The potential for legal matters to take a negative turn for a dental practice is relatively small, but the fact that the risk exists means no dentist or their dental practice can leave themselves exposed legally. Whilst professionalism and stellar service are prerequisites, even they cannot prevent a patient from taking it upon themselves to take legal action, and if you are the dentist in the firing line, or your dental practice is, that can cause untold amounts of stress and upheaval.

In addition, apart from the angst of defending yourself in court should you be required to, if you lose a legal case it can do extreme damage, not only to your dental practice’s finances, but more seriously it can damage the practice’s and your reputation. These could arguably be regarded as even more serious given that they can lead to patients deciding to leave and no new patients willing to replace them.

Before we send you into a panic worrying about the ifs and buts of legal action being taken against you or your dental practice, you should know that they are rare events. Further, and the even better news is, in most instances, having the correct legal advice and representation can prevent any risk of you having to spend time defending yourself in a court case.

(more…)

When we ask family lawyers what are some of the hardest tasks they have to undertake as part of their law practice, several answers will relate to certain types of cases and preparing for cases to be heard in the Family Court, however, there is a common answer that has nothing to do with courts, judges, and legislation, and that is client acquisition.

Most people would not immediately associate selling as part of the work that a family lawyer does, but they often do, or at least, the law practice they own has to. The reason is that, unless a family law business has new clients, once all their current clients’ cases are completed the revenue generation that keeps that family law business viable starts to diminish, to the point that it all but dries up.

The question, therefore, is what can family lawyers do to attract and acquire the new clients that they patently need? Thankfully, there are several answers to that question, and to be the ever-helpful people that we are, we are going to outline four of these which have been proven to work and work repeatedly for family lawyers seeking new clients.

Reward Referrals

Most family lawyers will have read about and probably understand the importance of referrals, but few take any proactive action towards securing more referrals than they currently receive, and more importantly what their competitors can acquire.

A simple way to reverse that and see referrals levels rocket is to incentivise current clients to refer your family lawyers’ practice to their family and friends. You could offer a $100 voucher for Amazon or a local store, or simply subtract $100 from their legal fees as an incentive. Surely, $100 is a price worth you paying for a client whose fees might be thousands of dollars.

(more…)

One of the key decisions that a court has to make when someone has been convicted of a drug-related offence is whether that person should serve time in prison, or should be ordered to enter a drug rehab program. To many outsiders, the two options might seem to be at opposite ends of the punishment spectrum, with prison seen as the correct means of dealing with a drug offender, and drug rehab considered a lenient option, neither of which view is entirely correct.

In effect, what a court will be determining is whether the drug offender would be better served by being punished or treated, and many factors need to be considered concerning each one of these. This is not a straightforward ‘lock them up’ or ‘let them off’ decision, and whilst drug crime can never be condoned nor pardoned, simply putting someone in jail for a length of time may not serve either the offender or society as a whole.

We say that not to be harshly critical of prison, but given that the person offending may be addicted to drugs, placing them in an environment, where, with the best of wills, drugs will still be able to be obtained, simply defers many of the problems of drugs use rather than deals with them.

Alternatively, a strong case can be made that were that person ordered to enter a drug rehab facility and receive the treatment, therapy, and support which will have the best chance of breaking their drug dependency, then there are several winners including the individual, their family, and the community at large.

(more…)

If you have a blog as part of your digital marketing campaign, then you are already ahead of the majority of other lawyers. Despite their work requiring a great deal of written material to be created, such as depositions and witness statements, many lawyers seem unwilling to write blog content.

This is a huge mistake as having a blog with excellent content posted regularly can create a boost to your online marketing efforts. First, Google loves content and a blog is an excellent way of giving them it, and then seeing your rankings increase. A great blog also provides a way to engage with your website visitors and provide them with great content to grow trust and authority.

For any lawyer contemplating starting a blog, or wishing to improve one, here are 10 simple, yet highly effective tips that can help to boost the benefits your blog generates towards you having a successful digital marketing campaign.

#1 – Focus On Your Audience: At the heart of everything you do on your blog should be your target audience. Write for them, not yourself, and you will greatly enhance your blog’s chances of being successful.

#2 – Ensure Your Posts Are Keyword Optimised: Before writing anything you must carry out keyword research. This allows you to create titles, sub-headings, and content which helps Google establish what your blog is about and thus rank it accordingly.

