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Legal Matters Premiere: The Reboot & Cyber Security Risks

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Legal Matters Premiere: The Reboot & Cyber Security Risks

Andrew Bell joins Colin Balewski on 4CRB for the very first episode of Legal Matters—a reboot of the long-running “Law and You” program.

Host’s Reflection

It is incredibly exciting to be starting something new with Colin on 4CRB. Radio offers such a unique way to connect directly with the Gold Coast community, and I can’t wait to start taking your calls on air.

My goal with Legal Matters is to peel back the complexity of the legal system. Whether it’s the “black box” of cyber law or the personal nature of wills and estates, I want to give you practical, actionable information. We have a great lineup of topics planned, and I look forward to hearing your stories every Tuesday at 9:00 AM.

Key Topics

  • The Reboot: Introducing the new Legal Matters format.
  • Andrew’s Background: Designing large-scale systems across many industries—and applying that same problem-solving mindset to the law to help clients navigate complex issues.
  • Cyber Security: Why your gut instinct is your best defense against scams.
  • Community Work: Andrew’s volunteer role at My Community Legal in Robina.

Listener FAQ

When can I listen to the show? Legal Matters airs live on 4CRB every Tuesday at 9:00 AM. If you miss it, the episode is available on demand on the 4CRB website 5 minutes after the broadcast, or right here on our website.

Can I ask questions? Yes! We will be opening the phones to listeners. You can call in during the Tuesday slot to have your legal questions answered live.

Where can I get free legal advice? Andrew volunteers with My Community Legal.

  • Robina: Thursday nights (Walk-in service)
  • Southport: Tuesday nights (St Vincent’s)
  • Note: This is a charity service ideal for initial advice or checking if you have a valid case.

Relevant Resources

Listen to the full discussion above.

Transcript

[Colin] Well, good morning and welcome and I’d like to welcome to the program Andrew Bell from Bell and Senior Lawyers. Good morning.

[Andrew] Good morning. Thank you, Colin.

[Colin] Well, it is a reboot of the old Law and You and the new name of the program is Legal Matters. It will follow a very similar format where we provide some information about what has changed or what is new in the legal arena. May very well be going over some of the things you know and some of the things that you don’t know, but look, compulsive listening as we’ve always said. As well as we will be opening up the phones to you. So you will be able to ask your questions of the legal experts, have them answered live on air. And that is just a wonderful little connection that we’ve had over a number of years and it’s great to have the program back. Andrew, we might start with you telling us a little bit about you. Where did you start? And I know that you and I share an IT background together and I’d like to touch on that before we move into the legal component. So please, the microphone is yours.

[Andrew] Thanks, Colin. Well, I have broad experience as you said. I’ve spent over 20 years designing computer systems for some of Queensland and Australia and international’s largest companies. Interestingly, a lot of that comes down to regulation. I’ve had my law degree for nearly 20 years, but I’ve also done a Master of Laws in business law.

[Colin] Yes.

[Andrew] I’m interested in a wide variety of things, both personally and professionally. So as I said, while I love the technology law and I help startups, I advise on cyber security issues and we do a wide range of things of getting IT issues solved both by technical companies and companies who just rely on computers. Bell Senior does a lot more than that and so do I. So I’ve been volunteering at my community legal at Robina who does advice nights every Thursday night for at least the last six years where I give advice on a wide variety of topic from fencing to children disputes to insurance matters and everything in between. So and that’s just my personal experience. Bell Senior has at least five other lawyers who come in who have a wide variety of backgrounds. We have Jeff who was the principal of Senior Legal who’s been a lawyer for over 30 years who does a lot of work in domestic violence, wills and estates and family law. We have Emma who works primarily in property law and civil law. And then we have some new additions to the team, Brian and Merciana, who are helping us out along a wide range of things.

[Colin] Perfect. Well, if I was to ask you what is it about the law that attracted to it to you in the first place? What would that be?

[Andrew] I think law is all about people and it’s about solving problems and those are the things that interest me the most. It’s not one size fits all, it’s a very personal thing and two people can have very similar needs and very similar problems and two widely different outcomes. So it’s about interacting with the people and actually helping them move on with their lives and getting the best outcome out the other side.

