No, Minister, the problem isn’t the lawyers … it’s the law

The recent statement by NSW Minister for Fair Trading Anthony Roberts that he plans to curb the activities of strata lawyers over-enthusiastically pursuing defect claims against developers was like a baseball bat to the knees of apartment owners and strata profesionals. This is an entirely appropriate allusion considering at least one Sydney developer has used this method to dissuade unhappy apartment owners from exerting their legal rights.