Coffee and a Case Note

The most fun James has ever had guesting on another podcast! There's laughter, James' advice for how to enjoy Drake, there's more laughter, and there's also some depth as James, Jordan and Nathan reflect on what it means to be progressive (and to question some of the central tenets of capitalism) while also doing financial and corporate work. A wonderful chat - James just hopes he...

In April 2024 James sat down with Roger Christie, MD of Propel, to talk about the use of LinkedIn for building a legal practice (but it's extremely interesting and includes James having to take a pause because Roge has said something pretty moving and insightful). You can catch the Digital Reputation Podcast here: https://propelgroup.com.au/podcast/

Gaaaah! James got to be the first ever private practice lawyer on Mel Storey's incredible in-house counsel themed podcast, Counsel! This pod was recorded IMMEDIATELY after James launched his firm Gravamen at the Happy Lawyer Happy Life retreat in November 2023. Grab yourself a mimosa and enjoy this incredible chat. A link to Mel's podcast is here: https://www.counselpodcast.com

“Give me back my job selling diamonds!” ___ A Co that sold diamonds and jewellery had 4 shareholders, entities related to the Co’s directors who were P1, D2, D3, and D4: [1], [9] P1 and their sibling, P2, were fired by the Co from their roles as CEO and sales director respectively: [3] The Ps (including P1’s shareholding entity) sued alleging the Co’s conduct was oppressive to P1 and seeking inter...

James got to sit down for a chat about his progression through the world of legal practice with the legal Amogh Kadhe, of the ChatterMatters Podcast in early 2024. Please enjoy! You can find the ChatterMatters LinkedIn page here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chattermatters-podcast/?originalSubdomain=au

“I’ve retired as a partner. I want market value with no discounts!” ___ In 2018, 4 Cos entered into a partnership agreement. The business related to growing and selling tea: [1], [5] P retired from the partnership. The agreement provided that the partnership would not be dissolved on a partner’s retirement: [2] The question was: what value should P receive for its partnership stake? P argued for,...

“You tried to kick me out of the law firm partnership!” ___ A partnership operated a law firm. A deed governed the partners’ relationship. The partners were either fixed draw (“salaried”) partners or (often more lucrative) capital partners: [1], [2] Each partner was a trustee of a separate trust: [2] P was a capital partner, purportedly expelled from the partnership in November 2020: [5] P said th...

In March 2024 James had a chat with Josh Lawlor and Monica Walmsley from the Personal Branding Unlocked podcast. It's a wide-ranging chat that features James' views on his own branding *journey* with some lessons you can apply in your practice. You can find the PBU pod here: https://www.personalbrandingunlocked.com.au/

“Compensate the company. Then pay that money to me!” ___ P, a former shareholder, sought to bring a claim on behalf of the Co and then have the proceeds paid to themselves: [1] - [3] s237(2)(a): the Co was not going to bring the claim itself: [8] s237(2)(d): the Court considered (i) whether the pleaded case could be proved, and (ii) if so whether that would ground the relief sought: [12] When prac...

In early 2024 James sat down (remotely) with David Turner to chat about starting a law firm from scratch. Even though James was only a matter of weeks (!) into his journey he did his best to share everything he could - warts and all. Please enjoy this revealing and entertaining chat between James and David. ___ You can find other episodes of Hearsay: The Legal Podcast here: https://hearsay.legalcp...

In March 2024 James had the opportunity to talk with Communications and Law student and producer of the Hearsay Legal Podcast, Jacob Malby, about creativity, freestyle rap, and law. This conversation traverses Coffee and a Case Note as well as other projects of James' with his Spooko co-creator, Thomas McMullan. A link to Spooko is here: https://fbiradio.com/podcast/spooko/ A link to Hearsay i...

“Hey! Stop trying to work for our competitor!” D was a consultant who, in 2022, left one large firm and joined another. D’s expertise was defence work: [2], [3] The 2022 role included a 2 year restraint: [4] The 2022 employer underwent a restructure following a scandal and D was then employed by P, or an entity related to it: [6], [9] D’s contract with P included a 3 month notice period with a rig...

