8 Questions to ask your Management Rights Lawyer

When you need a Management Rights lawyer for the first time many people find themselves in new and unfamiliar territory. When looking for a Management Rights 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.

1. Are you on the panel of the ARAMA (Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association)?

A Management Rights purchase is not a simple conveyance and you need to be sure that the lawyers you appoint have the necessary knowledge and experience to manage the transaction, remove obstacles and most importantly, get a successful result that will not create problems in the future. The ARAMA has a panel of 4 law firms that it acknowledges as having superior management rights expertise.  We are one of those.

2. Will you provide a comprehensive written due diligence report for the purchase?

A thorough, comprehensive and accurate due diligence report is essential when making a Management Rights purchase. This report should provide all the detail needed to fully understand what you are buying and to ensure that the business you are buying is completely and legally valid.  Ours is the best in the industry.

3. Do you act for all different types of involved parties such as the bodies corporate, management rights matters, property development and banks?

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, and can manage this to your advantage.

4. Do you have a dispute resolution team that is familiar with Management Rights issues in the event of a conflict?

If something goes wrong during the purchase transaction or at a point in the future, it is important to know that you have a complete legal team who can support and act for you to resolve the dispute quickly. Not all lawyers have the depth in dispute resolution that have current knowledge of the unique issues of Management Rights.  We do.

5. Can I have an estimate of your fees in writing?

The legal fees for Management Rights matters can quite often be estimated with a degree of accuracy. Your lawyers should be able to provide you with a written cost estimate.

6. Is your fee an estimate only?

Unless your lawyer is able to provide a fixed fee option, the fees will only be an estimate.

7. If the cost changes, when will you let me know?

Your lawyer should be able to have a frank conversation with you in advance if it looks like the estimate will be exceeded.

8. When I engage a lawyer, do I really have to sign a lot of documents just to get started?

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 lengthy document called a Cost Agreement which is a requirement of the QLS and something all lawyers should provide.