SXSW Legal – Page 2 – Online Legal Advice

Do you understand all the Terms and Conditions in your Property Lease?

Legal Counsel can help negotiate a Favourable Deal?

Commercial property lease agreements contain several terms and conditions along with additional information and clauses pertaining to other issues. Dedicated property lawyers can help analyse the entire contract and identify potential traps and hidden costs. Most of us may not be familiar with legal terminology and may be caught unawares at a later date. It is also more complex to take remedial measures once the lease agreement is signed by both parties. If you are faced with problems, you may be obliged to take the matter to court for resolution. This represents a long-drawn and tedious process which is likely to prove expensive and stressful.

Taking the issues to a courtroom may also impact the business and may result in monetary losses for the company. Hence, it’s a much better idea to be forewarned about potential pitfalls and hidden costs and conditions in the lease agreement. You can get help from an experienced lawyer with the lease document, sifting it for traps and unfair terms. Then your lawyer can negotiate the lease favourable terms for your business.

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A Comprehensive Business Contract can Help with Strategic Planning

Legally sound and detailed business contracts can help protect partners’ investments as well as the business from potential disputes and problems. Experienced commercial lawyers like Rowe Bristol can negotiate favourable terms as well as ensure that the contract is legally valid under Australian commercial law. Businesses that operate without a business contract in place are faced with increased risks of unresolved disputes and costs and potential litigation as well. Writing out a commercial contract not only involves drafting the terms and conditions but also includes understanding commercial considerations, understanding the importance of negotiating terms as well as tactics that should be employed to get the best out of the transaction.

In fact, it’s best if you choose to involve corporate lawyers at an early stage so that they are able to provide guidance on rules and regulations as well as help with strategic planning. Many times, the commercial requirements of the business may not be in accordance with what is allowed by Australian law. Hence, while negotiating, commercial lawyers can offer expert advice on a wide range of relevant issues that may need to be considered. Some important considerations are explained below:

Improved understanding of laws that govern unfair terms and conditions between businesses and customers
Information with regard to credit, loans and debt among business partners
Advice regarding protection of data and freedom of information
Actions that should be taken in the face of breach of contract, insolvency or bankruptcy
Actions that should be taken in the event of internal disputes and corresponding steps to safeguard the business from adverse consequences

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How To Choose An SEO Consultant For Your Law Firm

SEO is one area of internet marketing that your law firm really needs to understand but unfortunately it has even the most seasoned of marketers running for the hills sometimes. Such is the amount of contradictory information, and indeed myths about SEO that it is virtually impossible to know what to believe.

If you are starting an online business you’ll want to get your website optimised for the search engines as quickly as possible, and unless you are already an SEO expert it is best that you employ someone who is. Unless you are already a very large business then this person is not going to be a company employee, but rather they are going to be an SEO expert who works on a freelance basis for clients.

To ensure you select someone who you can trust to do the job of optimising your website effectively, there are several enquiries you want to make first.

Prior to speaking to the potential consultant, you can undertake some research which will give you a fair picture of how credible and reliable they may be. Firstly, by visiting their own website you can establish how long they have been operating for. A consultant who has been around for several years doesn’t do so if their work is not up to scratch.

Next look for testimonials on their site, and even better, see if the names of the clients making those testimonials are present. Armed with the name of previous clients you can then contact some of them to discuss how they felt about the work that the SEO consultant has already done for them.

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How to Choose a Digital Agency for Your Law Firm

Digital marketing is essential when it comes to getting the most out of your modern business. Unfortunately, many small business owners don’t realise this, and they therefore get left way behind their competition – unless they are absolutely outstanding at what they do, and the number of businesses who can claim this is dwindling.

Unless you are an experienced digital marketing expert yourself, you need to seriously consider using a professional digital agency to make sure that you get the most out of your money. However, it is important to make sure that you don’t fall into the trap of using a cheap agency which doesn’t have a proven track record and a lot of experience. Doing this can cause a lot of problems. The benefits of choosing a digital agency with proven experience include:

You will get a quality outside perspective:

Sure, you might already have a marketing team which is doing a serviceable job. They might even be continually increasing your sales and working towards a shared company vision. However, an outside view from an experienced digital agency can still be invaluable. It can be the difference between success and extremely high success. If you are serious about getting the most out of your business, then employ an experienced, proven digital agency, even if it’s just for a short period of time.

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Child Custody After Divorce

You may think that you won’t have to make any decisions about child custody until after you are divorced, but family lawyers will advise you that it will need to be settled before a divorce is given by the judge.

Family Lawyers Perth advise that while divorces these days are not difficult to get with a ‘no-fault’ law in place, a judge will want to know who and how the children are being looked after before they agree to make your marriage end legally. For instance, they want to know that the person who is going to take the children and care for them is able to do so, both financially, emotionally and physically.

The welfare of the children is of prime important in a family law court, no matter how old they are. While they are still legally minors, they must be cared for by a person deemed suitable by the courts. If the parents are not suitable – for instance if one is in gaol and the other is a drug addict, then grandparents or other family members may be considered, if they are agreeable.