[Colin] Yeah, perfect because it we often see that everybody… everybody, that’s probably too broad a statement. There’s a lot of people out there or a lot of discussion around getting stuck in the argument and not “how do we get to the resolution?” And that’s I’m probably focusing on family law at this point just for the fact that that seems to be the last three or four cases that have run across my desk… and that’s not to say that from a legal standpoint just run across my desk. And it’s a shame to see that, but I love the fact that it is problem solving for you.

[Andrew] It’s also about helping people and and people coming to you who aren’t sure where to head and being a trusted source of information. As a solicitor, one of our roles isn’t just to know the law. It’s also about giving people an honest appraisal of where they’re going and what their expectations are. So I may not give you the answer you’re looking for, but I think that’s also important. Understanding what could happen and what’s likely to happen, even if it’s not in your best interest helps you plan. So unfortunately sometimes we give people the news they don’t want to hear. But in the long run, I think that’s better for everyone.

[Colin] Look, I agree. The bigger issue here is—and I mentioned getting stuck in the argument—because realistically it should be about the resolution and not “I just want to hurt.” So you can spend a lot of money, but you need to hear what the professional at the other side of the desk is telling you and take that on board and then work out where you’re going and what you’re doing. I love the fact that it is not about the argument and it is about solutions and that’s what we’re going to be talking about here on the program. We’ll be talking about all of the little nuances along the way. You’ll be giving insights into enduring power of attorney only for the fact that I’m seeing the documents in front of you and a great many other things that you may or may not have touched on or know in detail, but the law does change, doesn’t it?

[Andrew] Absolutely. It changes all the time and that’s one of the things that we’re constantly checking and you would expect that you know, after doing this for a long period of time you’d know it all, but we have a professional obligation to make sure that we’re up to date. So I also plan on sharing some of the changes that are coming to the laws to you as part of this show and also explaining some things that people don’t necessarily always have their head wrapped around.

[Colin] Sure.

[Andrew] Wills and estates is a very interesting one. I think a lot of people think that just things automatically pass to their wife or or partner when they die and it’s not necessarily that simple and a lot of changes have happened over the last 20 years. So what might have been right for your parents will may not actually stand true today. So hopefully we can keep you abreast of the situation and things that you think might be relevant.

[Colin] Interesting. All right, let’s dive into who you are. What is your favorite component of law?

[Andrew] Thanks, Colin. Well, my favorite area of the law is cyber security law. I’m currently doing a PhD at Bond University in the subject. So I live breathe cyber security questions both for the individual, protecting small businesses all the way up to big corporates and and even looking at how if the regulation is appropriate or not. So that’s something that I find fascinating and it you didn’t used to be a consideration. Over the last 10 years, I worked in electricity very heavily keeping the lights on for the world’s two largest networks. That’s Essential Energy and Energy Queensland. And in that time we’ve seen a massive transition where in the past you used to look up at electrical wire and people could tell you how they’re configured. They’re now configured by computers and things are being switched every second. So making sure that the computers that power the power that that makes us all run is incredibly important and that’s been one of my focus areas.

[Colin] Look, it’s very interesting to me because look it is part of my background. And look for the listener there, it starts at, you know, the emails that you’re getting or the phone calls that you’re getting that you should be recognizing as potential scams. To corporates and large corporates and I can even talk about 4CRB’s experience here where we’re moving into our fundraising event at the end of the month and it is all about the insurance policy that we have to ensure that people’s data is protected and that if there is some sort of breach that we’re covered. It is about protecting those credit card details that we’re taking on a website or that we’re taking through our FPOS terminals here in the building or any of those sort of things. And there are a lot of considerations along the way and a lot of things you now need to consider.

[Andrew] Absolutely. And things are changing and what might have even been the case a little while ago isn’t necessarily the case now. You’re talking about spotting scam emails. Now some of them are very obvious and they’re not necessarily obvious to the victim, but if something feels wrong, then act on your gut and find some other way to validate whether it is real. But some of them are so professional that that they’re tricking CEOs of businesses to handing over large amounts of money. So and with AI and other things, people can actually more customize stuff to individuals. So we really need to go back to does it feel right? Is there something wrong? Should I ask for a second opinion for a family member before I start doing things to try and protect yourself. And if the moment you do realize that something has gone wrong is to contact a lawyer, contact the police and actually stop the rot. A lot of these things stop immediately if people just change their passwords.

