Wednesday, 8 October 2025
Chair
Judy Bliss, Principal Licensed Conveyancer, Bliss Conveyancing
Equitable Estoppel and Unwritten Agreements: A Risk Management Masterclass for Conveyancers
- Key risks in informal land arrangements (e.g. family promises, unwritten agreements)
- Reliance, encouragement, and acquiescence: When do equitable interests arise?
- Managing client expectations: Actual knowledge, detrimental reliance, and enforceability
- Risk exposure for conveyancers: informal agreements vs formal documentation
- Remedies and consequences: Constructive trusts, equitable compensation, and the risks of unwritten deals
- Estoppel vs part performance: what every conveyancer must know to avoid costly pitfalls
- Land interests: Proprietary estoppel vs the doctrine of part performance
Presented by Dominic Maley, Partner, Maclarens Lawyers; Casual Academic and Course Coordinator, Property Transactions, UTS
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Substantive Law
This program is based on NSW legislation
Presenters
Judy Bliss, Principal Licensed Conveyancer, Bliss ConveyancingJudy Bliss has been in the industry since 1984. She started Bliss Conveyancing when she saw the need for a conveyancing service that spoke plain English, not legal jargon. Her mission is to help people buy property with peace of mind for the future. Her professional experience is extensive, beginning in 1984 as Personal Assistant to the Chief Magistrate of NSW, then clerking at the Nowra Local Court and the Milton Local Court. She has been a Coroner, Registrar and Marriage Celebrant. Over 10 years ago, she earned her conveyancing license and entered legal private practice so that she could use her extensive legal experience to help people buy property. Judy is a current NSW State Representative in the Pexa Advisory Board.
Dominic Maley, Partner, Maclarens Lawyers
Dominic Maley was made a partner of Maclarens Lawyers in 2015. He is a Casual Academic at WSU, where since 2017 he has been the sole lecturer in Professional Practice and Building Law, and more recently he has taken up positions at the university teaching Building Law (under grad), Construction Law (post grad) (Course Coordinator), and the Expert Evidence modules of Construction Claims. He is also a Casual Academic at UTS, where he is the Course Coordinator in the following subjects: Property Transactions, Contractual Documentation, and Construction Law. Dominic has built up a large practice in option contracts, conveyancing, easements, retail and commercial leasing, and property law related litigation.
