a lot of questions.  How could this have happened? Do I have to involve the police?  And sometimes most importantly, am I ever going to see the stolen money again? Freeze a jolly bad fellow (allegedly) The answer to the third

So, let’s play a little word association game – what do you come up with if we give you “Mad Max” and “alternative dispute resolution”? There are, of course, a few different possibilities.   You might be thinking of the crowd in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome chanting, “Bust a deal, face the wheel” (which is one

In post-employment restraint cases, a former employee who wishes to escape the full width of the restraint will often give undertakings to comply with part of the restraint.  For example, where a former employer seeks to enforce both non-compete and non-solicitation obligations, the former employee may give an undertaking to comply with the non-solicitation provisions. 

In June 2012, a worker was seriously injured when he fell from the bucket of a loader in which he was working at a mine in Broken Hill.  The mine was operated by a company called Perilya Broken Hill Limited (PHBL).  As a result of the incident, both PBHL, and its parent company, Perilya Limited (Perilya),

When reading legal cases, it is common to see references to the work of learned legal authorities.  It is less common to see references to the work of Fleetwood Mac, Cypress Hill, Outkast and Sir Mix-A-Lot.  However, in a recent US case alleging copyright infringement by singer Taylor Swift and her songwriting team, it was the judge’s

The February/March CLE season is fast approaching and, as usual, Angus Macinnis will be out on the road flapping his mouth at people who have, for some reason, even agreed to pay money for that “privilege”.  There are three seminars coming up in the next few months which might be of interest to you, if