Qld lawyers offer helping hand
Law firm McCullough Robertson has created a website that offers free legal guidance for advisers and their clients.
The website, McCullough Robertson Adviser Services, allows advisers to access a range of legal information, tools and services online and free of charge.
Advisers can download documents, including fact finds and information sheets, related to personal estate planning, business succession planning, superannuation and tax.
With the permission of their clients, advisers can also upload client fact finds to the secure site, with a commitment from McCullough Robertson that a lawyer will review the information and respond within 72 hours.
The response will include the potential legal issues facing the client and an estimate of the cost to service the client’s legal needs. The adviser can then give these recommendations to their client.
McCullough Robertson partner Peter McKnoulty said the program promotes a team approach to client service.
“The feedback we get from advisers is that when they say to clients, ‘we need to talk to a lawyer’, clients go into a panic,” McKnoulty said.
“This service was designed to give some certainty to the client regarding the costs associated with legal advice, and removes the ‘bottomless pit’ concept in terms of costs.”
The service should help advisers in getting clients across the line when it comes to issues such as estate planning.
The offer is open to advisers across Australia, and there is no compulsion for advisers to use McCullough Robertson after receiving the ‘issues and costs’ referral.
If a client does wish to speak to a lawyer from the firm, they can do so over the phone.
McKnoulty said these technical efficiencies result in a 20 per cent reduction in legal fees.
“By reviewing the adviser’s information, we can identify 80 to 90 per cent of the potential issues, and that allows us to hit the ground running,” he said.
McCullough Robertson is currently in discussions with a number of licensees and dealer groups about making the service available to their advisers.
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