Rob Lilley

I'm pleased to share that I have been appointed to The Law Society of Western Australia's Ethical Guidance Panel.

The panel is made up of senior practitioners and silks who are willing to provide a confidential and informal sounding board for practitioners navigating ethical issues in their legal practice.

If you’re a Western Australian lawyer facing an ethical dilemma or just want to talk something through, feel free to reach out.

Proud to sponsor these little legends again!

Go the Leading Edge Legal Lazers!

Earlier this morning I had the absolute pleasure of moving this legend’s admission as a lawyer.

Sam, welcome to the profession — I can’t wait to see what you make of it. Who knows, in ten years time I might be calling you “Your Honour”!

Best wishes and enjoy today. You’ve earned it. The “real work” starts on Monday 😂.

Hey Grads,

Curtin Law School is hosting an information session on 19 September for next year's Practical Legal Training course (due to start in January).

Completion of an approved PLT program is a mandatory step in getting admitted to practice as a lawyer in Western Australia.

If you're interested in completing your PLT with Curtin or just figuring out what this whole PLT caper is all about, book your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/practical-legal-training-plt-information-session-tickets-670560312947

I’m stoked to announce that I have been appointed as a sessional member of the Mental Health Tribunal of Western Australia for a 5 year term.

I look forward to doing my bit to safeguard the rights of involuntary patients around WA

Welcome to the Mental Health Tribunal - Mental Health Tribunal Western Australia The Mental Health Tribunal is an independent decision-making body established by the Mental Health Act 2014 (WA) to safeguard the rights of involuntary patients in Western Australia. Our website provides information about the Tribunal and how we can assist you. If you are in urgent need of mental he...

Time flies…

Can’t quite believe it’s been five years since I began volunteering as a mediator at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Perth.

I am pleased to share my recent journal article published in the May issue of The Arbitrator and Mediator.

TL;DR – Long mediations can be stressful and fatiguing. People's decision-making ability is impaired under stress and fatigue. Mediators should be mindful to avoid creating coercive pressure that might affect the voluntariness of participants' settlement decisions.

Shared with the kind permission of the publisher: Resolution Institute



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P6fcCs3yiYB2E3HjFgvRLQr85N0so3y9/view?usp=sharing

Possibly the best laptop stand for a lawyer. Certainly more fitting than two or three reams of Reflex…

I'm sure there's a special place in hell for people who rip off their elderly relatives. But that provides little comfort for the older person who has lost everything — their home, their life savings, their dignity — in the here and now.

The law recognises that in some relationships, one party naturally occupies a position of influence over the other. Those relationships include solicitor>client, doctor>patient, parent>child. If, for example, a parent takes a substantial gift from their child, the law presumes that the gift was a result of the influence of the parent and the gift will be set aside unless the parent can prove the gift was a result of the child’s independent free will. This is known as the ‘presumption of undue influence’.

The presumption, however, does not operate in reverse. Thus a victim of financial elder abuse at the hands of their child often faces an uphill battle to recover their home or money.

Having acted for an elderly client recently in an egregious case of , I am firmly of the view that the law in this area is desperately in need of reform. Either the courts need to formally recognise the influence of an adult child over an elderly parent, or parliament needs to step in to codify the presumption of undue influence. Until this happens, I fear that the ‘significant, insidious’ wave of financial elder abuse will continue to rise.

Kim wound up with nowhere to go after transferring her home to her son. Then she planned to win it back Four years ago, Kim agreed to transfer her home to her son. Then she found herself penniless with nowhere to go. Lawyers say it's a "classic case" of financial elder abuse and the issue is increasing.