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There is increasing need of lawyers specialising in telecommunications, media and technology since the digital media platform is rapidly growing.

The world is changing and much revolution has been brought by the recent surge of telecommunications, media and technology.

However, the rumours surrounding these key areas makes it easy for many people to lose sight of how they have brought change regarding the role of legal practitioners and Australia’s business landscape in general.

In case you haven’t realised, lawyers in this field of practice are now having more to handle on their desks than ever before.

Their work ranges from major deals including government regulation in relation to media share, contract negotiations on airing rights for sports and TV programs and rules regulating telecommunications companies.

With these changing times, only businesses that have adaptable lawyers can easily thrive.

Smart lawyers know that it doesn’t matter the area that they cover, all that is important is that they will have to embrace the new tech challenges. The same applies for law firms and other types of legal service providers in Australia.

It’s getting stronger, faster and bigger…

Yes, the evolution of technology has created room for adequate work in prime areas of law, such as establishing frameworks so new companies can operate legally, handling disputes between providers, and helping companies establish new entities or footprints.

As the space develops over time, many telecommunication and digital media lawyers have had to overcome hurdles – since getting to this point requires much effort.

Paul Kallenbach, partner at MinterEllison says “The rate of change we’re experiencing in the telecommunications industry is the major issue that challenges lawyers in my practice area.”

Lawyers in this field of practice consistently have to be on top of the subject that is rapidly changing. In the past few years, the legal industry has witnessed greater emphasis on the maturing of social media, significant pricing changes, agile contracting and the emergence of blockchain.

As a matter of fact, many legal practitioners have been kept on their toes — they’ve been very busy working on the ever changing sports sector and the television sector.

However, the biggest problem currently facing telecommunications lawyers is consolidation.

Last year, the field witnessed the introduction of mandatory data retention laws – the other big thing that ever happened in the telecommunications industry.

The need for swiftness

Telecommunications lawyers need to be on their feet and act swiftly as the technology continues to go from strength to strength.

Clients no longer need work that will take longer to accomplish but they need what is completed swiftly and as quickly as possible. This can be done easily when lawyers encourage their clients to move quickly from one technology or one provider to another — without having to spend long periods to give notice.

The modern telecommunication lawyers can decide to major in modern or traditional, foreign or local, big or small practice areas.

“Over the past few years, we have consistently been on the growth because all companies – even the old-fashioned – are now embracing technology at a swift pace,” said Mr Smith who is currently helping local start-up firms to get into the tech market.

However, this has created stiff competition between firms since they are all aiming for the major clients in this field of practice. That means that lawyers should be adequately prepared to compete with their counterparts in the telecommunications sector.

The London legal market is creating unique opportunities for more Australian lawyers given the fact that Australian and English law have distinct similarities.

“Given the similarities between English and Australian law, not forgetting their high standard of legal education, Australian lawyers are in high demand in UK’s biggest city and legal market,” said Michael Gorrie, who happens to be an associate at Allen & Overy London.

While speaking to Aussie Lawyer Blog, Mr Gorrie said that London has always held Aussie lawyers in high regard for quite a long time.

According to one recruitment agency and two firms, the London market has always remained fairly accessible to Australian lawyers – both as laterals and at the graduate level.

This is testament to the relative similarity between English and Australian law, the quality of legal education in Australia and the quality of legal professionals trained in Australia.

Having embraced the opportunity when it was presented to him by his current firm in London, Mr Gorrie knows what it takes to work for a London firm, given his experience since he started working in the city.

“It is true that I have been presented numerous opportunities to work as an Aussie lawyer since I started working here in London. I believe the same is available for my fellow Australian lawyers if they decide to follow my path,” said Mr Gorrie.

As a matter of fact, Aussie lawyers can continue working for their Australian firms while operating from their London office, since more international firms are entering the Australian market.

Mr Gorrie said that this is a great opportunity since it helps in expanding the Australian legal market while showcasing to the world, the quality of Australian legal professionals. In addition, Australian firms will get the chance to build and maintain relationships with colleagues in London.

Hence, this clearly entails that there are substantial opportunities for Aussie Lawyers to build strong relationships with their counterparts overseas.

The good thing about this is that the London legal market is a bit larger than the Australian legal market in numerous ways. Some examples include the number of disputes heard by the English courts, the number of deals subject to English Law or done out of London, and the number of Lawyers that London presents.

With that critical mass of data and personnel, dispute and investment portrays an awesome chance for Aussie lawyers to develop professionally and personally in a unique way, learn from others’ experiences, exchange views, and socialise with different kinds of people working in the legal profession.

According to Tony Griffiths, administrative partner at K&L Gates London, there are more opportunities created as an impact of large London market conditions, including the impact of Brexit.