If there is no one to look after them, they will need to go into the foster care system and may be made wards of the state. However, the courts prefer them to stay with family if at all possible.

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5 Questions to Ask about Contracts

Lawyers would advise their clients to never sign any contract without allowing their legal professional to go through it first. Every business person will need a contract of some kind as some stage in their business, whether it is with clients, suppliers, sub-contractors or a landlord. If the contract has been drawn up by that person’s lawyer, you should always get your own commercial lawyers to read through it and find all those hidden clauses that are likely to cause you trouble in time, costs or some other way.

Your legal professional will then rewrite the contract to ensure it works in your favour as much as possible. There are five questions to ask yourself about contracts.

What warranties are included? Warranties are all part of the contract, but if you breach one – don’t do what it says – then the other party can terminate the contract. If the contract is one that you’ve provided, make sure the warranties you offer are things that you can control.
What happens at termination? Contracts sometimes have to be terminated before their term ends, for various reasons. It’s important to include what happens in such a case to ensure you are covered financially and legally. You don’t want to be left with out of pocket expenses. Or you might rather each party can walk away without any further liability. If so, it needs to be clearly stated.

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Does the Executor of a Deceased Estate Need Legal Advice

An executor is a person named in someone’s Will to act on behalf of their estate to carry out their last wishes and generally administer the estate. There will be detailed instructions in the Will of the deceased. Sometimes this job is easy because the deceased had few assets and their Will was made clear. It is a simple matter of paying their debts, closing their bank accounts and distributing assets to their heirs.

However, if the deceased had a lot of assets such as shares or a business, things can be much more complicated. Unless the executor has business experience they may not have enough knowledge about what or how to administer the deceased estate. In this case they can refuse to take on the task or they can get advice from a qualified deceased estate lawyers. The fees for this will be covered by the estate and are usually quite affordable.

We asked legal advisors at Goodsell Law, they told us the duties of an executor are as follows. They must: –

Notify the beneficiaries.
Take care of the deceased’s business interests, if any.
Safeguard assets and income.
Invest money that is not needed immediately.
Collect any valuables.
Make sure everything is insured.
Value the estate including personal effects, cash, assets and debts.

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How to Minimise the Damage Litigation Causes in Your Small Business

There are many costs in litigation and not all are financial. Most litigation lawyers will tell you there is also a cost in time lost, stress and the reputation of the business. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to be sued by an unhappy employee or client, how can you mitigate the loss faced by your business and by you, as the business owner and possibly, the manager?

Financial loss

In fact, this is most likely the easiest one. You need to have enough insurance to pay both the court costs and the payout to the person who sued you. It should also cover the costs inherent in lost time and loss of key staff, if that is an issue – and it often is. Employees take sides and are likely to leave if they side with a fellow worker they perceive as being in the right. No one should ever start a business without the right kind of insurance. If you can’t afford it, you should not be in business.

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What Binding Financial Agreements Are For

There are many instances in life where binding financial agreements are needed, be they divorce and property settlement or financial disputes of some other kind. When it involves divorce, family lawyers can give better advice because they will be able to understand the specifics of your situation when you consult with them.

In general, a binding financial agreement is to ensure that assets and debts are divided equally between the two who have divorced or are currently in the process of divorcing. There is no need to wait until the divorce is final before you decide on how to divide the property or cash, whatever the assets are. If is possible to come to a decision between the two of you without waiting for it to go to court. If you have to go to court there will be court fees to pay and this will mean less for you both.

Once you do come to an agreement about the division of assets and debt, it is essential to have it put into writing. This will prevent your ex-partner from changing their mind about it sometime later. A Binding Financial Agreement is a document that is recognised in a court of law should your ex refuse to pay or allow you to take possession of any of the assets you both agreed on.

Without this document, the ex can change his or her mind and refuse to give you what was agreed and you will have no recourse to address the situation. Once the agreement is drawn up and signed it can be presented to a court and the ex can be prosecuted for not complying with the terms of the agreement. This very fact can prevent any such trouble in the future.

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What Happens to Your Will After a Divorce

If you have made a Will – and every adult should – you may think you can set and forget it until the day you die. But good family lawyers will tell you that things can change if you should get divorced after the Will is made. For a start, any gifts you have Willed to your ex-spouse will be invalidated by a divorce. And if they were appointed as the Executor of your estate, they now won’t be able to take up that role should the need arise.

That is why you must see that a new Will is created by someone like Perth Wills Lawyer after the divorce has become official. Don’t do anything before this date, as it will not hold good after the divorce is final anyway. Since you make a Will so that your assets can be disposed of the way you want, it is essential to make a new one not only after a divorce, but after any other major changes in your circumstances.

For instance, if you remarry at any time after the divorce, or even if you marry for the first time, you should again upgrade your Will to include your new spouse. Then there could be more children that you would want to include in the disposal of your assets. All these things should be taken into account. While many Wills are quite straightforward, others can be quite complicated so it is wise to have your Will made out by a solicitor or your family lawyer.

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