Lawyer Logic ➲ Blog

This blog article aims to showcase the [USA Beta] release of our Rental Car Insurance Advice ➲ Interactive Coverage Wizard. It is designed to help all US residents make more informed decisions about rental car insurance coverage in less than 2 minutes. Whilst it is best to consult the Coverage Wizard ahead of time, it can also help "in the "spur of the moment" at the rental car pickup desk, when you are offered expensive insurance options such as a Loss or Damage Waiver - LDW (that may not be required in your situation as you may already have adequate coverage from your private auto insurance, credit card or travel insurance)!

This blog article aims to showcase an initial "proof of concept" interactive study guide designed to help you pass the bar or prepare for trial!

This blog article introduces Perplexity Pro AI & showcases how BLUEOCEAN.law have started using it to supercharge our online legal research and quickly generate quality website content.

This blog article helps you understand whether your business is legally required to design an identity theft prevention program for the US to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act: Identity Theft Rules (a.k.a. FTC Red Flag Rules).

This blog article highlights my key takeaways from the 11th Annual CodeX [Stanford Center for Legal Informatics] ➲ FutureLaw 2024

This blog article (and now its associated Podcast) introduce the best available Lawyer-Designed [Private AI] platforms BLUEOCEAN.law has hand-picked to supercharge our productivity across a wide range of legal areas in Australia, New Zealand & California (incl. U.S. Federal Law), with bonus coverage of the UK.

This blog article introduces Raycast [currently only available on Mac] & showcases how BLUEOCEAN.law use Raycast to supercharge our productivity. 

This blog article leverages my recent work in coding a button that randomly redirects you to any website within a pre-defined list. I developed the original button for random access to our blog articles, however, the pre-defined curated URL list could include URL's of any kind. This got me thinking that we could use this solution to provide a button to launch random surfing of the many varied & interesting Smart Lists which included topics such as Space Law, Conversational Commerce, Legal Design, Pro Bono, Blockchain, Curated Reading Lists, Legal Business Podcasts, etc. (now archived) which were taken offline in late 2023 when the platform provider fyi.to folded.

This blog article shares my first real-world experience learning to code in Python. As of the date of updating this blog article, we have amassed a collection of [71+] blog articles (not including this one which brings to total to [72+]). I set myself a challenge coding project to see if I could implement code that when you click the button, you are randomly redirected to one of our blog articles. In sum, with some help, I managed to get it to work. You can try it out for yourself from this blog article ...

This blog article guides you to understand the triggers that may deem you to be "Doing Business" in California, or the need to register with the Secretary of State which is possible even if your business is not based there! If deemed to be "doing business in California" your business is retrospectively liable to legal implications such as taxes (including retrospective civil penalties), as well as potentially required to make climate-related "greenwashing" disclosures & comply with privacy obligations. We recommend you review this blog article and seek legal advice if you are in doubt.

This blog article is designed to serve as a first draft introduction for my proposed future book: Replacing Lawyers with Logic ➲ The Blue Ocean Opportunity in the Legal Profession.

This blog article aims to increase awareness about California's new Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (AB1305) which targets the increasingly concerning business practice of "greenwashing" as well as Australian & NZ efforts in the same space. The new California law requires companies or other business entities making climate-related claims in California, as well as participants in carbon emission offset markets in California to post an annual disclosure on their websites. Failure to post the required disclosure, or posting inaccurate information may invoke a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per day per violation, up to a $500,000 maximum penalty.

This blog article aims to assist businesses already in California and those interested in expanding their online presence to serve clients in California (poised to become the world's 4th biggest economy) to navigate the evolving Californian Privacy Law landscape. It provides an overview of the generally applicable Californian Privacy Laws for businesses in the cloud serving Californian Clients. As Privacy Law in California is rapidly changing, please check back regularly for updates.

This blog article provides an overview of the relevant California and Federal laws and applicable legal tests for Business Owners with workers in California. The aim is to help you start to assess whether you are dealing with an Independent Contractor or an Employee. This area of employment law is highly litigated, multifaceted & complex. Misclassification is common, with potentially devastating financial & criminal consequences. Civil Penalties for misclassification apply at the California State and Federal level (which also has potential criminal penalties). We strongly recommend contacting our legal team to determine the best way to proceed if there is any grey area.

