Case Study: The Inspiration Behind the Legal Service Quote Checker
Background: The CEO of MDL, Shane, was approached by a friend during his weekly tennis fixtures who mentioned he had received a quote ranging from $23k to $33k for a Binding Financial Agreement review. Based on his experience, Shane found these figu
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The Road to Regulation: Commonwealth Treasury Releases New Consultation Paper on Regulating Crypto Exchanges
Last week the Commonwealth Treasury released a new consultation paper on regulating crypto exchanges, outlining a proposed framework to address the significant risks and potential harms associated with these platforms, while fostering innovation and
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Business sales – Due Diligence – Seller Beware
Buyer due diligence is a critical process in which potential buyers thoroughly examine a business's financial, operational, legal, and other relevant aspects before completing the purchase. While due diligence is essential for making informed decisio
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Protecting Your Property Development Brand: The Importance of Trademarking – Part 2: Case Study
In this captivating case study, we explore the recent experiences of two property developers: "B Developments" based in Brisbane and "SC Developments" from the Sunshine Coast. The focus of this study revolves around their efforts to protect their int
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Protecting Your Property Development Brand: The Importance of Trademarking - Part 1: Background
With the increasing number of real estate developments in Australia, it has become common to see multiple projects sharing similar names, branding, and design guidelines. Unfortunately, this has led to a rise in trademark infringement claims based on
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Key Considerations for Selling Your Business
As a Commercial Lawyer, I frequently assist clients who are contemplating the sale of their businesses. The process of selling a business can be intricate, necessitating comprehensive knowledge and preparation. In this article, I am going to share te
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A Comprehensive Guide to Due Diligence Requirements When Purchasing a Business in Queensland, Australia
Purchasing a business is an exciting endeavor, but it comes with significant risks. Conducting thorough due diligence is crucial to minimize these risks and ensure that you make an informed decision. In Queensland, Australia, there are specific requi
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Preparing to Sell Your Business in QLD: Major Challenges and Legal Issues
Selling a business is a significant life event that involves various complexities, challenges, and legal obligations. If you're a business owner preparing to sell in Queensland (QLD), you need to understand the unique business environment and regulat
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Major Pitfalls Landlords Should Be Aware of When Leasing Commercial Premises in Queensland, Australia
Leasing commercial premises is often viewed as an attractive investment option due to its potential for reliable income and capital growth. However, when it comes to commercial property leasing in Queensland, Australia, landlords should be aware of s
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Everything you need to know about Buy-Sell Agreements
Insurance-Funded Buy-Sell Agreements: Protecting Your Business and Ensuring Smooth Ownership Transitions Tragedy can strike at any time, and it's crucial for business owners to plan for unforeseen circumstances that may impact the ownership of their
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Important Changes to the Fair Work Act</u></strong>
By Ben Schefe On 6 December 2022, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 became law in Australia. You may also be aware that on 12 December 2022 the Anti‑Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect
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MDL help Redlands locals sell family business
by Stephen Gibson A Redlands family, known for flying the Australian flag in front of their self-storage facility business, recently sold the commercial enterprise for a substantial amount. The long-time, Redlands residents built the self-storage
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How MDL saved $360k in Telco costs
In the last few years, MDL have experienced significant savings in our Telco expenditure, near an average 40% per month. How? It started out of a conversation with our client Jeremy, CEO of Reedify. After a brief chat with MDL’s CEO Shane, Jeremy tho
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Australian property market outlook | Q3 2021 & beyond
Learn more about the property market in 2021, investing and future trends with MDL client and partner Trilogy. Australia remains firmly embedded in a property boom that is expected to extend across 2021 and beyond. But beneath the headlines, many in
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Tips for Negotiating the Best Deal
Tips for Negotiating the Best DealNegotiating in business is a fact of life, whether it be to close a contract or resolve a dispute. As a result, good negotiating skills can be a valuable asset. In this article John Warlow provides a number of import
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Why investors’ faith in property remains unshakeable
Market Insights - by Trilogy Funds ManagementThe past year has seen major shifts in Australia’s property markets, but not in our attitudes to property. Buyers may favour different areas or property types over time, and price growth may occasionally s
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Audience Participation and Trademark
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: American Supreme Court Trade Mark determination and its effects on Australian regulationTo trademark booking.com or not to trademark booking.com that is now the decided question.Case SummaryThe United States Supreme Court has
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JOBKEEPER EXTENSION STARTED 28 SEPTEMBER
JOBKEEPER EXTENSION STARTS 28 SEPTEMBERThe original JobKeeper Payment scheme ended on 27 September 2020. Those needing further support will need to reassess their eligibility and prove an actual decline in turnover to be eligible for the JobKeeper Ex
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Defamation | The First Steps
The First StepsThere have been some high profile defamation cases recently where celebrities have successfully sued media conglomerates for publishing defamatory articles. While those stories are entertaining to read about, you may have wondered “wha
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Caveats Demystified. When Can I Lodge a Caveat? Should I Be Worried by a Caveat? How Can I Use Caveats to Secure Payment?
