Professional Background
Dorota holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Technology, Sydney. She joined the firm at the beginning of 2008 when she participated in our summer clerkship program and was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court in August 2008.
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Making recommendations and advising a major car manufacturer on amendments required to their existing Trade Practices Compliance Manual;
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Advising a professional client with regards to Division 2A of the Trade Practices Act relating to warranty periods and manufacturer’s liability to both consumers and sellers;
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Advising a professional client in relation to an alleged breach of fiduciary duties;
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Acting for a company director in respect of alleged breach of directors’ duties, and claims for misleading and deceptive conduct;
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Assisting in a number of trade practices actions against manufacturers of goods and actions against former employers for alleged breaches of s52 & s53 of the Trade Practices Act for misleading and deceptive conduct with regards to employment contracts;
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Assisting in mortgage and guarantor disputes including seeking rights of contribution from co-guarantors;
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Acting for a mortgagee in possession proceedings;
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Providing clients with advice about forums for dispute resolution such as Financial Ombudsman Service with regards to potential errors and misrepresentations in advice provided by financial institutions;
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Assisting in the drafting of Maintenance Agreements for a professional client where its intended use is in Australia and in Indonesia. This involved providing advice in relation to withholding tax and other tax implications;
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Assisting with advice on stamp duty and other tax implications arising out a discretionary trust model suggested by our client; and
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Advising a number of different courier companies where one courier was involved in a motor vehicle collision and the other courier with theft of goods. The main issue considered was whether or not the courier in each case would be considered an employee or a contractor.
Reflections
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Every matter potential turns on its own facts.
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What may appear to be a simple legal or commercial problem may have other implications in other areas once more evidence is at hand.
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In the current climate, it is incredible how many people do not have their ‘full’ agreements between each other expressed. This makes any matter difficult to advise particularly when evidence is lacking. In such cases we depend largely on implied conduct of the parties and any legislative instruments that may apply. This usually means that the agreement that one of the parties thought they had with each other doesn’t exist.
