About Smokeball

Smokeball is an innovative and powerful new online system that provides instant access to practical legal publications for legal professionals throughout Australia.

Authored by practicing solicitors, Smokeball provides a range of content including practice guides, precedents, legal forms, papers, books, commentaries, lectures, notifications, and access to relevant research databases.

How does it work?

As an online publishing system, Smokeball provides a unique four step process for users when accessing legal publications:

Searching or navigating for content is performed the same way as one would use a search engine.
Access to the publication is available in real-time. The user simply reads, views or downloads the commentary, guide, forms or precedents provided within.
Where publications include links, research is one-click away. Users reading commentary can access the suggested acts, cases and third party tools without leaving the publication.
Suggested forms or precedents include merge fields ready for completion.

What content is available on Smokeball?

To see a full list of publications available on Smokeball, Navigate on the left hand side of the home page, selecting Show All on the map, and then All Products, All Categories, All Types and All Authors. Alternatively, you can click here.

A full price list is available here.

The Name?

If it’s familiar but you can’t quite place it, the name is derived from the famous case of Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893] 1 QB 256

The facts of that case were these:

The defendants, who were proprietors of a medical preparation called "The Carbolic Smokeball", issued an advertisement in which they offered to pay £100 to any person who succumbed to influenza after having used one of their smokeballs in a specified manner and for a specified period. They added that they had deposited a sum of £1,000 with their bankers "to show their sincerity". The plaintiff, on the faith of the advertisement, bought and used the ball as prescribed, but caught influenza. She sued (successfully) for the £100.

Named after this landmark case, one of the first cases law students learn, Smokeball continues development for legal professionals by providing precedents, practice guides, legal forms, commentaries and research tools.

How can I become an author?

Smokeball is very interested in working with potential new authors. To set up a meeting please call us on 1300 292 602 or email authors@smokeball.com.au.

As a publisher, Smokeball is able to offer authors with marketing assistance, sales channels and a new recurring revenue stream.

With the ability to publish and update your legal publications online, we can provide our subscribers with the highest quality and most up-to-date legal information available.

Our new generation publishing model enables Smokeball to pay 50% royalties to authors - royalties that are substantially higher than those paid by traditional legal publishers. As the author, you retain all rights to the intellectual property and are able to publish the content yourself or via other means.

For more information, click here.