Legal practitioners - Solicitors - Unqualified person - Holding out as qualified to practise as a solicitor - Whether description 'attorney' implies legal qualification - Meaning of 'acting or practising as a solicitor' - Writing letters - Drawing, filling up and preparing instruments - Filing and serving court documents - Taking a step in litigation - Tasks which are 'purely ministerial' - Giving legal advice - Seeking to gain audience in court - Legal Profession Practice Act 1958 (No 6291) s90, s93, s110, s111 - Magistrates' Court Act 1989 (No 51) s100(6).

Agency and agents - Power of attorney - Authority of attorney - Instruments Act 1958 (No 6279) s104.

Tort - Conversion - Cheques drawn by fraudulent employee of appellant in pretended exercise of authority to draw cheques on account - Cheques deposited for credit to account of respondent - Collecting bank also paying bank - Bank's authority to pay cheques amounted to authority to collect proceeds for account of respondent - Whether conversion by collecting bank - Knowledge of irregularities by agents of respondent - Whether conversion by respondent.

Agency and agents - Ostensible authority - Ostensible authority of fraudster to draw cheques included authority to deposit cheques for collection - Notice - Collecting bank as respondent's agent - Notice to collecting bank notice to respondent - Notice to other agents of respondent - Aggregation of notice to different agents.

Contract — Franchise agreement — Construction — Whether agreement a ‘franchising agreement’ within the meaning of Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic) s 43(5) — Whether franchisee authorised to carry on business under same ‘name’ as franchisor — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic) s 43(5)

Agency and agents — Estate agent — Franchise agreement — Whether ‘franchise agreement’ within statutory definition — Carrying on business under ‘name’ — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic) ss 35(a), 35(b) — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic) ss 43(5), 72, 73, 75, 79, 84

Agency and agents — Real estate agent — Reimbursement of outgoings — Statutory requirements — Whether agent entitled to seek reimbursement for total amount of outgoings where claim included amounts for which agent not entitled to be reimbursed at common law — Requirement for agent to inform client that outgoings subject to negotiation — Whether satisfied — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), ss 4, 48B(1), 49A(1)(b), 49A(1)(c)(ii)

Agency and agents — Real estate agent — Commission — Requirement for agent to inform client that commission subject to negotiation — Whether satisfied — Provision of information about commission prior to engagement of agent — Provision of indicative calculation of commission — Whether commission must be calculated by reference to a reserve price — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), ss 49A(1)(b), 49A(1)(c)(ii)