This blog article helps you understand whether your local U.S. or foreign U.S. registered legal entity is legally required* (there are 24 exemption categories) to report identity and beneficial ownership details to the Beneficial Ownership Secure System "BOSS" when the new CTA laws take effect from 1 January 2024. "BOSS" is the online reporting system developed by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 'FinCEN' under the U.S. Federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).

From I Jan 2024, all California Employers MUST send an individualized communication/letter by Valentine's Day (14 February 2024) to all current and former (if employed after 1 Jan 2022) employees' (last known address and email address) 1️⃣ If they signed an employment agreement containing a non-compete clause or 2️⃣ If they signed a separate non-compete agreement. Under the new California Business & Profession Code §16600.1, the communication MUST notify them the non-compete is void unless the non-compete falls within one of the statutory exceptions outlined in Business and Professions Code section 16600, et seq. A violation of this section constitutes an act of Unfair Competition.

This blog article is a book review of the very practical guidebook Creativity & Copyright ➲ Legal Essentials for Screenwriters & Creative Artists looking to succeed as industry professionals written by California-based film industry veterans John L. Geiger and Howard Suber. We have designed and built 2 accompanying U.S. Copyright Law Quizzes to help you test & hone your understanding of key points.

Between 2011 and 2018, a series of disputes took place about the copyright status of selfies taken by Celebes crested macaques using equipment belonging to the British nature photographer David Slater ... these are known as the Monkey Selfie Copyright Disputes. In 2021, an AI machine generated the first published legal review article. Might monkeys & machines one day successfully make IP claims?

This blog article calls for CyberSecurity, CyberCrime, CyberSafety & CyberWarfare to be global top-priority boardroom agenda items for every business, charity and social enterprise. It's time for top executives to take these matters seriously as part of their corporate governance and to face the real risk of existential-level cyber events that can be cost-effectively avoided. How? Read on to find out ...

This blog article is the by-product of the refinement of my initial draft responses to a series of interview questions asked by a journalist who was preparing to write an article about cybersecurity. The result is a commentary to help you both cyber-protect your business & gain a cyber-competitive advantage.

This blog article explains how to earn (ISC)2's ➲ Certified in CyberSecurity Credential for free^ by taking full advantage of the current (ISC)2 initiative to sponsor '1 Million to be Certified in Cybersecurity' due to the massive global skills shortage in CyberSecurity. The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, more commonly known as (ISC)2, is the world's leading member association for CyberSecurity with more than 500,000 members, candidates & associates.

This blog article showcases the full text of the 12 provisions of the Small Business Guide implemented as part of a 'Plain English' Initiative in 1995 contained within the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth.). The Small Business Guide has been an overwhelming success based on the feedback from Australian Small Business Owners. It covers the essentials of what Small Business Owners need to know if they decide to join the majority and operate their business using a private company legal entity, without the need to read the entire 600+ pages of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth.).

This 2023 Australian Employment Law Bulletin cherry-picks 7 recent developments (some radical) from the hundreds of recent changes ... The recent comprehensive legislative amendments implement, amongst other things, the recommendations made by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in its Respect@Work Report as well as ... Of critical significance to employers are two recent High Court decisions that have radically upended the longstanding rules for determining employee v. independent contractor status when there is a written contract.

This blog article provides an overview as well as detailed practical examples of how Blue Ocean Law Group use legal industry-leading cybersecurity measures to protect your privacy + trade secrets. Our aim is to raise your cybersecurity awareness so that you can make more educated decisions regarding who you decide to trust to protect your privacy & trade secrets as well as how you can step up your own cybersecurity game to best protect yourself and your clients/customers (if any).

This article focuses on explaining and applying the findings from "Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment" by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Simony & Cass R. Sunstein towards enabling better corporate governance decisions by taking proven steps to proactively mitigate against both group bias + noise to gain better quality decisions and derive competitive advantage.

Privacy Law is emerging as one of the fastest and most dynamic growth areas of corporate governance and compliance globally. 2023 is the year to get yourself into study mode to attain the gold standard Privacy Professional qualification, a CIPP from IAPP the largest global organization of Privacy Professionals.

This innovative Legal Wizard includes Embedded Lawyer-Logic designed to guide you to determine your eligibility (subject to availability at a U.S. Consulate in Australia) to make an Application for an Expedited U.S. Visa (In-Person Interview) Appointment due to one of the prescribed unforeseen travel needs.

