Author adminPosted on Categories civil litigation, Industrial relations, Liberty, litigation, Unfair dismissalLeave a comment on Israel Folau settles claim with Rugby Australia
Following a marathon mediation, former Wallabies star Israel Folau and Rugby Australia have settled their dispute over the termination of Folau’s employment with Rugby Australia after he made controversial comments on Twitter about homosexuality.
The case was notable and of political significance because it highlighted the tensions between the rights of employers to dismiss workers to preserve their own reputational interests, freedom of religion, and employees being able to publicly express their own opinions outside of work. Continue reading “Israel Folau settles claim with Rugby Australia”
Author adminPosted on Categories civil litigation, Legal profession, litigation, Professional fees1 Comment on Sterling Law sets leading precedent on itemised bills With its latest big win, Sterling Law is establishing its place as an elite Queensland litigation firm, and a force to be reckoned with.
When Joanne Murdock deliberately remained uncontactable to her solicitors for an extended period of time, she received a bill from them for all the work they had done for her.
The bill set out the charges item by item, particularising the date, the time spent and the person who performed the work, but for most items only provided very concise descriptions of the work performed. Examples later complained of included “attendance with you”, and “telephone attendance with you”. Continue reading “Sterling Law sets leading precedent on itemised bills”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal lawLeave a comment on John William Chardon guilty of manslaughter A Brisbane jury has today found John William Chardon guilty of manslaughter over his wife’s disappearance in 2013.
Continue reading “John William Chardon guilty of manslaughter”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal lawLeave a comment on Eurydice Dixon’s killer sentenced to life imprisonment
Eurydice Dixon was a young comedian who performed at the Highlander Club on the evening before the offences.
On 13 June 2018, Eurydice Dixon was on her way home walking across Princes Park, Carlton North shortly after midnight. Jaymes Todd had been following over a distance of 4.2 kms and for a period of almost one hour as she made her way on foot from Flinders Street, Melbourne to Princes Park. As Eurydice Dixon walked across the soccer fields in the park, Todd violently set upon her, committed the offences of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault, and murdered her by choking her to death with his bare hands. Continue reading “Eurydice Dixon’s killer sentenced to life imprisonment”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, Judiciary, Legal profession, Professional disciplineLeave a comment on Former Magistrate Bill Randall struck off for child sex abuse William ‘Uncle Bill’ Randall has been struck off as a lawyer following his convictions for numerous child sex offences.
William John Randall was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland on 9 June 1981. He never practised as a solicitor, and never held a practising certificate. He was however appointed a Magistrate in 1985 and served for a long time in the small claims tribunal until his retirement in 2016.
On 21 November 2017 he was convicted by a jury of a range of serious sexual offences committed against a child. The child was just five when the abuse started in 1990 at Randall’s home at Wynnum, on Brisbane’s bayside. It continued for almost 12 years, and the victim was 30 before he finally gathered the courage to tell police. Randall was initially sentenced to 9 years imprisonment but on appeal this was increased to 11 years imprisonment. He continued to deny his offending throughout and never showed any remorse. Continue reading “Former Magistrate Bill Randall struck off for child sex abuse”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal lawLeave a comment on George Pell’s appeal against convictions dismissed
In December of last year, controversial Catholic Church Cardinal George Pell was convicted of one count of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 and four counts of an indecent act with a child under the age of 16 over allegations of abusing choirboys at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral in the 1990s. This followed a previous trial that resulted in a hung jury. Continue reading “George Pell’s appeal against convictions dismissed”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal lawLeave a comment on Paul Pisale sentenced to 2 years imprisonment
Former Ipswich lord mayor Paul Pisale, a Singaporean friend named Yutian Li and a lawyer named Cameron McKenzie were accused of participating in a bizarre extortion plot:
“Prosecutors claim Yutian told Pisasale she wanted to punish Xin after learning he was married during their relationship.
Pisasale then allegedly posed as a private investigator in a series of phone calls in which he told Xin he needed to pay Yutian between $5000 and $10,000, saying she has “a very, very good case” against him and “could go after you”.
The money, Pisasale said, was reimbursement for Yutian’s private investigation fees.
“She was so upset. You could just see her whole world had been destroyed,” he told the court.
“She was a beautiful person. She was a very caring person and she would have given her 100 per cent to this bloke.
“She was broke, she was in Australia and she had nowhere to turn.
“All he had to do was reimburse her and let her start again but he was so determined not do.”” Continue reading “Paul Pisale sentenced to 2 years imprisonment”
Author adminPosted on Categories Legal professionLeave a comment on Why do you need a lawyer?
Why do you need a lawyer? On some level this is a basic and obvious question, but there is a lot more to the answer than first meets the eye. Although it seems like a pretty obvious question, there are in fact a number of advantages of having a lawyer. Continue reading “Why do you need a lawyer?”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal lawLeave a comment on Fraudster Hamish McLaren sentenced to 16 years jail
Hamish McLaren born Hamish Watson stole $7.6 million from 15 victims over a period of years.
Before the crimes for which he was sentenced, McLaren had swindled people in the US, Canada, Britain, and Hong Kong. Continue reading “Fraudster Hamish McLaren sentenced to 16 years jail”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, JudiciaryLeave a comment on Chief Justice of Queensland speaks out for judicial independence
Catherine Holmes, the Chief Justice of Queensland has a piece in The Australian concerning some of the unfair and ill-informed criticisms of sentencing decisions in recent years:
https://specialreports.theaustralian.com.au/1437724/cover/
Importantly, she does not say that decisions should not be criticised. However, given that judges are not supposed to respond to criticisms or defend their own decisions, personal attacks against judges and criticisms of decisions which do not show the reasons for the decisions undermine confidence in the Courts, and can threaten judicial independence: Continue reading “Chief Justice of Queensland speaks out for judicial independence”