Mr Griffiths added that the London legal market will continue seeking internationally focused lawyers if the critical Brexit question of whether the UK will choose to go for immigration controls or EU market access is left to one side or not solved amicably.

Conclusively, London demands continued recruitment for non-UK trained lawyers given its reputation demands and its international position.

According to a new report, the Australian legal market is changing and law firms are slowly adapting to the new client needs. As a matter of fact, the market has been consistently declining for the past four years. Law firms have been urged to be aggressive on the new changes and customise their services to avoid experiencing low client demand.

The report was achieved after analysing top 21 law firms across the country.  The analysis was carried out basing its facts on financial data among the 21 great law firms. They were divided into two sections whereby the first section represented 13 firms known as ‘Large Firms’ and the remaining eight firms were put in a section known as the ‘Big Eight’.

The fourth consecutive annual decline was determined by measuring the total hours billed in each of the listed large firms. The FY2015-2016 indicated that there was a client demand decline by an average of 1.9 per cent across the 21 firms. The report came in following the FY2014-2015 which recorded a decline of 2.0 per cent across the firms. This shows that immediate action should be taken by all Australian law firms to keep the legal market profitable.

With only a third of firms recording profit and revenue growth in FY2015-16 analysis, the legal market continues to face financial hardship as demand drops overall.

The 13 Large Firms actually recorded a decline of 3.5% in average, while the Big Eight firms recorded an average rise in client demand by 0.4 per cent.

However, the good news is that when the Large Firms and the Big Eight were analysed one at a time, the Big Eight recorded a better client demand as compared to the 13 Large Firms. Hence, this shows that there is still room for the client demand to go higher by implementing effective client management strategies. In addition, this will significantly contribute to a steady growth within the Australian legal market.

Profitability was actually affected by rising costs, poor marketing strategies, stagnant rates and weak client demand. Averagely, the profits declined by 9.0 per cent for the 13 Large Firms and 4.4 per cent for Big Eight firms.

Mr. Barolsky, a principal at Barolsky Advisors suggested that law firms should get out of their comfort zones and choose true leaders in order to succeed.

“The data outlined in our report portrays strong evidence that the legal market is consistently becoming more competitive due to the changing client needs. In the past, law firm managing partners were more of coordinators and convenors than true leaders,” said Mr Barolsky.

According to Thomson Reuters’ vice president, Michael Abbott, the challenge for Australian law firms is not only affected by weak revenue and client demand but also global thought leadership and client management.

“Law firms should boldly take on the mantle of change and implement effective client management strategies in order to get above the ground,” said Mr Abbott while speaking to Aussie Lawyer Blog. He believes that the bigger challenge is long-term; hence gradual effort should be made by all firms to avoid the bigger ground shifting beneath their feet.

“In order to thrive in these consistent difficult conditions and pressure, Australian law firms must embrace greater creativity and agility in addressing changing client needs across all the states,” added Mr. Abbott.

When firms change the way they approach and manage their clients and adeptly execute their strategies, then they can be assured of identifying new opportunities.

Firms need true leadership and professional marketing in order to flourish through this challenging legal environment.

 

Last week, the South Australian legal body showed their concern on human rights by submitting four critical bills that may help solve problems faced by most vulnerable South Australian residents. This took place after the South Australian Parliament resumed its duties.

The Law Society of South Australia said that they were pleased to learn that the Bill to establish a Children’s Commissioner was passed at the Lower House after they had made a submission regarding the same. In addition, the South Australian legal body said that they had summarised their views on the Bill and other significant Bills that were presented to parliament.

The submissions that were presented before parliament by the legal body include the following: the Sentencing Bill 2016, the Births, Deaths and Marriages (Gender Identity) Amendment Bill 2016, the Criminal Law Consolidation (Mental Impairment) Amendment Bill 2016, and the Protection and Wellbeing of Young People and Children (Advocacy and Oversight Commissions) Bill 2016.

The South Australian law society believes the legislation that checks on offenders in South Australia should be reformed as stated in the Sentencing Bill 2016.

According to the Law Society, this bill is a great step towards ensuring that every SA resident get equal rights.

The Law Society stated that the Criminal Law Consolidation (Mental Impairment) Amendment Bill 2016 aimed to exclude residents that cause crime through intoxication, even if it is self-induced.

In view of the Law Society, the bill overlooks medical evidence in regards to the connection between mental illness and substance abuse.

The Law Society believes that more people may be exposed to the massive injustice when self-induced intoxication gets prohibited. For example, there are scenarios whereby one is charged of a crime or offence that they committed while mentally incompetent.

As a matter of fact, the Protection and Wellbeing of Young People and Children (Advocacy and Oversight Bodies) Bill 2016 entailed that there should be put in place an effective Injury Review Committee that will perform its duties accordingly, the combination of work by the Commissioner for Young People and Children.

