Business & Commercial Lawyers of Perth & Fremantle

Welcome to Aherns Lawyers Perth and Fremantle, Western Australia.

Aherns is a part of the APM Group, which is an alliance of three Perth law firms, Aherns Lawyers, Phillips Legal and McDonald Pynt. The three firms practice together in the same offices under the APM Group banner.

Although operating separate practices the three firms share the same philosophy in relation to business, commercial and family law.

We deliver practical cost effective legal advice. Our rates are generally 30% lower than the rates charged by most commercial law firms.

As a Western Australian Commercial Law Firm we have proven expertise in handling the most complex commercial litigation in the Western Australian Supreme, District and Federal Courts as well as handling a large number of general litigation matters for a financial institution, many companies and businesses and referrals from law firms outside of Western Australia.

We also handle matters in the Western Australian Magistrates Court and State Administrative Tribunal.  More information can be found on the Magistrates Court system together with an overview of the State Administrative Tribunal on our Facts Sheets page.

NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE THE SAME

Some Perth law firms have self-indulgent websites that make it difficult for clients to decide whether it is an exercise in bragging or in conveying real information. Very few websites explain how the best legal minds are engaged by the firm to conduct their trials and to advise on complex matters. There is no mention of hourly rates or whether and how Western Australian Barristers are used and, if not, why their own lawyers are a better option and at what cost.

The practice of commercial law and commercial litigation is an exercise in skilful judgment and understanding your business. Sometimes the best legal advice can be obtained before a dispute occurs or in its early stages. When contracts are being prepared 90% of the contract is precedent work and 10% involves skilful drafting of important clauses that provide security and protection.

COMMERCIAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Every business has disputes. They are a fact of commercial life. There is only one way to judge how successful your solicitors are at solving your business dispute problems. That is how quickly they are able to bring disputes to a satisfactory end. In extreme cases, where the other side is unwilling to settle at all it may be necessary to proceed to trial as quickly as possible to obtain a successful outcome. In the vast majority of cases however it takes skill and effort to force the other side to see reason and attempt to resolve the matter without proceeding to trial.

A Western Australian Supreme Court judge once said that if an action proceeds to trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia then that means the lawyers have failed. Of course, it takes two to tango and if the other side's solicitors are refusing to dance it can be difficult to attempt to resolve a dispute. It is never however impossible.

Successful commercial dispute resolution can only occur when your solicitors have the following skills:

• thorough knowledge of the commercial legal issues involved;

• substantial commercial experience and the ability to offer practical commercial advice in conjunction with accurate legal advice; and

• flexibility and the ability to see the wood from the trees as opposed to engaging in semantics that involve unnecessary hours and unnecessary expense.

Litigation can be expensive. The risks are high. Litigation Solicitors know this. All options of settlement need to be explored as early as possible. Smart clients will ask their Litigation solicitors questions as to how they propose attempting to settle a dispute at the same time as obtaining legal advice as to the chances of success of litigation. Some Perth law firms give lip service to the procedures involved in commercial dispute resolution or fail to give practical examples of how they work to increase the prospects of a settlement.

At Aherns we believe that strong legal advice at the beginning of a dispute, in some cases backed up by an opinion from a recommended Barrister can be the most cost effective means to conduct commercial dispute resolution in full knowledge that you are advised of your chances of success in a legal action if the matter progresses to trial.

Our advice is now often sought in relation to the new State Administrative Tribunal (see our more indepth article in our Facts Page). Perhaps one of the biggest achievements of the SAT over the past year has been the successful use of mediation to solve disputes.

The Tribunal President Justice Barker is a trained mediator, who said recently in “The West Australian Newspaper” that it was common to discover that the two parties in a dispute have not previously had the opportunity to talk.

"We have been diverting a lot of applications to mediation and conferences with quite amazing outcomes

In the development and resources stream, about two-thirds of all minor applications are resolved via mediation. Of the major matters sent to mediation, about two-thirds are also settled.    People lodging applications at the tribunal can expect a directions hearing within 21 days and fast-track procedures have been put in place for guardianship decisions, typically involving the personal finances and care of some of the most vulnerable community members.

Oral judgments are also encouraged because they take far less time to deliver than written ones and many applications are satisfied simply hearing the reasons behind a judgment.  Most tribunal decisions are published on its website, with the exception of mental health and guardianship decisions, where due to privacy reasons a selection of representative decisions are published.

The West Australian Newspaper – 23 January 2006

Aherns Lawyers, is a West Australian Commercial Law Firm that practices commercial law in a large law firm manner, however unlike large commercial law practices, at Aherns Lawyers every client is able to speak to the principal, Marcus Ahern at any time. Contact at any time outside normal business hours is welcomed. Marcus Ahern's mobile number is 0411 5999 18.