[Colin] Yes. And it is very interesting as you say because it they they it’s like a honey potion. They re tailor the messaging and it can just sound like… and I remember Christmas two years ago getting a text message from the Commonwealth Bank or what you thought was the Commonwealth Bank and it said, “thank you very much for your custom. We really appreciate your business this year. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and your family.” And it might be a good idea for you to as we go into the new year, have a look at your security credentials and potentially make it a new year’s resolution to change those. “If you’d like to do that now, click here.” Of course, very nicely worded and isn’t it lovely and thank you for your custom and happy New Year and and Merry Christmas to you and your family. But the scam was right there at the end and it was interesting. I actually know what I’m doing. So I did click on the link. I could put any username and any password in. It did look like the Commonwealth Bank’s gateway. And of course, they went straight into identity fraud where they were asking for driver’s license details and all of those sort of things along the way. So it can be very simple and easy and a honey potion as it were where you just led down this wonderful little path.

[Andrew] Absolutely. And then people feel so guilty that they don’t want to do anything about it, but it’s not a problem with you. These are people trying to steal from you.

[Colin] Yes.

[Andrew] Or trying to compromise your machines to use it for something else. So the the best way to stop this is is to have prevention measures in place. But the next best thing is to just recognize that these things are out there and be a little bit careful. You wouldn’t walk down the street with hundreds of dollars worth of cash just sitting in your hand. You need to be a bit careful about how you’re using the internet as well. And we’ll be able to provide some tips in future episodes on on how you might want to prevent some cyber security incidents from happening and I can walk you through some that have happened to clients or people that I know so you can be better prepared for the future.

[Colin] Fantastic. Well, tell me your time at My Community Legal at Robina.

[Andrew] So My Community Legal is is a registered charity. And every Thursday night—we also provide advice from St. Vincent’s in Southport on Tuesdays. But on Thursday nights, it’s a walk-in service where people can walk in, identify what their legal problems are and we have somewhere between seven and 10 lawyers plus a very capable team of volunteer law students to sit down and answer your questions. So we have migration law specialists, civil lawyers like myself, family lawyers, a wide range of things. And one of the things that interests me there is we get a lot of repeat customers who come back and tell us how happy they are.

[Colin] Nice.

[Andrew] And because it’s a charity and there’s rules around that the lawyers can’t see you who’ve given you the advice. If you if you need a double check or you’re just not sure if you have a case, it’s a great sounding board to turn up. Even if they do say this is really complicated, you know, need to go see a lawyer, at least you can rest assured that what they’re telling you is free from any bias.

[Colin] And it’s a great little solution. It’s been something that we’ve advocated here because as you say, you if you’re unsure whether you’ve got a case or whether you think that is it a waste of my time? you get your first connection point there and they go, no, absolutely, you do have a case. It could be expensive, it is complex. Or no, this is simple and straightforward and should be something that you can deal with yourself through QCAT.

[Andrew] And one of my favorite matters a lady came in and she was very upset because she didn’t think she’d been paid right over the over the long weekend. Well, the more we talked to her and the more that we looked at the documents we provided, we worked out she’d actually been systematically underpaid for the last seven years.

[Colin] Oh.

[Andrew] And she came back when she’d won $50,000 that she’d earned that hadn’t been paid that came back. So it always pays if you think something’s wrong to go and get it checked out.

[Colin] Yeah, and look, there’s some great tools out there and we’ll talk more about that in the coming episodes. So we’re coming to the end of the program Andrew and and I’d like to highlight again that this will be a weekly program. It will follow the same format as the previous program. It is now called Legal Matters. Let get that one straight. Legal Matters and you will have the ability to call in on a Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. And ask any questions you may ask. Andrew’s also going to be delivering some fantastic little tidbits about the legal industry and probably dive in and and do a deep dive on some of them. So some great programming coming forward and we look forward to you having you on board.

[Andrew] Thanks, Colin. It’s a great opportunity and I can’t wait to hear everyone’s problems and hopefully we can solve some of them.

[Colin] Perfect. We’ll also be making sure that it is part of our on demand system. So the program will be available on our website 5 minutes after the program finishes and you can replay it or send it on to friends and family. The transcription of the program will be on the Bellsenior.com.au website and you’ll also find a copy of the program there post the program. Well, Andrew Bell from Bell and Senior Lawyers. Thank you very much for your time this morning.

[Andrew] Thank you, Colin. I’ll see you at 9:00 next Tuesday.

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