(more…)

If you have ever been party to legal proceedings or even simply watched a legal drama on television or at the cinema, you are bound to have heard the term affidavit. Affidavits are something which divorce lawyers are often required to draw up on behalf of their clients and they can sometimes form a crucial part in cases that are heard by the Family Court, including, of course, divorces.

That being said, affidavits can be a part of many types of court cases, and not just ones that relate to family law. Commercial court cases, and criminal court cases are just two examples where affidavits might be submitted by lawyers, required by the judge, or a compulsory document that is necessary under the legislation and rules of a particular legal process.

In the Australian legal system, there are a number of documents that are filed with courts, and in the case of an affidavit, it is a sworn written statement by an individual and is the equivalent of swearing under oath in a courtroom, but in this case, it is evidence given in the written form, rather than giving the evidence orally.

(more…)

If you’re a new law firm owner, you must build a new website. If you’re an existing law firm owner, then chances are that you need to perform some overdue maintenance on your existing website.

Unfortunately, many law-related websites have significant problems on the SEO front. These problems can impact things like SEO scores and search engine rankings but can also negatively impact the user experience. Ultimately, you must do everything possible to avoid common SEO mistakes when building and maintaining your website.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled three of the most common SEO mistakes lawyers make. They include:

1. Ignoring meta descriptions and page titles

It’s essential to include as much information as possible on every single page of your website. Search engine crawler bots analyse Every bit of information you have when they’re looking at your website and then determine your search engine ranking. If your page titles and meta descriptions are missing, there will be much less information for the bots to analyse, and your search engine ranking will almost certainly be lower.

Changing your meta descriptions and page titles is very easy. Most content management systems let you do this while creating content. Although most small business owners overlook these options and leave the fields blank, filling them in a few extra minutes is essential.

(more…)

One of the fundamental principles of family law in Australia is that when parents get divorced the parental responsibility for their children is shared equally unless there is an extremely compelling reason why that should not be the case. Many clients, especially mothers, are somewhat surprised when their family lawyer from www.lawyerslist.com.au, tells them that regardless of how poor a parent their ex is, they will still share parental responsibility.

The assumption of many people that mothers will have full custody and the sole right to have the responsibility of their children still exists, even though it was way back in 1975 that the introduction of the Family Law Act made shared parental responsibility the default legal position.

The only way that this default position will not exist is when it can be shown that one of the parents is incapable of sharing or unfit to share parental responsibility for their child or children. Examples of this might be where a parent is a heavy drug user, has a history of domestic violence, or is completely absent and unable to be traced.

However, even in these circumstances, and given that the court has an obligation to consider what is in the best interests of the child,  family law still stipulates that, where possible, there should at least be some contact between a child and each of their parents. This means that although they may not be given a share of the responsibility for their child, a parent may still be granted visitation rights.

(more…)

Although many people will go into a blind panic if the police arrest them for the first time, any of the best criminal lawyers will tell you that if you know your rights in advance, it should not be too scary.

Incidentally, we write this with no thought whatsoever as to anyone’s guilt or innocence, so whether you did or did not commit the crime, the process and your rights regarding arrest are precisely the same.

We’ll start by outlining under what circumstances the police have the right to arrest you. They 1) reasonably suspect that you have committed or are about to commit a crime, 2) They have a warrant for your arrest, and 3) They believe you to be a risk to a family member.

When they arrest you, you must not refuse to go with the police officer. That means if you try to resist, even if you are innocent of the crime they suspect you of, you are now committing an offence. Bear in mind the police can use reasonable force if you resist arrest.

(more…)

In Australia, employer rights are comprehensive and are designed to protect employers from a wide range of situations. One of these is when employees are taking advantage of their situation and working at a sub-par level.

Unfortunately, this is something that happens on an all to frequent basis. And it can be extremely frustrating to pay someone for a job that they’re not doing right. Because of this, we decided to put together the following list of actions you can take if you feel like employees are taking advantage of their situation and not performing at an acceptable level.

After all, Australian employers have the right to expect reasonable work performance from all staff.

1. Speak With the Employee in Question

The first thing you should do is sit down and speak with the employee in question. Let them know that you’re not satisfied with their performance, and tell them that they need to lift their game if they don’t want to face legal action.

Now, this step is actually extremely important. If an employee is dismissed because of performance issues that they didn’t have a chance to rectify, they may be able to make an unfair dismissal claim. Taking the initiative, speaking with them, and telling them what they need to improve will ensure you’re protected.