We are often asked by clients whether they can lodge a caveat. The prospect of a caveat being lodged over your property can be quite intimidating.Caveats can be an excellent tool to apply pressure in a legal fight or secure payment of monies. But the
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Take care not to overstate your advertising
A few of us here at McCarthy Durie and Warlow Scott are 4WD enthusiasts. So we were interested to see that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (‘ACCC’) issued five infringement notices to the 4WD SupaCentre for allegedly misleading con
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Asset Protection | The Key Tips
Unfortunately in these difficult times, some small business owners are faced with the question of trying to protect their hard-earned assets should the worst happen and their business fails. Our director John Warlow has many years of experience in ba
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Landlord & tenant | Must read information
We are all heading into uncharted territory, as our economy faces what we anticipate will be the most significant economic event since the Second World War.Now, like then, there will be no shortage of hardships shared, but together, we will survive.A
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Covid Assist Directory | Get the help you need now
At MDL and WSL we see ourselves as more than your lawyer, we consider ourselves to be your business partner. Whether you are a small business owner worried about your business viability, collecting debts and managing staff levels, or an individual wo
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Covid Assist | Important information for business - what you need to do now
In these times it is important to have someone in your corner, to ensure you are best positioned to make it to the other side of this pandemic. If you are uncertain about the future, it is best to talk to an expert early - don't wait for it to get ba
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Legal Services and COVID-19 | What you need to know
At MDL we pride ourselves on providing exceptional service and attention to detail, and want to assure you that business will continue as usual. Our priority is always the safety of our people – this includes our team members, clients and the communi
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Cash Flow is Critical - Inexpensive options to deal with non-paying clients
Article by John WarlowIn recent months we have been consulted by a number of business owners who have found themselves in financial difficulty as a result of customers not paying their invoices in a timely manner. More often than not, the client’s bu
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Warlow Scott Lawyers joins McCarthy Durie Lawyers
McCarthy Durie Lawyers are proud to announce our merge with Warlow Scott Lawyers, a Brisbane CBD based firm with a team of eighteen, experts in Property, Commercial and Building and Construction Law. This is an exciting time for MDL, as we continue t
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Is your business’s independent contractor actually an employee?
How to find out whether your arrangements are compliant As a business owner or manager, it can be tempting to consider and treat those working for you as “independent contractors” rather than employees.But with the Australian Taxation Office and the
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Real world examples demonstrate what not to do An unfortunate but necessary part of running or managing a business is performance management. And generally of course, when we talk about “performance management”, we really mean the process of managin
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How much does it cost to set up a franchise business?
The 9 potential franchising fees you need to be aware of When you’re considering investing in a franchise, naturally it’s crucial that you have the complete picture of the business to help you with your decision making.Under the Franchise Code your
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How to avoid prime cost and provisional sum traps
What to look out for in your home building contract When you set out to build a new home, or renovate your existing house, you’ll no doubt be motivated to keep to the budget you’ve set.Yet there are a few different things that can cause you to go ov
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How to resolve a dispute with your home builder
The steps you can take to resolve your problem as soon as possible While building a new home or completing a renovation can be very exciting, unfortunately sometimes it can also be a very stressful time. Most builders do great work – yet from time t
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The Building Industry Fairness Act comes into effect 17 December 2018
The four major changes you need to be aware of: Parts of the Building Industry Fairness Act (Security of Payments) Act 2017 (‘the BIF Act’) commenced on 1 March 2018 (Project Bank Accounts), but the major overhaul of the security of regime will fina
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How does BIFSOPA apply to builders?
The ways your contracts and systems need to change BIFSOPA is now in effect and applies to existing AND new contracts. All payment claims are claims under the new Act, which is important because it affects many aspects of your business.For example,
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How do I make a new payment claim if I've missed the BIFSOPA time limit?
What you can do to get paid, once the time limit has expired If 25 days have gone by from your payment claim and you didn’t notice, you now have no payment and no payment schedule from the developer. The reality is, you have missed your chance for p
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How do I enforce my payment claim under BIFSOPA?
Tips on what you can do to receive payment The new BIFSOPA act is now in effect, which means your business practices must change with it. In this blog post, the MDL Construction Law team run you through how you can enforce your payment claim to comp
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What you need to know about the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
The new ‘mega ombudsman’ for complaints regarding financial disputes If you feel you’ve been treated unfairly by an insurer, bank or other finance provider, there is now one place to go in Australia for consumers and small businesses to submit compl
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What is in a typical franchise agreement?
5 things your franchisor must provide youSo you’re thinking about purchasing a franchise business and taking the exciting step of becoming a small business owner.You’ve met with your prospective franchisor, and things are looking good. You’re happy t
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Anderson Brady Lawyers Join McCarthy Durie Lawyers
McCarthy Durie Lawyers are proud to announce our acquisition of Anderson Brady Lawyers,a Brisbane based firm located in the heart of the CBD. This is an exciting time for us, as weintegrate the experience and skillset of the AB team. The incorporatio
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Workers' compensation changes come a step closer
Changes to the way in which injured workers receive compensation could soon come into force across Queensland if a recent Bill receives assent.
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CCIQ welcomes Brisbane's new commercial contracts policy
SMEs will benefit from Brisbane City Council's Innovative Proposals Policy, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland has suggested.
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5 steps to starting a new business
Entrepreneurs looking to set up a business in Queensland often need to follow a number of steps to ensure they remain within the law.
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Small Business Week is nearly here
Queensland companies are encouraged to network with experts, government and other organisations during small business week (September 1-6).
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Two experts to discuss local business structures
Two local experts will present a workhop at the end of the month on how to structure of your business without all the complicated jargon.
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