NO WIN, NO FEE*
Book A Consultation
Jeff became a partner in the firm in 1991 and later took over the running of the personal injuries department, which at that stage had 16 lawyers. Jeff later became one of the first lawyers to become a dual accredited Law Society specialist in personal injury law in both New South Wales and Queensland.
Throughout his career, Jeff has also had extensive experience in commercial litigation matters involving all types of different disputes and issues. It is through his experience in the litigation area that led him to his current area of expertise, Estate Litigation. The powerful Wills & Estates Department of Attwood Marshall Lawyers has some of the most experienced and knowledgeable lawyers in this complex area. The Wills & Estates department is larger than most legal firms and practices exclusively in Wills & Estate matters in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
He is the architect behind the firm’s electronic systems and the firm’s wish to become a paperless office.
Jeff became the managing partner of Attwood Marshall Lawyers in 1998 and has continued in that role since that time. His experience in running a multi-million dollar turnover business has enabled him to provide years of practical experience to our various business and corporate clients.
Jeff is an avid thoroughbred racehorse breeder and has a boutique stud at Mudgeeraba in the Gold Coast Hinterland. It is his experience in the thoroughbred industry that has triggered the development of Attwood Marshall Lawyers specialist division in thoroughbred breeding and racing.
Although Jeff still has an active file load in litigation matters, his main duties of more recent times are concentrated on running the business and continually improving the systems and training of our employees to ensure that we deliver the best possible legal services.
Jeff is enthusiastic about innovation and continuously challenges the status quo to ensure Attwood Marshall Lawyers is at the forefront of legal technology.
Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett fronted a run of ABC interviews this week on the fallout from Telstra’s recent national network outage.
In an interview with ABC News, he discussed Attwood Marshall Lawyers’ investigation into a potential class action, noting that affected customers will need to demonstrate direct financial loss, and outlined the escalation process available through the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).
Jeff also separately joined presenter Fairlie Hamilton on ABC Illawarra Drive and Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC WA Mornings, pointing listeners to Telstra’s direct complaints process and the TIO as a practical early step for compensation of up to $100,000, and touching on why establishing negligence is central to any larger legal action against Telstra.
To read the ABC News article, click here. To listen to the ABC Illawarra interview, click here. To listen to the ABC WA interview, click here.
Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett joined 4BC Mornings to unpack the fallout from Telstra’s national outage, focusing on what compensation options are available to frustrated customers and businesses.
Jeff explained that while individuals and businesses can pursue a claim if they can demonstrate financial loss, proving that loss is often very difficult, particularly for commuters, tradespeople, and others whose time and money could be affected in less obvious ways.
He pointed listeners to the Telecommunications Ombudsman as the most practical avenue, noting it can handle disputes up to $100,000, while acknowledging that establishing Telstra’s fault is central to any claim.
To listen to the full interview, click here.
A five-hour Telstra outage disrupted mobile services for potentially millions of Australians this week, affecting triple-zero calls and public transport systems in NSW and Victoria.
Attwood Marshall Lawyers’ Legal Practice Director, Jeff Garrett, shared his expertise in the Daily Telegraph on the legal consequences for Telstra and the compensation options that may be available to affected customers and businesses.
Jeff told business reporter Sarah Perillo that the outage has the right ingredients to spark a significant claim, though he cautioned that proving loss won’t be straightforward for every customer.
“You have to prove financial loss is directly related to the breach or the outage. Sometimes you don’t know what that looks like until they do some sort of investigation into the outage and what caused it,” he said.
He also spoke about how individuals and small businesses could lodge a claim with the Telecommunications Ombudsman, which can handle disputes up to $100,000.
Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett spoke to the Australian Financial Review about the history and future of discretionary trusts, as the Federal Government’s proposed budget changes look to impose a minimum 30 per cent tax rate on trust distributions.
Jeff traced the origins of trusts back to the Crusades and explained how they have evolved over centuries – from protecting the estates of knights to sheltering family business and investment income.
The wide-ranging piece looks at the more than 40-year legislative campaign the government has been running against trust-based tax planning.
Read the full article here.
The federal government’s budget proposes changes that could push the effective tax rate on discretionary trust distributions to bucket companies as high as 63 per cent, well above Australia’s top marginal rate.
Our Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett spoke with the Australian Financial Review about the proposal, raising concerns that the full ramifications of the changes had not been thoroughly worked through.