“It’s my wind-up application, so surely I should get my choice of liquidator...?” ___ The Ps brought an application to windup various entities on the s461(1)(k) just and equitable basis, and to appoint receivers to the assets of the associated trusts: [1], [2], [6] The various entities were variously incorporated and settled to develop a marina. That development did not progress as hoped: [3], [13...

“We put all our shit in mum’s name…” ___ P was the deceased’s spouse, and administrator and sole benef of the decd’s estate: [1] The Ds were the decd’s parent, D1; sibling, D2; and some related entities: [2] The decd and D2 - members of a motorcycle club and charged with drug offences years ago - used various entities to engage in business: [4], [5] In 2002 the decd and D2 transferred substantial...

“We can’t order a share sale. Decide yourselves, or it’s getting wound up!” ___ A number of plaintiffs applied for relief in relation to a shareholder dispute. Through the litigation the issues in dispute narrowed. Both the plaintiffs and defendants preferred for the Ds to buy out the Ps. A winding up order was all parties’ second preference: [1] - [6], [19] Commencing in 2014, the Ps and Ds incor...

In January 2024 James got to sit down and chew the fat with BB head honcho, Mike Bromley! They spoke about the founding of Gravamen, the dreaded work / life balance, and why James finds TikTok boring. You can find BB here: https://www.beyondbillables.com/blog

In December 2023 James caught up with Lara Quie from the Legal Genie Podcast to discuss social media, marketing, legal practice, horror films, battle rap, and everything inbetween! You can find the Legal Genie podcast here: https://thelegalgeniepodcast.buzzsprout.com

“Yep! You can sue the author to get the company’s IP from them.” ___ A Co’s Dir, P, sought to bring derivative proceedings against a Co’s majority shareholder, D. P wanted declarations that the Co (and not D, who was also the book’s author) was the owner of all intellectual property rights in relation to a book: [1], [6] P said that after D wrote the book, D and the Co entered into an agreement fo...

“Let’s appoint an IP to chase the group’s debts!” ___ The Ps were 48% shareholders of a group of Cos that owned luxury car dealerships. The Ds were directors representing 52% of shareholders. The 52% majority owed a judgment debt to the group. The Ps proposed a course for recovering the debt. The Ds used their votes at board level (including a casting vote) to vote down the Ps’ course and vote up...

On 3 November 2023 James gave a speech on marketing and branding for lawyers similar to one he had given a number of time before. However, this time, he gave the speech with a live case study: the lauch of his own law firm, Gravamen! Many thanks to Clarissa Rayward and the whole Happy Lawyer Happy Life and Retreat team for making this happen! https://www.happylawyerhappylife.com/ ___ Please suppor...

In November 2023 James d'Apice sat down to chat with Alex Nielsen of The Australian Law Student Podcast about his approach to practice, overcoming "fuck ups" including bad marks on exams, and the future of James' law firm Gravamen. You can find the Australian Law Student here: https://www.theauslawstudent.com

“Your share of the sale proceeds gets reduced for us dealing with your complaints!” ___ 3 siblings co-owned real property. They disagreed on what use it ought to have been put to. 2 siblings, the Ps, applied to appoint s66G Tees, successfully. The Tees sold the land and distributed the Ps’ shares of the sale proceeds. The remaining sibling - the defendant, D - contested the Tees’ fees and criticis...

“Those notes aren’t privileged! Hand them over.” ___ P sued D in relation to personal injuries P alleged at around the time they were giving birth. D, to oversimplify, was the hospital’s insurer: [7], [9] D instructed an expert who produced a report. P filed a NoM seeking access to a document produced by the expert in response to a subpoena, but over which D asserted legal professional privilege:...

In November 2023 James gave a presentation for prominent CPD provider TEN about a developing area of trust law. In this CLE, James explores: 1. The corporate derivative action 2. Some litigated examples of it 3. The Court's decision in Gillespie v Gillespies Cranes Nominees Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 1184 4. Practical suggestions for dealing with corporate derivative actions 5. Practical suggestions...

On 30 October 2023 James was lucky enough to accept an invitation from Dr Madeline Taylor to give a lecture in Dr Taylor's commercial law course at Macquarie University. During this talk James discusses the "gap" between the theory learned at university and what happens when the rubber hits the road, in legal practice. In the discussion, James refers to cases including: Carpenter v M...