This innovative U.S. Visa Renewal (In-Person Interview Waiver) Legal Wizard includes Embedded Lawyer-Logic designed to guide you to determine your eligibility as an Australian Resident, Citizen/National to renew your U.S. Visa by Mail. ✅ If you qualify, this Legal Wizard will proceed to automatically generate the DRAFT Apply by Mail Standard Cover Sheet for you to make it quicker and easier for you to prepare & lodge your U.S. Visa Renewal Application by Mail. ❌ If you are not eligible, you will need to book and attend an in-person interview at a U.S. Consulate.

This innovative U.S. Visa Waiver Legal Wizard includes Embedded Lawyer-Logic designed to guide you as the holder of an Australian e-passport (or e-Passport from any other Visa Waiver Program [VWP] member country) to understand whether depending on the primary purpose for your travel and the other requirements of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program you may be eligible to travel to the U.S. without a visa.

The CA Bar exam has a reputation as one of the toughest exams in the U.S. for a reason. For anyone contemplating a career in the legal profession in California, it represents a significant hurdle. This article outlines how I (an Australian lawyer with no formal USA legal education) passed the July 2022 CA bar. I share my study strategy and the study tools I used, including one free online study (and ongoing legal practice tool) I developed myself.

Our innovative Defamation Dispute Resolution Pre-Lawsuit Wizard [Australia] includes Embedded Lawyer-Logic that will guide you to determine which related legal claims you may potentially have. If the relevant Limitation Periods have not yet expired this process will proceed to create a DRAFT of one or more relevant legal documents to assist you to commence an attempt to resolve your dispute amicably.

Our innovative FREE Director ID Legal Wizard includes Embedded Lawyer-Logic to guide you to determine if and when you are legally required to apply for a Director ID under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth.).

This article details how I recently nearly fell victim to an elaborate + convincing "phishing" scam. It also suggests what you can do to mitigate this real + growing risk. Scams pose a dual threat 1️⃣ To your business brand if it is used to perpetrate these scams; and 2️⃣ To you personally if you become a victim. In light of the recent high-profile large-scale data breaches across major Australian companies, it appears some are still fumbling around in the dark!

Having thoroughly enjoyed the interview of the late Chester Porter QC about his life in the law (the recording is online and available for free) it has been a pleasure to read his more thorough account in his autobiography "Walking on Water: A Life in the Law". This blog article attempts to extract some of the many "Pearls of Wisdom" from the autobiography of a veteran of more than 57 years in the law, 52 as a Barrister.

This article attempts to salvage Blue Ocean Law Group's hard-earned reputation as being Independently Ranked as 1 of the Best Law Firms in Sydney after the recent collapse of the respected and independent Online Review Platform FirmChecker (together with their website). Consequently, we now need to redirect + explain to our existing + prospective clients why they have not arrived at the Firmchecker website.

This article highlights the bad business practices that some online trading companies have adopted. These trading platforms appear to have inadequate onboarding processes that allow untrained novices to trade highly leveraged instruments. This sets these fledgling traders up for major losses! Please contact us if you have started online trading of highly leveraged instruments without the necessary training and skill required. Did you suffer financial loss as a result? Are you interested in being part of a potential class action in Australia?

This article is aimed at helping you discover (or in some cases rediscover) the use of RSS Feeds as an effective way to protect your privacy whilst gaining freedom from algorithms that deliver content designed to be biased towards sponsored (that is, advertised) content. You can take back control of what you read!

Build your global remote team. Anywhere in the world. The easy way. Now you can grow a global workforce within hours – without setting up branch offices in new countries. Hire team members with an AI-driven global employment platform. No subsidiary, no problem.

This article highlights the bad business practices that some travel companies have adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. They appear to be avoiding paying cash refunds when bookings are cancelled due to COVID-19. Then they are making it virtually impossible to use the travel credits they offer or placing restrictions on their use so they are worth much less than the original travel. Please contact us if you have had experiences with using Travel Credits (good or bad) and if bad, are interested in progressing your claim by sending a Letter of Demand or alternatively to be part of a potential class action.

This article discusses how you can provide emergency + long-term care for your Pet/s in the event you can't provide care yourself or your Pet/s outlive you …

You can now download and read for yourself the first machine-generated law review article. Please consider that the article was generated in seconds by a computer using OpenAI's language model GPT-3. If you compare that to the amount of time generally required for a human expert to write a complex article for publication the feat is almost magical. Now is the time to pause and reflect what future versions of GPT-5 or GPT-100 will be able to achieve?

