Jonathan Nyst Shortlisted For Law Award
As the proud father, and principal of Nyst Legal, I am extremely chuffed to be able to announce that this week, for the second year in succession, my youngest son, and Nyst Legal Senior Associate, Jonathan Nyst, has been shortlisted as one of the finalists in the Criminal Law division of the national Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards.
Heroes and Villains
Some years ago I attended a breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel on the Gold Coast, at which the then highly-respected – and now much-maligned – Victoria Cross recipient, Ben Roberts-Smith, was the featured guest speaker. In his riveting address, Mr Roberts-Smith enthralled his audience with a detailed account of his service with the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan, including the extraordinary events that saw him bestowed Australia’s highest award for valour and devotion to duty in the theatre of war. As anyone who has heard the war hero’s harrowing tale of combat and courage under fire could tell you, it’s a hell of a yarn. And boy, did he tell it well.
Cat-O-Strophic Technology
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been vast, not least of all in the development of digital communication all around the globe. It is now the norm for enterprises large and small to go online, working from home, holding meetings virtually by Skype, or Zoom, or TeamViewer, and rarely, if ever, speaking with their colleagues face to face. It’s easier, cheaper, and far more convenient, and business leaders everywhere have heralded the virtual communication revolution as the brave new world.
Hard Cases
The familiar legal adage “Hard cases make bad law” dates back at least as far as the early 1800s. It points to the danger of reacting to an extreme case by making a general, harsh and inflexible law to cover all cases. Wisdom dictates, the adage suggests, that laws are better drafted to target the average – and therefore more common – cases, rather than the extreme ones.
Still Sorry
Between 1905 and 1970, generations of First Nations children were forcibly removed from their families, under a policy of so-called ‘protection.’ The 1995 Bringing Them Home report estimated that between ten and thirty-three per cent of all First Nations children were taken from their loved ones.
A Matter Of Privilege
Confidential communications between lawyers and their clients are sacrosanct. They are subject to legal professional privilege, which means they cannot be disclosed by anyone – including the lawyer – to anyone else – including the government, the courts, the police, or anyone at all – without the client’s express authorisation. That principle has been around for about 500 years, and remains a fundamental tenant of our legal system. But it has, at times, been sorely tested.
The Lucky Country
This week, as we paused to remember, on the 102nd Remembrance Day, those who fell in foreign fields to defend and preserve our liberties, hopefully we also reflected on a great deal more.
The Social Dilemma
The latest Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, serves up a thought-provoking critique of the unethical and largely unregulated tactics employed by social media platforms, namely surveillance capitalism and data mining, in order to exploit users for commercial benefit. The doco’s director, Jeff Orlowski, seeks to draw a causal link between the rise of these tactics in the 2010’s and broader social, political and economic concerns such as mental health issues, the spread of misinformation/conspiracy theories, and election tampering.
Covid Rental Relief
Perhaps not surprisingly, I’ve been deluged recently with enquiries from small business operators and commercial space landlords about rental relief in the time of COVID-19. For those affected, here’s a quick snapshot of what’s on offer.
To D or Not To D
Last week was Privacy Awareness Week, which is a curious irony, given the current dilemma faced by millions of Australians – to download or not to download the Federal government’s CovidSafe App.
Shortlisted For Criminal Law Gong
Nyst Legal Associate Jonathan Nyst was this week shortlisted as one of 10 finalists in the Criminal Law division of the national Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards.
No Ordinary Time
It’s sometimes said that one man’s loss is another man’s profit, and that’s evidently true, even in these strange and troubled times. Just ask all those previously-struggling toilet paper and face mask makers.
One curious example has even arisen in the criminal courts.