The South Australian legal body argued that the children’s commissioner needs to be given power to investigate and look deeply into individual cases that might lead to solving hidden issues affecting children and young people in the society. Hence, that’s the reason why the Law Society proposes that a children’s commissioner should be included in the bill.

The children commissioner will also be involved with guiding young people and children to big offices where they can access effective community service and get their complaints addressed accordingly.

On the other hand, the legal body believes that there will be efficient procedure for people wishing to make changes to their gender or sex on the register of marriages, deaths and births, thanks to the Births, Deaths and Marriages (Gender Identity) Amendment Bill 2016.

The legal body is fully behind this bill because it will help curb laws that have been prejudiced against individuals based on intersex status, gender identity, gender and sexual orientation.

Last week, the Australian Law Reform Commission president, Rosalind Croucher, urged Australian lawyers to be vigilant on how governments justify laws that trespass on traditional rights and freedoms. According to the ALRC president, examining laws and how they relate to traditional rights and freedoms is necessary for all lawyers.

“Right-mindedness should be the mental state and standard vocabulary of all Australian lawyers,” said Professor Rosalind Croucher while delivering the 2016 Mayo Lecture that occurred last week.

Professor Croucher seemed to underline the word ‘right-mindedness’ while speaking at the event that focused on Encroachments of Commonwealth Laws Inquiry regarding Traditional Rights and Freedoms.

“Right-mindedness may be seen as scrutiny of laws for compatibility with rights,” said Professor Croucher.

“Lawyers should be ready to ask questions about limitations on rights and make it part of their daily practice,” Professor Croucher said.

The Freedoms Inquiry concluded that the best way to critically scrutinise the justification of these laws was through the proportionality test, among other tests.

Professor Croucher advocated for proportionality test saying that it was extremely valuable and useful for law reform academics, judicial officers, and lawmakers. She added that proportionality tests were clearly more effective than unsupported statements, although the ALRC report didn’t suggest that one particular method was enough to justify laws that go against traditional rights and freedoms. The Professor believes that the proportionality tests call for a considerable level of rigour.

The most important and advantageous thing about the proportionality test is that it advises legal bodies to be reluctant on encroaching the fundamental rights and freedoms. The rights and freedoms can only be interfered with if there is no other considerable alternative.

The event was described as one of ALR’s broadest ever enquiries. Earlier this year, the government released the final Freedoms Report. The report was made following the government’s creation of the Freedoms Inquiry Commission back in 2014. The commission was created to identify and critically examine the Commonwealth laws that trespass traditional privileges, freedoms, and rights.

In her speech, Professor Croucher explained the strong relationship between the powers of the executive and the judiciary, through the notion of the supremacy of parliament and the principle of legality.

Professor Croucher said that the relationship between the two bodies was very philosophical on many levels given that it portrayed a broader reference.

She added that the report came in at the right time when the democratic societies needed the protection of their traditional rights and freedoms.

The president expressed her feelings on the report saying that she believed it was a historic document. In addition, the professor said that the report set history because it will be useful to parliaments and governments in the future.

“The Australian lawyers, through statutory interpretation, play a role in protecting traditional rights and freedoms by reading down laws to minimise possible encroachments,” said Professor Croucher.

She concluded that the protection which the Commonwealth laws deserves in order to preserve traditional rights is at a very critical level embedded within the law of statutory interpretation.

Now NSW lawyers will experience easy admission, thanks to the new online admission portal. General Gabrielle Upton, an NSW lawyer, has said that there is a new online portal for admitting lawyers into the state. She added that the online service will be more convenient and faster hence improving the admission process. Ms Upton said that the new online service will be launched in early October by the Legal Profession Admission Board. She continued to praise the new online portal saying that it would deliver relevant benefits for future law graduates and even the current ones.

“For the first time, the admission process will enter the 21^st Century given that law graduates will be able to apply online,” said Ms Upton. Law graduates in NSW will easily begin their legal career, thanks to the new online service.

In the past, it used to take a whole year whereby seven rounds were held for the admission board to admit at least 2,400 lawyers in NSW. But now the new online portal gives the new graduates an opportunity to apply any time they want and they can get feedback within three to four weeks, depending on their application.

The online portal allows users to understand the exact evidence they need to apply in order to support their application. This is accomplished by simply generating a personal checklist for very applicant.

In addition, new applicants will receive regular updates by mail notifying them on the progress of their applications. The best part is that the portal will collect criminal records for applicants hence saving the applicants time that they would rather spend getting them from the police.

Starting October, the Supreme Court of NSW will hold ceremonies every four weeks and there will be more constant admission. “This will give new graduates the opportunity to choose when they wish to get admitted to the state,” said Ms Upton. 18 November 2016 will be the first admission day for the new law graduates wishing to get admitted.