It could be a letter—ranging from half a page to a bound book—or a video recording. There are no rules governing what goes into an Ethical Will / Legacy Letter, or when the contents should be shared with your heirs. The idea behind it is simple ➲ Convey values, not valuables.

Generally, even if you, your lawyer or conveyancer are extremely diligent certain facts will still not be capable of being uncovered via visible inspection or routine searches. What then can you do to avoid finding yourself owning, living or running a business from a property affected by Mould, Meth +/or Murder?

This blog article is to introduce you to versions 2 & 3 of our ⩴ Captain [Cicero] mini-chatbots (what we call "minibots"). They have been designed to help you quickly + objectively assess whether or not your Will is likely to be complex, and whether you are engaging an employee or contractor?

When findings from Gambling Theory Research such as the Fourfold Pattern are applied to Settlement Negotiations in civil legal disputes the long-term $$$ impacts of our tendency toward risk aversion can be substantial. This article focuses on the compelling findings of legal scholar Chris Guthrie when he applied the Fourfold Pattern to two situations in which the plaintiff and defendant in a civil suit consider a possible settlement. 1️⃣ Plaintiff has a strong case; and 2️⃣ Frivolous Litigation …

Much has changed over the past few years. Post-COVID have your Legal documents kept pace? It is recommended you at least consider the following: 1️⃣ Does your Employment Handbook now need to include a Vaccination Policy + Work from Home Policy? 2️⃣ …

Back in 2016, I received a postcard from the father of one of my clients with a very nice note of thanks together with a copy of the book "Outlaw among Lawyers: The Peter Clyne Story". I thoroughly enjoyed the tales of Mr. Clyne's disbarment, his many attempts to be admitted back into the legal profession, battles with the ATO & time as a Magistrate in Zambia. This blog article covers some of the highlights!

The Blockchain promises to change the fabric of global commerce ushering in a new era of more transparent + accountable organisations empowering the next iteration of the internet called Web3. Smart Contracts can be used to directly allow fully or partially decentralised control by members who own Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs in a DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organisation). For clarity, a DAO may not have a Board of Directors or CEO. 

Jumping to conclusions on the basis of limited evidence is a bias we were all born with + need to be aware of especially in the context of legal matters ... If we are not careful we can be radically insensitive to both the quality and quantity of information that gives rise to our first impressions + intuitions.

Technology has come a long way and innovative solutions now exist for copyright owners to actively monitor the internet for infringement of their copyright + provide the appropriate Takedown Notice Solutions with legal support (if required). These solutions can also assist with Reputation Management …

What is a lawyer's job if not to persuade? How can we all improve the effectiveness of our written communications?

The ability to be critical about your own work + seek feedback from others is essential for both the iterative development of innovative solutions for clients + your professional development. The idea that you stop creating after completing version 1 of your work has no place in #NewLaw. An open + honest feedback loop is required in order for significant improvements to be made.

Consider the potential damage if your personal data/trade secrets are stolen? Geofencing or GPS Protection of your PDF documents can help mitigate the risk!

My experiences to date from mentoring the next generation of lawyers who are generally Gen Z / Zoomers is that it can be difficult to know where to start. This article aims to provide some initial guidance that can be implemented by any interested Law Student / Prospective PLT Placement / Junior Lawyer …

Our view is that the Legal Profession will increasingly need what we have coined "innovative Counsel" to deliver hybrid solutions to clients. The opportunity exists for forward-thinking lawyers to upskill so they become uniquely positioned to be more proactive in helping to guide businesses as part of corporate governance at the board level.

A blog post for 3 Geeks and a Law Blog written in August 2011 (just over a decade ago) by Ryan McClead was called "The Blue Ocean Law Firm". In 2017, it perfectly described the kind of law firm I wanted to create …

This article has been written to provide a well-considered response to a LinkedIn comment which effectively stated that fighting the ATO is generally a battle lost before it has begun. In many cases, this is true + also the reason why professional legal advice is required before any decision is made to file a Notice of Objection or to commence litigation against the ATO.

Every day Legal + Identity Documents are forged and copyright is infringed. In some cases, there exists the potential for expensive + protracted litigation over the authenticity of Legal Documents. This article highlights a partial solution!

Do you know what legal risks you + your business face? To help you get your legal affairs in order we have developed a free online Legal Wizard Health Check. It can be completed anytime 24/7, anywhere (including mobile phones) + covers both potential personal + business legal risks.

