James Walker and Neil Readett joined Simmons Wolfhagen on the 3rd of January 2012.

Jim and Neil bring with them a wealth of experience in Wills & Estate Planning, Property & Commercial Law and Litigation & Dispute Resolution.

Jim and Neil welcome existing and new clients to contact them at Simmons Wolfhagen on 03 6226 1200, at 168 Collins Street, Hobart or www.simwolf.com.au

She and her partner Will will soon take home a very cute Samoyed puppy who they have affectionately named “Yuki”.  Samoyeds were originally snow dogs from the north of Russia and Siberia; fittingly “Yuki” means “snow” in Japanese.

After deciding in May of this year to get a puppy Will and Terri-Ann spent much time debating which breed of dog they would adopt.  After Will had a positive encounter with Samoyeds he convinced Terri-Ann it was the breed for them by approaching a family with Samoyeds and asking if he and Terri-Ann could spend some time with their dogs.

After waiting 3 months for a litter to be born and travelling several hours this past weekend they finally met their “puppy to be”.  All that remains is for Terri-Ann and Will to excitedly wait out the remaining time until “Yuki” is 8 weeks old before she can be introduced to her new home.

Terri-Ann and Will, hide your shoes and start laying out newspaper…………… only a few weeks to go!

(Submitted by:  Stacey Moore)

The Simmons Wolfhagen team walked the course.  The event commenced at 7.00am for walkers and at 8.00am for runners.  This year participant’s times were recorded by timing chips attached to everybody’s shoe laces, electronic mats positioned at the start and finish lines were used to start and stop each participant’s timer.  This was a great improvement for recording and processing personal times. 

The weather was magnificent with glorious blue skies and a light breeze; until a cold change hit with blizzard like conditions at around 10.15am.  Some participants were lucky enough to have already reached the top before the cold change; others were drenched and frozen while still endeavouring to reach the top.  For those that completed the course Metro Buses awaited atop the mountain to return them to the Casino.  For those that chose not to complete the course due to poor weather conditions Metro Buses came to the rescue collecting and returning them to the Casino. 

After the participants’ feat of endurance hot pumpkin soup, rolls and muffins were gladly received and presentations ensued. 

The event ran like clockwork with volunteers from Athletics, SES and St John’s Ambulance, along with many Police and Metro Bus drivers. 

It’s an endurance event with magnificent views, varying terrain, flora and friendly people.  Add this to your bucket list for next year!  Get in early though as enrolments fill quickly.

Recorded times:
Winners:  Male - Scott McTaggart time of 1hr 26min 11sec / Female – Claire Ashworth time of 1hr 42min 52sec
Simmons Wolfhagen team:
Jane Hanna 3:11.36
Cara Henderson 3:40.46
Alison Wiss 3:18.26
Debbie Mudge 3:13.59

Fantastic effort by everyone!

(Submitted by: Debbie Mudge)

This is a very exciting award as it directly reflects our ambition to be a progressive legal firm for our employees as well as for our clients. Our modern and progressive employment conditions help us retain our employees and in some cases where our employees take up new challenges outside of Simmons Wolfhagen, we have been privileged to be able to entice them back to work with us again.

We believe that we are the first Tasmanian law firm to be recognised as an Employer of Choice which is a very exciting development.

Simmons Wolfhagen would like to thank everyone for the contribution that they make to our workplace.  Quite simply, we couldn’t be awarded Employer of Choice without the tremendous support and contribution that we receive from each of our Employees of Choice.

We accept this award with the responsibility to constantly improve our working environment for all of our employees within the constraints of the often demanding industry in which we work.

Simmons Wolfhagen would like to take this opportunity to formally recognise the particular contributions of Denise Burns, Trudy Geard, Debbie Mudge, Matthew Mulcahy, Frances Smythe, Domonee Rieper, Louise Peacock, Jane Hanna, Kristi Foale and Margot Maddock.  Thank you for your assistance for our 2010 entry and our 2011 entry.

Both entries were shortlisted and we achieved Employer of Choice in 2011.

Our employees all make up a great team, and we hope that you take some pride in this award that recognises the terrific workplace that we all create.

(Submitted by:  Jane Hanna)

After some 3 months of training, David Morris, Justin Otlowski, Cara Henderson (all from Simmons Wolfhagen) and fellow lawyer Scott Law competed in the Freycinet Challenge over the weekend of 8^th and 9^th of October 2011.

The Freycinet Challenge is a part of the Australian Multisport Championships, with over 200km of running, cycling, mountain biking and kayaking over two days. Our team of 4 had a fantastic weekend; they enjoyed themselves and are proud to have competed alongside some of Tasmania’s best athletes. 

Day 1 saw the East Coast of Tasmania turn on some of its typical tough conditions, windswept waters and drenching down pours amid glimmers of sunshine saw many competitors struggle to cope with what is the norm for most Tasmanians. These conditions however did not hinder the Simmons & HWB team who powered through each stage of the race to complete day one in fantastic fashion. 

Rumour has it that amid the protein bars and energy drinks, they even had time for a relaxing dinner at Edge of the Bay with a few mid-race beverages to soothe those tired muscles. 