(more…)

Creating your first estate plan can be a difficult process, especially if you don’t have any sort of legal or academic background. However, estate planning is definitely something that you should consider, especially if you have a lot of assets or personal wealth.

Luckily, there are a range of estate planning professionals or experienced family lawyers available to help you put together your own estate plan. These people range from lawyers to accountants and qualified financial planners, and I’d definitely recommend speaking to one about your estate plan.

My top 5 reasons to use an estate planning specialist include:

1. It’s just easier

Although some will tell you that you can’t create your own estate plan, this simply isn’t true. It’s more than possible to put an estate plan together on your own, but it’s not always easy.

For me, this is probably the main reason to use a qualified estate planning expert. Since they will know exactly what they’re doing, they should be able to help you put your estate plan together in a lot faster and with a lot less stress than if you tried to do it yourself.

2. They will help you save money

In the end, the main goal of an estate plan is to maximise your tax benefits and financial gains, which means that anyone who can help you save money will be worth their weight in gold.

(more…)

Drink driving is a serious offence in Western Australia, and the penalties are significant if you’re caught with a blood alcohol level higher than the legal limit. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t realise how much they will suffer if they get caught drink driving, and they do it anyway. Aside from putting themselves and other road users at risk, most drink drivers get caught eventually – it’s not worth taking the risk!

If you’ve been caught driving under the influence, you might find that you’ve had your drivers licence suspended or disqualified. There’s little you can do when this happens, but it’s worth speaking to a criminal lawyer to discuss your options.

What Are The Penalties For Drink Driving In WA?

The penalties for drink driving in Western Australia vary according to the level of the offence. These are outlined briefly below:

First time offenders

First time offenders will be issued with an infringement if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is between 0.05 and 0.08, or between 0 and 0.02 for drivers who have a zero limit. For drivers with a zero limit, a BAC between 0.02 and 0.05 will result in a $100 fine and a loss of three demerits. For drivers with a normal licence, the penalties are:

(more…)

Although many ‘party’ or ‘recreational’ drugs may seem relatively harmless and fun to use, the fact remains that they are seen as highly illegal throughout Australia. Popular drugs such as cannabis or cocaine are widely used throughout Australia, but many people don’t seem to realise just how much trouble they can get into if they are caught with them.

If you do get caught with illicit drugs, you could be facing a significant amount of time in jail, along with a criminal record and financial penalties. It’s always worth consulting with criminal lawyers if you’re facing drugs charges to determine the best way to minimise the consequences and reduce the impact the charges have on your future.

What Are The Penalties For Drug Possession?

It’s important to note that the exact penalties for drug possession in Australia vary by state. In Western Australia (WA), a person convicted of drug possession faces a maximum $2000 fine and 2 years in prison. However, these maximum penalties aren’t always applied, and it’s common to get off with no or minimal jail time.

However, if you are caught with a significant amount of any drug, you might be facing supply and distribution charges, even if you had it purely for personal use. The penalties for supply are significant, ranging up to $100000 and 25 years imprisonment. Again, these penalties are often reserved for the worst offenders, but it’s simply not worth the risk.

(more…)

Starting a new business can be difficult, especially if you don’t have a business background. There are various things that you can do to protect yourself and your business if things don’t work out exactly the way they should, including separating your personal assets from your business ones.

In this article we’ll have a look at a few of the simplest ways to protect yourself and your new business with lawyer when negotiating important things such as a new business lease. However, it’s important to realise that the tips listed below are to be used for general guidance only – you should always speak to a good commercial lawyer such as Fletcher Law before making major business decisions that could have long term consequences.

With this in mind, here’s a few ways that you can look after yourself when you start a business:

1. Make Sure You Have A Partnership Agreement

If you’re planning on working alone, you don’t have to worry about this. However, if you’re planning on working with one or more business partners, you need to make sure that you put a high quality partnership agreement together.

A partnership agreement should always be drafted with the aid of a decent lawyer. It should include a range of points indicating the assets and responsibilities of each of the partners. Make sure that it specifies the assets and contributions of each partner to the startup, and make sure it touches in what happens if the business fails.

2. Get To Know A Good Lawyer

Lawyers are expensive, sure. However, if you’re planning on starting a successful business, you will probably need to deal with them from time to time. It’s a good idea to get to know a good commercial lawyer early on so that you can call on them if you have any problems during the general running of your business.

