Recorded Webinar: Family Law – 3 CPD Compulsory Topic Programs

This webinar comprises 3 one-hour sessions covering each of the compulsory CPD subjects for family lawyers for the CPD year ending 31 March 2021. This is a national webinar and is suitable for family lawyers Australia wide.

Session 1: Professional Skills: Drafting Water Tight Consent Orders in Family Law Matters

The coronavirus pandemic has provided many parties with the impetus to reach agreement and bypass lengthy court delays and uncertainty. However, care still needs to be taken. The session looks at the key issues in ensuring watertight consent orders, including:

• The nature of consent orders – an overview
• Understanding the importance of the ‘what if’ factor in drafting consent orders
• Essential inclusions in consent orders
• Careful and comprehensive drafting – what does this really mean?
• Drafting consent orders on property matters
• Parenting matters and consent orders
• Case study – consent order drafting check list
• Practical case studies

Session 2: Practice Management Business Skills: Productivity and Profitability: Innovation in Family Law Practice

Productivity and profitability often go hand-in-hand. This practice management session examines how family lawyers can effectively manage their files to ensure you can improve the bottom line in an effective and sustainable way. It covers:

• Project manage your files - maximize yield and manage risk
• Tips from the coal face on productivity and improving your value
• Impact of staff management and human resources on profitability
• Key strategies for growth and development of your family law practice

Session 3: Legal Ethics: Hosing Down the Toxic Adversary: An Ethical Toolkit

Family law situations are fraught with emotion at the best of times, and not aided by legal representation which throws threats and aggression into the mix. This session will provide practitioners with tools to prevent and counter situations which have turned toxic, including:

• Back to basics: the professional courtesy rules and when to use them
• Crafting constructive correspondence and following client instructions
• Tone and content essentials
• What to do when you receive letters containing threats and time limits for response
• Countering ambit claims and other game playing
• Focussing on settlement and not the fight – solicitors modelling appropriate and ethical behaviour
• Tips for cultivating good relationships with your opponent
• When is it time to make a complaint?