OUR MISSION

Academy Legal not only provides its target audience (NSW construction and construction-related businesses) with 'top-shelf' legal support, but a key pillar of our legal practice is to educate members of the construction industry on their legal rights and obligations.

This vision means we are developing an education program (multiple mini-courses) geared towards helping business owners and their key staff to rapidly gain awareness and understanding of the legal landscape impacting their business (much like a 'legal academy').

The education program is designed to be easy-to-follow and  truly practical and meaningful. So much so that business owners are likely to save many thousands of dollars by applying the knowledge they gain, whether that's through preventing unscrupulous operators from taking advantage of them or avoiding costly mistakes.

Given this vision, we chose the name "Academy Legal".

Academy Legal operates remotely. This means that our lawyers don't operate from a specific office location but rather have a hybrid working arrangement. This also means that we often visit our clients at their office or home office and occasionally at odd hours (if this best suits our client's needs) so they can maximise their time. Consider us as potentially your mobile lawyers.

Many developers, head contractors and subcontractors know it's important to include, on your 'go-to' panel of expert business advisors, an experienced and capable accountant. If you choose the right one and work pro-actively with them, you can do amazing (legal) things when it comes to growing your business. Of course, it's important to choose an accountant that has expertise in construction or say property development (if that's what you do). An accountant with ony 'not-for-profit' experience may not be as well suited to guide you. 

Similarly, if you want to include in your team an architect, town planner, BCA consultant, structural engineer, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, hydraulic engineer, civil engineer, fire engineer, real estate agent or finance broker, ideally you'd work with someone who is experienced in your specific industry (eg, either residential homes, apartment blocks, industrial or commercial property, infrastructure, utilities, hospitals, or whatever niche you work in). Each industry has its own nuances and governing rules or standards that are often treated differently and require differing expertise.

If you are a developer, you'll want to have an environment and planning lawyer and property lawyer on your team. If you have an employment issue, you'll want a specialist employment lawyer (as these laws change regularly). If you have a dispute with your insurer over an insurance claim, you'll want a specialist insurance claims lawyer. A family lawyer may not be so useful when drafting and negotiating construction contracts or managing payment claims. A generalist legal practioner that covers conveyancing, wills & estates and criminal matters may not (unless your lawyer is also well versed in construction) be the ideal advisor either.

Therefore, consider adding a construction lawyer to your team of advisors. Someone who, in addition to the extensive legal support a specialist construction lawyer can provide:

• will get to know you and your business intimately so their advice will be relevant and targeted;

• will be available for those quick 5 to 10 minute phone calls to steer you in the right direction at short notice;

• can draft for you a standard template contract to use on multiple projects (to protect you) and who can also draft the contract in such a way that it could become part of your marketing arsenal (if this sounds impossible, give us a call);

• can help alleviate any construction law worries you may have that are causing you sleepless nights;

• can work with you to map out solutions and strategies to minimise or avoid disputes altogether; and

• can offer practical legal education (in an 'easy-to-understand' format) on numerous construction law topics for you and your key team members.

By doing so:

• you will be better placed to sidestep problems before they surface;

• you can tackle those problems head-on if need be; and

• at the very least ...you will reduce your legal spend simply.

This is because:

• you will be able to by-pass the 'legal basics' and get to the real issues more quickly in discussions with your lawyer (this is much more cost-effective); and

• you will be better prepared when meeting with your lawyer because you'll know what to organise and bring with you in advance.

Lawyers tend to operate as either "private practitioners" (meaning they work in a law firm and provide legal advice as 'external' lawyers, ie, external to their client), "government lawyers" (working in an arm of the public service) or "in-house lawyers" (working inside a company as their 'internal' legal advisor).

Some lawyers work all their lives in private practice alone and miss out on the opportunity to understand what it means to be involved inside a business to get a deeper understanding of its pressures and drivers.

On rare occasions in the construction law space (as with Academy Legal), your advising lawyer has worked in private practice, in-house and even worked on a construction site. As a result, your legal advisor has a deep understanding of the real world of construction and is able to provide you with practical advice and solutions that help you get the outcome you want sooner and more cost effectively.