(more…)

Today we live in a disposable world with very few things remaining that can’t be switched out for something new or different.  Abandoning a marriage and hiring a family lawyer has become much too easy.  Even if you have felt for a long time that there is no hope left in your marriage, there may be a variety of worthwhile options to consider before “pulling the plug”.  Presumably, careful consideration went into your decision to marry in the first place, make sure an equal amount of thought and deliberation go into the decision to end it.

Mediation to Save A Marriage

Typically mediation is used to bring parties to a resolution when a relationship is ending, or a contract has gone horribly wrong and the parties want to avoid a protracted battle in court.  However, the basics of mediation are very useful for situations where the parties want to remain together.

First, what is mediation?  This is a process where the two “opposing sides” bring in a neutral, skilled third party that will help the two sides work out their differences and come to a mutually agreeable understanding.

Lawyers Perth advise that using mediation to stay married is a fantastic way to iron out some of the issues and problems that have brought the couple to the brink of divorce.  Just like other forms of mediation a skilled neutral party is engaged to identify each spouses goals, desires, gripes, and concerns and then to “drill down” and explore what situation the couple could create to resolve those differences and recommit to the relationship.

Marriages are fraught with loaded phrases and emotionally triggering language.  “She wants to control everything I do” or “He is the least romantic person in the world” are phrases that while possibly accurate, aren’t helpful to ultimately resolving the core problems in a marriage.  The mediators job is to assist the couple in moving away from these types of charged expressions  and actually “operationalize”  with a high degree of accuracy what each spouse could agree to in order to meet the other’s needs.

Postnuptial Agreements

What is a post nuptial agreement?  It’s simply a contract entered into by the two spouses after the marriage begins that governs some or all of the terms of the marriage.  Most people are familiar with its cousin, a prenuptial agreement, but the postnuptial is a tool that can be used effectively to help a couple resolve some of the problems that may have cropped up after they were first married and have brought them to the brink of divorce.

(more…)

First, it’s important to understand what “ransomware” is.  Ransomware is computer malware (a malicious program) that installs secretly on a person’s computer, executes a cryptovirology attack (installs a virus) that harms the computer or data on the computer, and demands a ransom payment to restore it.  More advanced programs actually encrypt the victim’s files which make the unreadable and also demands payment to decrypt them.

The history of ransomware started around 2005 with the first know attack using a program called “Gpcoder”.  Since them, the use of ransomware has increased exponentially.

What is the best way to defend against a ransomware attack?

• Prepare in advance
• Run the appropriate anti-virus software on all critical systems
• Ensure that data is backed up onto computers not connected to your critical systems

(more…)

In 2008 the law regarding child support calculations in Georgia underwent a radical change, as family lawyers will tell you. Prior to the 2008 changes you stood a fairly good shot of being able to figure out your child support obligation on the back of a napkin. Today the Georgia courts use an income sharing approach to determine child support payments.

A large number of factors are considered in making a child support determination. To make the calculations, you are going to need your laptop loaded with Excel, a copy of the Official Code of Georgia, and arguably a law degree to make sure that the calculations are done in your best interest.

Naturally as attorneys, we are all ecstatic that what was once so clear is now hidden in algorithims so deep it’s clear that no one in the Georgia Legislature actually understood the math before they passed the law. That’s an issue you can take up with your local representative at a future date.

At the moment you will need a law firm that is familiar with the new system of calculations and how each judge applies them.

There have been significant changes in the law since the 1970′s when courts routinely awarded one spouse periodic alimony payments that amounted to transfer payments of nearly half the payer’s future income. Although this type of award is not generally very common today the reason for this is more a matter of policy than law.

As more couples hold down full time jobs the perceived need for alimony payments has diminished in some judges eyes. However, alimony is a big factor in many divorce proceedings especially where there is a significant income disparity between spouses or where children are involved.

In Georgia, child support is a form of Alimony. Smith v. Smith, 254 Ga. 450, 451 (330 SE2d 706) (1985). For this reason the trial court is vested with significant powers governing awards of alimony.

If you have decided that you are going to employ the services of a financial planner to help your business then your wise decision has already put you one step ahead of most of your competition. Financial planning is vital for all businesses whether they are large or small, but how exactly do you choose which financial planner to use, and what should you be looking for when choosing one.

The first and easiest way to find a tried and tested financial planner is to ask your business contacts for referrals. Within your local business organisations or networking groups, there are bound to be other business owners who have used financial planning services in the past. Enquire in what circumstances they decided to use a financial planner, and most importantly ask how much of a positive impact they had on their business.