A night of relaxation and recovery did wonders for the team, not to mention the months of training, which enabled the team to look past those tired muscles and fatigue from day 1.  The team took off to a great start and kept the pace all day long finishing 14^th in their Division, a fantastic team effort! 

A well earned beverage was enjoyed at the Freycinet Lodge prior to the return home with not only pride but accomplishment on their side. 

Cara Henderson said she would love to compete in the Freycinet Challenge again. She enjoyed the camaraderie, the team challenge, the physical challenge and is proud to have competed in such a tough event. 

Stay tuned for next year… even better, why not enter a team for 2012 and we’ll see you up there!

http://www.freycinetchallenge.com.au/

(Submitted by: Cara Henderson)

Wills are not just for the rich. Regardless of how much or how little money you have, a Will ensures that whatever personal belongings and assets you do have will go to family or beneficiaries you designate. Without a Will, the Intestacy Act or the court will make those decisions.

If you would like to speak to Alison about a Will, please telephone our offices on 6226 1200.

(Submitted by:  Alison Wiss)

Those who use such sites regularly would be familiar with how easy it is to communicate with friends online.  Yet the relative privacy within which this interaction takes place can be deceiving, and those who post comments on their wall or other people’s walls that would cause ordinary reasonable members of society to think less of them leave themselves open to a risk of defamation proceedings.

This is a developing area of law and one can expect the introduction in the not-too-distant future of legislation which will regulate the use of social networking sites. 

Contact Chris Cunningham or Matthew Mulcahy for legal advice if you think you have been defamed by remarks made on someone else’s social networking page, or have been accused of making such remarks.

(Submitted by:  Matthew Mulcahy)

We have bravely entered a team of 3 of our lawyers to compete in this year’s annual Freycinet Challenge. The Challenge is a 2 day event being held on 8^th and 9^th October 2011 which includes mountain biking, road cycling, running and kayaking. 

David Morris, Justin Otlowski and Cara Henderson are all in full training mode to compete in the event; it is the first time any of them have competed in this event. 

David is competing in the road cycling leg on both days, making a distance of 60km on day 1 and 35km on day 2. David regularly cycles around Hobart and is stepping it up a notch with his training sessions to compete in the challenge. 

Justin is bringing his mountain biking skills to the event, with a 20km mountain bike on day 1 and a 24km on day 2 through various bush tracks around Coles Bay. Justin is an avid mountain biker and his training for the race involves gym work during the week and regular mountain bike rides on weekends. 

Cara will be our team’s runner, facing a 16.6km run around the hazards circuit on day 1 and then backing it up with a 14km run over the ‘saddle’ to Wineglass Bay on day 2. Cara’s training regime involves several running interval and tempo sessions during the week, and running up the mountain on the weekends to train for that steep ‘saddle’ run up and over to wineglass bay. 

Our fourth competitor is a fellow lawyer from another law firm, who will be competing in the kayak event over the 2 days. 

Stay tuned for some photos and feedback on how the Simmons Wolfhagen team goes….or come and cheer us on at Coles Bay over the 8^th and 9^th of October! 

For more information on the Freycinet Challenge follow this link: http://www.freycinetchallenge.com.au

(Submitted by: Cara Henderson)

The introduction of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 in December 2009 has thrown up some interesting questions about the nature of dispute resolution, and the role of lawyers in dealing with disputes that clients get involved in.  Articles in the Law Society’s Law Letter show that there are a range of views about the merits of the new system.

In a nutshell, SoP allows a contractor or supplier in a building project to make a statutory progress claim for payment.  If the recipient of that claim (who might be the principal contractor or the project owner) fails to pay, the claimant can get a rapid adjudication of the claim.  Generally this is done on the basis of very limited documents, and there is no hearing.  If the claim is allowed, the decision can be enforced as it if it was a judgement of the court.   The whole process takes weeks, rather than months or years, as in court.

The parties can still pursue claims and counterclaims in court if they wish, but the adjudicated amount must be paid in the meantime.

One of the concerns expressed about the SoP system is that it does not provide for the proper and just handling of all the factual and legal issues that come up in a dispute.  In effect, it is “rough justice”.

There is no doubt that SoP sometimes delivers results that are not legally perfect, and may sometimes be unfair. 

However, to my mind, the dispute resolution lawyer’s key task (generally) is not to conduct a “Rolls Royce” legal process where every legal box is ticked and every factual question resolved.  Mostly, our clients need a sensible resolution to their problem that is as fast and cost-effective as possible.  A trial in Court is usually not the best way to achieve this, although sometimes it is unavoidable. 

With this in mind, the SoP process seems to me a useful addition to the tool kit for resolving building disputes in a sensible manner. 

(Submitted by:  Craig Doherty)

A recent development in this area of law is an announcement by the Tasmanian Planning Commission that a common statewide set of standards for building a single dwelling will come into effect on 29 August 2011.  The directive states that as long as single dwellings in certain areas comply with 6 standards, including set back from frontage, visual and acoustic privacy and site coverage, they will not have to go through the planning approval process. 

A summary of the directive can be viewed at: Report_on_Planning_Directive_No._4_corrected_-_June_2011_Executive_Summary

Contact David Morris or Penelope Ikedife at Simmons Wolfhagen for advice on how this directive may affect your development.

(Submitted by:  Penelope Ikedife)