LSB Lawyers P/L

1. Commercial Litigation/ Court Matters

Our approach is to avoid litigation unless circumstances dictate otherwise. Our focus is on finding fast, effective solutions to disputes whilst achieving the best results for our clients for the least cost. Each client has special needs which we acknowledge and if litigation is the best means available to resolve the matter, then, this approach will be adopted.

We have experience in the areas such as Building and construction, Commercial structures, Copyright, Trademarks and Intellectual Property, Debt recovery, Environmental and planning, Insolvency/Bankruptcy, Contract disputes, Fraud cases, Misleading and deceptive conduct.

We have the experience to get you through the process with minimum stress. We have appeared before all State and Federal courts from the Small Claims Court to the Supreme Court of NSW and High Court of Australia. We can advise on every step of the process and enable you to get the best outcome possible.

An injunction is a court order that forces a person or company to do a certain thing or to prohibit something that is about to or has commenced. Injunctions are generally an emergency measure that stops activity that has already commenced or about to commence. This allows the parties to gather appropriate facts and take further action.

2. Debt Recovery

You may find that somebody whom you do business with has not paid their bills and you need to take legal action to be able to recover what you are owed. There are different processes involved, depending on whether or not the creditor who owes you money is a person or a company.

With individuals who become indebted to you, we are able to take legal proceedings against them to enforce that debt. We can enforce it in a variety of ways, including obtaining an order from the court to force the creditor’s bank to hand over to you funds in their bank account to clear the debt. It is very useful if you have the individuals bank details and for this reason, we recommend that when you are paid by individuals, you retain some evidence of their account details. For example, if they have paid you in the past by cheque, we recommend that you keep a copy of the cheque in the event that you need to take action against them in the future, for failing to make payment to you. Other alternatives that are open to you include obtaining an order which forces the debtor’s employer to pay the debtor’s wages directly to you to satisfy the debt.

If you are owed a debt by a company, and there is no dispute as to the debt, then we can issue a statutory demand on the company, which renders them liable to pay the amount within 21 days. Failure to do so is presumed to mean that the company is insolvent. This is one ground for applying to the Supreme Court to wind up the company, which could result in a liquidator being appointed to sell the assets of the company in order to satisfy your debt.

In the event that your company has been served with a statutory demand, it is also possible to challenge that statutory demand and to attempt to defend any proceedings to wind up your company. As a statutory demand must be complied with within 21 days, we recommend that if you have been served with one, you contact us immediately to allow for time to prepare the necessary application before the time elapses.

3. Dispute Resolution

The process of dispute resolution is a complex people environment that requires clear communication and a commercial approach to any resolution. If possible a mediation or negotiation process will provide an opportunity for early resolution without recourse to the court proceedings. Any dispute is as much about the quality of preparation as it is about the main thrust of any argument. Preparation and a thorough discovery process creates the necessity to focus on the facts.

There are various ways in which the dispute can be resolved. First, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) - ADR offers several options in resolving the dispute without going to Court. The result could be more cordial or less acrimonious than litigating in the Court. Second, Tribunals & Commissions - there are various tribunals and commissions set up by the government to investigate, review or enforce not only the decisions of the governmental departments or statutory bodies but also to seek remedy or relief against other individuals or businesses. Third, Ombudsman & Other Offices - the government has also set up numerous other offices to assist individuals and businesses in respect of review of grievances against various governmental departments or statutory bodies. Fourth, Courts - the courts in Australia provide an adversarial process where each party can present its case to the magistrate or the judge for a result in favour of one of the parties to the proceedings in accordance with the evidence presented and the applicable law.