2014: TGB’s Year in Review

It has been a big year at TGB. Here are some of the highlights.

TGB co-founder Colin Tindall retired after 56 years in the South Australian legal profession. The career of the humble personal injury lawyer was celebrated with a surprise party and a feature story in the Advertiser.

We secured a partnership with our third Australian police union, the Northern Territory Police Association.

The NTPA announcement followed the successful launch of our partnership with the Western Australian Police Union, and the growth of our practice and team in Perth.

We have also been privileged to partner with the Communication Workers Union, assisting members in South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia. CWU represents workers in the telecommunications, information technology and postal industries.

As demand for our services grows north of Adelaide, we launched a new office in Gawler.

TGB managing partner Morry Bailes represented South Australia’s legal profession as President of the Law Society of SA, tackling issues such as reform of motor accident and workers compensation laws, mandatory sentencing, victims of crime funding and the launch of an app to educate young people about laws regarding age of consent and ‘sexting’. Morry also represented the South Australian profession as a Director of the Law Council of Australia.

Senior Associate Richard Yates attended the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane to assist police officers with any potential legal issues.

We helped our friends at Paraquad SA raise $55,000 for their vital support services.

At TGB, doing a great job for our clients is our number one priority. So we are very proud of our 2014 survey results, where 97% of our clients saying they would recommend us to the friends and family.

We were also honoured to be independently ranked among the best family law firms in South Australia.

We helped hundreds of people and organisations with a wide range of legal problems in 2014, including:

– Australian Defence Force members across the country with reparation claims through the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce (DART), as well as many other current and past Australian Defence Force personnel with a range of claims and disputes.

– A client who sued for a delayed diagnosis of cancer. The District Court matter settled for a figure in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

– A client who was left a paraplegic after a tragic backyard accident. In a complex case, we were able to negotiate a substantial settlement.

– A client who suffered the terminal mesothelioma disease after being exposed to asbestos at work. A settlement was signed off days before the matter was to proceed to a court hearing.

– We successfully obtained a court order to have a DVD Will admitted to probate (proved as valid), with our client as Executor. We also successfully obtained a court order to have an unsigned Will admitted to probate. These were challenging applications and allowed the deceased’s intentions to be fulfilled, but they do add to the costs of the estate. 

– On behalf of the RSPCA, we prosecuted a person who was convicted of ill treatment to animals.

– A WA Police Union member who was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm arising out the course of arresting a drug affected repeat offender following a high speed police pursuit. The client was alleged to have pushed the offenders head into the pavement as he was arresting him. The client denied the allegations. We took it to trial, and the Perth Magistrates Court found that our client’s actions were completely justified, he hadn’t assaulted the offender, and the charge was dismissed. Further, the Court ordered the prosecution to pay significant legal fees for having brought the matter to court.

– A Communication Workers Union member who was bullied while employed at a national company. Our action resulted in the bully being moved on.

– We represented a person who was charged with running a red light. Our client alleged that the light was yellow. We took it to trial and won, including court costs.

Thank you for your support in 2014. We look forward to helping our clients overcome their legal challenges in 2015.

To book an appointment at TGB contact your nearest office or register online now.