Interstate Law Firms

Major Difficulties for Interstate Law Firms Litigating in Queensland Courts

Some major difficulties faced by an interstate law firm litigating in Queensland are:

1. a lack of knowledge of appropriate counsel to engage and no real means of working this problem out;
2. a variance in local procedure at the functional level;
3. a lack of experience with the Queensland Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999; these rules are unique in Australia and based on the current English model; they contain special rules which relate to pleadings which frequently sees pleadings prepared by practitioners unfamiliar with them being subject to successful summary judgment applications and pre trial motions as a result of accidental deemed admissions.

Advantages We Present for Interstate Law Firms Litigating in Queensland Courts

Using BarristersClerking.com.au's virtual clerk has three immediate advantages for an interstate legal practice:

1. it can locate appropriate counsel;
2. it can do away with the need for town agents and remove the need to provide an instructor relying on provisions of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 and the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992; and
3. it means an interstate practitioner will not be caught by specific differences in the rules of pleadings applicable only in Queensland.

Town Agents Unnecessary

While the Queensland Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 require a local address for service, the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 allows an interstate party who has been served under that Act to have an address for service in Australia. Using participating barristers who can appear without an instructor means an interstate practitioner can retain the matter and run it from their home State allowing their own client to instruct solicitors they know and trust and eliminates an expensive layer of legal representation.