I don't trust too many people these days, however I do trust my legal people as I know its disgraceful from the compiled evidence what has gone on.
Hi jjtebj12!
An interesting article by Chris Merritt – Legal Affairs Editor appeared in the THE AUSTRALIAN on 23rd April entitled
‘Chief justice blasts ethos of `the billable hour': This article outlines NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst's attack on Australia's largest law firms
I am not a subscriber to this newspaper and therefore could not provide an Internet link. I have therefore scanned it and have quoted it in full at the end of this posting.
GG has stated
“The legal people are last in line to take their bite out of Storm investors.” His cynicism is not totally unjustified. The aforementioned article if nothing else highlights the fact that the Law is a business and lawyers are in it primarily to wring money out of clients. It is becoming even more so as time goes on. There are few if any lawyers that ply their trade for altruistic purposes because they need to make a profit.
I have had some unfortunate experiences with incompetent lawyers during the course of my business life which has left me just as cynical as GG. Like some doctors, they can be very condescending to their clients and many of them display a certain hubris – a
“we know best” attitude when often times they don’t. Our experiences with Storm have made me even more mistrustful when dealing with so-called experts in any field.
Since this all began, we (Helen and I) have fired one law firm and have been let-go by another. We started off using a company called Holman Webb on the recommendation of our accountants. Unfortunately, they left me to do all the work whilst they did all the charging! When Slater & Gordon appeared on the scene, we thought that they were a more viable option and switched to them. It seemed a good idea at the time!
It became apparent to me sometime in 2009 that S & G who had been employed by many ‘Stormies’ to negotiate on their behalf with the CBA seemed to be acting in their own interests rather than the interests of their clients. I think this is one of the law firms NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst is referring to in the aforementioned article. To my mind, they fit the bill nicely!
When I wrote a letter of complaint to Damien Scattini pointing out that the CBA resolution scheme was a joke, listing my reasons in law for arriving at this conclusion, he responded as any good legal mercenary would by firing us as clients. Fortunately, Levitt-Robinson, who had always impressed me with their zeal, were on hand to catch our file. LR had, I felt, been making the right noises from the start whilst the others were going through the motions.
That doesn’t mean, however, that I am going to leave it entirely to them as our lawyers, because they are not sacrosanct and you should never treat them as such. If Storm taught us nothing else, it should have taught us to ask questions when we have doubts and ensure that we fully understand the answers provided. Fortunately, this time I know something about the law whilst I still know very little about investing.
Let’s not kid ourselves or underestimate the task ahead for any law firm we employ. This is going to be a “David and Goliath” battle! The Banks have the MIGHT because they have an inexhaustible amount of money (some of which is ours) and time means nothing to them. We on the other hand, whilst we have RIGHT on our side, are an exhausted people with limited means and time is not our friend. The Banks know this and they will do anything in order to try and weaken our resolve. They also know that they must break us or lose. There are billions of dollars at stake here and reputations to preserve so it’s going to be a fight to the bitter end.
There are some key elements that we do have going for us, and there is a smorgasbord of wrongdoings to choose from! Apparently, there are millions (Yes, I did say millions) of documents in existence and many of these evidence the machinations that ensued in the dealings between Storm and the Banks that worked in conjunction with them. Further, many that worked within those organizations have now come forward and will testify for our side. What’s more, our lawyers have recruited a formidable legal team including a former judge. Therefore, I am confident that we are now ready to meet any challenge the Banks will mount.
It’s not going to be cheap and it’s not going to be easy. Nothing worth fighting for ever is!
In the coming months our resolve will be tested fully so we need to remain strong at all times. Just maybe, this time, the Banks have bitten off more than they can chew! If so, let’s hope they choke to death from the result of their gluttony! But not before they pay us back first!
Here's that article!
CHIEF JUSTICE BLASTS ETHOS OF 'THE BILLABLE HOUR'
Law giants 'create
CHRIS MERRITI LEGAL AFFAIRS EDITOR
NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst has attacked the nation's largest law firms -warning that their emphasis on commercial success leaves lawyers and clients open to exploitation, creates tension with legal ethics and could limit them to recruiting "mindless drones".
He warned that the best law graduates were already avoiding "megafinms" that placed too much emphasis Ijn "billable hours",requiring lawyers to account for
their time in six -minute units.
Those firms could "end up with a series of mindless drones adding six minutes here, six minutes there, to the general dissatisfaction of their clients and to the distress of the court when they bring litigation that shows no discernment to the matters necessary", Chief Justice Bathurst said.
He said the commercialisation of legal practice was not inherently evil, but the conflict between profit and ethics was at the core of the concerns over this development. The Australian legal market had been invaded or colonised by large overseas firms, mainly from the northern hemisphere.
The sheer size of the mega*firms, with hundreds of partners and thousands of employees, meant it would be difficult to assess the skills and qualities of individual lawyers, other than through revenue generation.
"This may not be a problem in a non-legal corporate entity but it creates serious ethical challenges for a law firm," Chief Justice Bathurst said. "1 regret that in some cases young lawyers are left with the impression that the be-all and end-all of legal practice is the billable hour.
"The ethical future of an industry in which young people are exploited and indoctrinated into a culture in which professional duties may be superseded for personal gain is of real concern."
Chief Justice Bathurst's critique came ahead of yesterday's announcement that one of the nation's oldest law firms, Allens Arthur Robinson, is entering a joint venture in Asia with British based global firm Linklaters.
The move by Aliens, which will be known in Asia as AlIens Linklaters, means Clayton Utz is the only large Australian law firm that has not formed an international business alliance, merged internationally or is negotiating the terms of an alliance with one of the global giants of the legal profession.
Chief Justice Bathurst's extraordinary attack was delivered at the Commonwealth Lawyers Association's regional conference in Sydney and has been rejected by Stuart Clark, who leads an industry lobby group made up of the nation's largest law firms.
Mr Clark, a senior partner at Clayton Utz, told the same conference that large law firms were relatively under-represented among the complaints lodged with the legal services industry's independent regulators.
They were also over represented in the provision of free legal services for public- interest cases.
"But for the economic strength of the large law firms ... it would not be possible to do anything like the level of pro bono work that is done in many countries, particularly the US, Australia and other parts of the Commonwealth," Mr Clark said.
However, Chief Justice Bathurst said young lawyers at large firms had little or no interaction with clients.
"Rather than taking carriage of a matter and seeing value for a client through work completion, they are motivated to bill as much as possible in the interests of career advancement.
"This leaves both client and young lawyer open to exploitation in the pursuit of profit."