Coffee and a Case Note

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...

James was a guest of the Lawyers Weekly podcast hosted by the legendary Jerome Doraisamy in October 2023. The two discussed the process of finding your specialty, and the the importance (or otherwise!) of niches. You can find a link to the Lawyers Weekly version of the podcast here: https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/podcast/38383-choosing-your-niche-and-communicating-it-to-the-market

“You stole the Co’s koala client base! That’s not good faith.” ___ P, one of 3 equal shareholders in a Co operating a vet surgery, sought to bring a derivative action on the Co’s behalf. The other 2 shareholders were the Co’s Dirs. D1 was a vet, and P’s former spouse. D2 was an E’ee of the vet clinic. The Co offered traditional vet services as well as “rehabilitation” services; chiropractic and ac...

“Your Honour, would it be OK if I entered into this deed?” ___ Long-running litigation was on foot relating to, among other things, land with a value of around $40m. By NoM, a receiver appointed by the Court to the relevant Ds in the litigation sought the Court’s advice about whether they would be justified entering into a Deed settling all the pieces of litigation: [12], [15] The receiver relied...

In July and August 2023 James d'Apice gave a series of one hour CLEs "live" on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and YouTube. This one concerns s461(1)(k) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) - the just and equitable winding up remedy - and has the following structure: 1. The law 2. Litigated examples 3. Practical suggestions Please give James and Coffee and a Case Note a follow on your fa...

In July and August 2023 James d'Apice gave a series of one hour CLEs "live" on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and YouTube. This one concerns s66G of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) and has the following structure: 1. The law 2. Litigated examples 3. Practical suggestions Please give James and Coffee and a Case Note a follow on your favourite platform!

“Hey! That was the Co’s opportunity to sell baby formula!” ___ A Co that made infant formula had two shareholders: P as to 51%, DCo as to 49%: [1], [2] DCo was controlled by a married couple – D1 and D2 – who had roles including as the Co’s former director and former CEO: [3] P alleged D1 and D2 breached their duties to the Co: [4] P said D1 and D2 caused an opportunity for the Co to promote and d...

In July and August 2023 James d'Apice gave a series of one hour CLEs "live" on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and YouTube. This one concerns the law of partnership and the disputes that arise in that area and has the following structure: 1. The law 2. Litigated examples 3. Practical suggestions Please give James and Coffee and a Case Note a follow on your favourite platform!

“Restrain our (former?) partner from competing with us!” ___ In 2020, the Ps entered into a partnership agreement with D1 to run an accounting practice: [3] In 2022, D1 incorporated D2: [4] Ps wanted the Court’s help to immediately stop D1 and D2 from chasing the Ps’ clients: [5] - [8] The partnership agreement had various restrictions including on partners not trading as accountants for 2 years a...

In July and August 2023 James d'Apice gave a series of one hour CLEs "live" on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and YouTube. This one concerns s236 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and has the following structure: 1. The law 2. Litigated examples 3. Practical suggestions Please give James and Coffee and a Case Note a follow on your favourite platform!