The second place to look is professional bodies that competent financial planners might belong to. The Association of Financial Planners is one such body, as is the Financial Planning Association. Any financial planner who is a member of these organisations or other professional bodies is not likely to do so, nor remain a member for long, unless they have a large portfolio of satisfied clients.

(more…)

Leasing a commercial office building or space can be exciting, especially if you’re trying to build a new business. However, there are a lot of things that can go wrong when you’re leasing real estate for your business, and it’s important to make sure that you think things through properly to make sure that you don’t make a decision that you will regret in the future.

If you’re considering signing a long-term contract that’s worth a lot of money, you should consult with a decent commercial lawyer who will be able to help you make informed decisions. With this in mind, we’ve put together a short list of a few things that you should always be careful of when leasing a new commercial office space.

1. Watch Out For Loopholes In The Contract

Before signing any significant commercial lease, it’s extremely important to make sure that you read through the entire document completely. Make sure that you pay particular attention to the fine print, otherwise you might miss something important.

It’s even a good idea to go over a prospective lease with a commercial lawyer before you sign it to make sure that everything is in order. An experienced lawyer will be able to identify potential problems and modifications that need to be made before you sign the lease.

(more…)

Obviously, that is one of a parent’s greatest fears. When a Divorce involves children, likely the most important issue is the custody of the children.

The hope is that the divorcing parents can reach a resolution that is in the best interests of their children. Often, however, parents can have dramatically different ideas as to the appropriate arrangements for the children. In such a case, where both parties sincerely have the best interest of their children at heart, a divorcing spouse should consider being sensitive to the wishes of the objecting spouse for the sake of their children.

Sometimes however, rather than a failure to see eye to eye on a particular issue, one parent is well, a hot mess, and the need to protect your child or children from further influence by the offending parent is to zealously fight to limit access the offending party’s access to your children.

Each family is different and the challenges each parent faces are unique. The resolution of child custody disputes is often complicated and the details can be very important in how your children transition through this very difficult time in their lives. Our firm has experienced and knowledgeable attorneys who can assist you resolve child custody disputes.

With more than 20 years of combined experience, the attorneys of The Law Offices of Martin M. del Mazo have helped parents find a solution to this difficult issue. We will help you find the resolution that is in the best interests of both you and your children.

The Uncontested Divorce

According to Accelerate Family Lawyers when it comes to family law it is a common misconception that an uncontested divorce is a type of divorce; it’s not. When you go to the courthouse you don’t file an uncontested divorce. The uncontested part of the divorce is the settlement agreement that is attached to the divorce, it is the stage that you reach in a divorce proceeding marked by agreement. Fundamentally, if you don’t have a settlement agreement, you don’t have an uncontested divorce. Don’t make the error of putting the cart before the horse. If you don’t have an agreement, you don’t have an uncontested divorce; even if you want one the other side might not agree to your terms.

If you and your spouse can agree on the terms of the dissolution of your marriage then filing an uncontested divorce is the most reasonable way to proceed in your divorce case.

What are the benefits of agreeing to the terms of your divorce? First, anytime you can agree to anything in your case it’s much cheaper. What are the disadvantages of agreeing to the terms of your divorce? Well none if you can agree to the terms. The question is what are the terms of the divorce? If you are satisfied with the terms of your divorce settlement then you have an uncontested divorce. Realistically people who have been married for a long time, have significant assets or very different parenting styles may not reach the uncontested stage of the divorce proceedings as quickly as a couple with no children, no property and little time together.

(more…)

Experienced family lawyers advise that if you are confronted by the possibility of a rapidly deteriorating marriage you will need to know the best way to respond to your spouses conduct, whether you look at family dispute mediation or other means – so that you both minimize the harmful effects of their behavior and to maximize your to protect what is most important to you.

The First Step is the hardest.

It hardly needs to be said, but it does not hurt to be reminded: Don’t panic. Immediately remove yourself and your child from any situation that could become harmful to either of you.

Show some dignity. Never attempt to resolve your marital differences on Facebook or in your own driveway. Remember that public scolding, shaming, or even attempting to reason with or otherwise trying to influence your spouse, once they have made up their mind to leave the marriage, is wholly ineffective. The utilization of such tactics generally means that you will be engaging in pointless argument, at best, and at worst you could be jeopardizing your safety.

You may hope to reconcile with your spouse at some future date but it would be unwise to expect them to change without professional help.

(more…)