A three-year window from mid-2027 has been announced to allow affected families to restructure. But the broader concern is the flow-on impact for the many Australians who rely on discretionary trusts as part of their long-term structuring and estate planning.
Read the full article here.
The Queensland government is set to introduce new laws to address the safety concerns around growing e-bike and e-scooter use, including licensing requirements and parental responsibility for the actions of children aged under 16.
Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett spoke to Gold Coast Bulletin reporter Andrew Potts about the reforms, which are expected to come into force on July 1 and follow recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry. He said more police resources will be needed.
“The intention is there with the legislation and it is a start, but we will have to see how it goes,” Jeff said.
“It will be a bit of a stretch on police resources for officers to try and be everywhere and to catch people on these souped-up bikes.”
Read the article here.
In a recent interview with the Courier Mail, Legal Practice Director, Jeff Garrett, gave his views on a Queensland parliamentary inquiry’s sweeping 28-point plan for e-mobility reforms.
Recommendations included restricting use to riders aged 16 and over, holding parents liable for penalties incurred by younger riders, and empowering police to seize and destroy illegal devices.
Jeff noted that because children cannot be taken to court and these devices lack CTP insurance, there is currently no pool of money available for victims.
He highlighted that tying parental liability to device ownership (similar to the rules for unregistered vehicles) could prompt families to think more carefully about the consequences of buying these devices for their children.
Read the full article here.
As property values continue to rise and Australians accumulate larger estates, testamentary trusts are moving from a niche tool of the ultra-wealthy to a mainstream estate planning strategy.
Our Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett shared his perspective with the Australian Financial Review on the benefits and considerations of testamentary trusts.
“The whole point of a testamentary trust is that it is the optimum vehicle, both tax-wise and protective-wise, for future generations,” he told the newspaper.
The article (which is part of a series called “The Great Wealth Transfer”) explores how testamentary trusts can minimise tax, protect assets from divorce and bankruptcy, and ensure family wealth is preserved across generations.
Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett was asked by The Australian to comment on reports that ANZ’s top lawyer, Ken Adams, hosted a luxury cocktail event at his Melbourne apartment to mark the bank’s $240 million settlement with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
The settlement addresses a range of regulatory failings, including mishandling a $14 billion bond deal and charging fees to deceased customers. The agreement remains under judicial review, with Justice Jonathan Beach describing parts of it as “a bit on the light side.”
Jeff told The Australian:
“The celebration underscores a troubling disconnect between the gravity of ANZ’s admitted misconduct and the bank’s internal culture of a lack of accountability.”
To read the report that prompted Jeff’s comment, click here.
To read the subsequent article featuring Jeff’s comment, click here.
As Australians explore informal ways of recording their Wills, the case of Colin Peek has highlighted just how far modern technology can intersect with estate law.
In an exclusive feature in The Australia Frinancial Review, our Legal Practice Director, Jeff Garrett, provided his perspective on a landmark ruling by the NSW Court of Appeal, which upheld a $13.6 million Will written on the Notes app of Peek’s iPhone.
Jeff explained to Wealth Reporter, Andrew Hobbs the significance of the decision.
“It’s a big case in this world of estate litigation. Huge. Appeal courts don’t disturb findings in relation to this particular issue very often.”
Jeff went on to explain that the court’s decision underscores the key legal principle for any informal Will: it must clearly evidence the testator’s intentions and represent their final testamentary wishes. He noted that the appeal court rarely overturns findings on this issue, highlighting the significance of proper intent, even when documented on unconventional mediums like an iPhone.
Jeff said,
“It all boils down to the critical piece of whatever the informal Will is on, whether that’s an iPhone, written on a beer coaster, or a scrap of paper, … does it properly evidence the testators wishes, and most importantly, is it the final document in relation to those testamentary wishes?”
Jeff further explained that although the ruling demonstrates informal Wills can be valid, they often carry greater uncertainty than traditional, formally executed documents.
He added,
“Sometimes it will be a 50-50 proposition as to which way it goes. In this case, there was $13 million riding on the decision, so it was always likely to go to the Court of Appeal.”
The case also highlights the evolving nature of estate planning, where digital tools are increasingly being recognised by courts, but still require careful consideration to ensure legal effectiveness.
Read the full article here
