Body Corporate
Terminating a management rights agreement is risky business
Article by Frank Higginson
Current as at November 28, 2024
When you need a Body Corporate lawyer for the first time many committee members find themselves in new and unfamiliar territory. When looking for a Body Corporate lawyer (whether it be ourselves or others in the industry) these are key questions you need to ask to be confident that you will get the right advice.
Risk management in a committee context is making sure that the right advice has been sought and received. How long has the lawyer been in the industry? Do they have industry accreditation and relationships? How many current body corporate matters do they have on foot? What is their level of experience in body corporate matters? What big matters have they acted on where the client went with them because they were the best lawyers?
The benefit of acting for all different parties is that lawyers develop a breadth of experience and understanding of the full range of issues that can present themselves, and importantly, an insight into how the different parties would respond to an issue. This can be managed this to your advantage.
If an issue results in conflict, it is important to know that you have a complete legal team who can seamlessly assist and act for you to resolve the dispute quickly. Not all lawyers have their own dispute resolution experts that have current knowledge of the unique issues of strata disputes. Our team is split between contentious and non-contentious matters. Both types of law require different skill sets that can be difficult to tie together.
Workplace Health and Safety in the context of Body Corporate is often overlooked, however with regulatory changes it is critical that your lawyers are able to provide you with the latest information and practical advice for legal compliance.
The legal fees for Body Corporate matters can quite often be estimated with a degree of accuracy. Your lawyers should be able to provide you with a written cost estimate.
Unless your lawyer is able to provide a fixed fee option, the fees will only be an estimate.
Your lawyer should be able to have a frank conversation with you in advance if it looks like the estimate will be exceeded.
Lawyers need to meet the requirements set out in the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) as well as those governed by the Queensland Law Society (QLS). Prior to commencing any project or transaction you will be asked to sign a document called a Cost Agreement which is a requirement of the QLS and something all lawyers should provide.