We have discovered that after we launch Blue Ocean Strategy opportunities online they have a strong tendency to generate #1 or first page Search Results on DuckDuckGo + Google. This blog article seeks to share our perspective and showcase our results so you can gain an understanding of the tangible benefits of adopting Blue Ocean Strategy® in your own business.

Our ever-increasing digital footprint means that unless we proactively engage in Digital Asset Management and leave a Digital Legacy Plan clearly stating our wishes, we may leave a Digital Mess offline and live forever online as Digital Zombies! Carefully consider whether your Executor/s will be able to locate and access your Digital Assets including Cryptocurrency, NFT and your numerous online accounts?

This article is about the art of crafting an effective digital communication disclaimer by balancing the need to "Keep it Simple" v. the need to have coverage for as many possible legal issues ... if there is too much focus solely on the legal side you could end with a large block of text that is TL;DR!

This article discusses the major difference between the standard of the legal duty imposed on Directors in Australia versus the U.S.A. Reliance on the work of professional advisors is available as a defence/defense in the U.S.A. In Australia, Directors are held to a much higher standard!

This article includes helpful hints to guide you to obtain maximum value regarding your legal matter whilst protecting your legal rights + position.

We recommend you Start Here … This article will help direct you to our "First 5 Freebies" (click on the links + images to access) that are aimed to deliver value + introduce you to our proactive [Self-Service] approach to the delivery of legal + corporate governance services (including Blue Ocean Strategy®).

This article aims to provide a high-level comparison of the Legal Profession's Ethical Rules / Codes of Conduct between Australia v. the USA (incl. California).

Where you reside can have a huge impact on your ability to protect your "Separate Property" in the context of divorce, separation, death or the assertion of a creditor's claim! This article discusses the major difference between the family property regimes used in Australia v. California.

COVID-19 has created a lot of empty buildings - There is a solution!

"You have the right to remain silent …" you may have heard this statement in the context of criminal law matters... This blog article strongly recommends that you think the same way about any potential or actual civil legal dispute. By the time you approach a lawyer to assist with your civil legal dispute, you may have already discussed the matter in detail or sent text messages/emails to the other party, their agent, insurance company or lawyers. Whilst you might think you are progressing the matter: ➲ This is generally a mistake!‍

When cash flow is short: One option to help pay the rent/bills/mortgage is to take in one or more flat or housemates. You may think that this is a simple matter (no legal advice required). This article is a “Cautionary Legal Tale” based on one of our real client's experiences. When flat or housemates refuse to pay rent + make living in your own home so untenable you have no choice but to leave … you have the housemates from hell! This is a scenario that could have you kicking yourself that you didn't engage a lawyer to start with!

Please take special note of this article + seek urgent legal advice if you have or are contemplating Australian Investment, Business +/or Property dealings via your Family/Discretionary/Testamentary Trusts. If your respective Trust Deeds irrevocably prohibit distributions to beneficiaries who are foreign persons you have already circumvented the legal issues & potential civil + criminal liabilities raised in this article. if not, please read on …

How confident are you that your existing or contemplated contracts will be enforceable in light of unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic? This article is a timely deep dive into the history and development of the common law precedents guiding the interpretation and enforceability of force majeure clauses.

Witnessing requirements for the creation of a valid Will in Australia as well as many legal documents across the board, have become a public health issue under COVID-19. It is generally not possible (on account of physical constraints) to have witnesses attest and sign a Will whilst observing social distancing. In this article we: ➲ Provide a warning about what could go wrong! ➲ Strongly recommend practical alternatives such as “Will through a window!” if witnesses can witness in a COVID-Safe manner, and ➲ Broadly outline the current Australian legislative response temporarily enabling remote AVL witnessing in some jurisdictions.

At what will hopefully be the end of a David v. Goliath battle, the NSW Court of Appeal has unanimously declared a Strata by-law banning all pets in the building as void because it was “oppressive”! This judgment, as well as proposed legislative amendments (supported by the first-ever online e-petition in NSW Parliament's history), may finally signal victory for pet owners!

This article provides a summary of an original article entitled “Privacy Policies & Australian Law” written by James D. Ford, GAICD which was published in late 2018 + is hosted on iubenda's website. ‍ By way of full disclosure: Blue Ocean Law Group is iubenda's Legal Network Partner in Australia, New Zealand + California, USA.

There are always businesses that succeed and thrive while others around them, facing the same conditions, struggle and fail. So how do these businesses do it? Is there a pattern, a logic, or a set of principles they follow that can be replicated? Can anyone do it? The answer is 94% certain.