Welcome to Stephens Lawyers & Consultants
Stephens Lawyers & Consultants is a specialist boutique commercial law and business consultancy practice, emphasising expertise in intellectual property, competition and consumer law, franchising, media & entertainment and defamation law, e-commerce and technology law, biotechnology and pharmaceutical law, privacy and data protection, and international trade law and dispute resolution and litigation.
Stephens Lawyers is committed to understanding the client’s needs from a practical, commercial as well as legal perspective and delivering strategic and cost effective legal advice. Every client has direct access to a principal of the firm, who understand the complexities of operating a business in today’s commercial environment.
Our Services
Recent News & Updates
What does a “one star” defamatory review cost?
With consumers increasingly relying on on-line reviews about products or services in making purchase decisions, “one star”, “negative” or “fake” reviews can result in serious harm, reputational damage and loss of business. A recent court decision shows how posting a “one star” Google review can be a very costly exercise for reviewers, particularly where the review is defamatory and false or fake. Businesses and individuals subjected to “one star” reviews, can take legal action.
Update – Damages for On-line Defamation – Recent Cases – 5 August 2023 to 30 June 2024
Courts are continuing to award significant damages for on-line defamatory publications. In this update, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants reviews the damages awards in defamation cases during the period 5 August 2023 to 30 June 2024 involving on-line publications, and provides guidance on damages awards and the factors taken into account by Courts in awarding damages.
TGA targets businesses for unlawful advertising of prescription-only drugs
Advertising prescription-only medicines to the public can result in criminal and civil penalties for both corporations and individuals amounting to many millions of dollars. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has been stepping up its enforcement actions to stop unlawful advertising to the public of therapeutic goods including prescription-only medicines. This article includes some strategies that businesses can implement to minimize the risk of non-compliance.
Are your environmental marketing claims compliant? – Legal Update
Recent cases show that failure by businesses to ensure that environmental sustainability marketing claims are accurate can result in legal action being taken by regulators for false representations and misleading and deceptive conduct exposing the company and its directors to significant penalties and compensation claims.
Risk Management: Data Protection and Privacy Compliance – April 2024 Update
The OAIC’s latest Notifiable Data Breaches Report (Jul – Dec 2023) reveals the risk for organisations that outsource the handling of personal information to third party service providers and contractors – as well as risks of retaining personal information for longer than needed. In this Update we review the OAIC’s latest findings and provide guidance on steps an organisation can take to minimise risk and harm and to protect confidential information/data.
The Risk of Data Retention – Why Your Organisation Needs a Data Retention and Destruction Policy
Under Australian Privacy Law, organisations that hold Personal Information must take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information that the entity no longer needs – or face risks of incurring high penalties and reputational damage. An effective Data Retention and Destruction Policy provides an entity with a clear roadmap to ensure compliance with its obligations at law.
Our Advantages
Stephens Lawyers is committed to understanding the client’s needs from a practical, commercial as well as legal perspective and delivering strategic and cost effective legal advice.
Every client has direct access to a principal of the firm, who understand the complexities of operating a business in today’s commercial environment.