Today
Victoria to overhaul ‘unfair’ and exclusionary barrister entry exam
A review slammed the exam, which is infamous within the legal industry, as “unnecessarily restricting access to the Bar” and in “pressing need” of reform.
- 1 hr ago
- Hannah Wootton
March
Former top judge Allsop to Hong Kong court
Democracy activists say Australian judges are taking China’s ‘dirty jobs’ after ex Federal Court chief Justice James Allsop joined Hong Kong’s Final Court of Appeal.
- Michael Pelly and Michael Smith
Judge berates lawyer for ‘sustained failure’ in insolvency case
A Victorian Supreme Court judge has hauled commercial lawyer Zoe Davis over the coals.
- Michael Pelly
ASIC, APRA warn super funds on executive scrutiny
Regulators and lawyers have warned super funds they need to get their houses in order before tough new executive accountability laws come into force next year.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
More partners exit Baker McKenzie amid integration talks
Baker McKenzie’s Australian managing partner is in Hong Kong for discussions about greater integration with the global firm’s Asian division
- Maxim Shanahan
Ashurst nabs Clifford Chance litigation co-chair
New partner Angela Pearsall says a growth in class actions is set to cause corporate clients significant headaches.
- Maxim Shanahan
Martinez lieutenant tipped to lead HWL Ebsworth
Juan Martinez’s right-hand man is favoured to become the next leader of Australia’s largest legal partnership.
- Michael Pelly
Indian diplomat had ‘slave-like’ conditions in Canberra home
Justice Elizabeth Raper rejects claims of legal immunity, finding a domestic worker in his household employment was covered by Australian laws.
- Ronald Mizen
From housing commission flats to law firm CEO
Long-term head of HWL Ebsworth Juan Martinez built the nation’s largest legal partnership on the back of hard lessons from a harsh childhood.
- Michael Pelly
Shock death of CEO stuns HWL Ebsworth
Australia’s largest legal partnership is facing a succession crisis after Juan Martinez, its managing partner for 26 years, died on Monday of a suspected heart attack, aged 64.
- Michael Pelly
Competition law guns line up for Epic case
Neil Young, KC, will charge over $25,000 a day for his services in the court fight between Epic Games, Apple and Google. He’s just one of the top silks involved in the 16-week case.
- Michael Pelly
Baker McKenzie practice head jumps to Clayton Utz
Baker McKenzie’s head of restructuring and insolvency, Maria O’Brien, will join Clayton Utz, continuing a string of recent departures from the firm.
- Maxim Shanahan
Inside Brookfield’s Optus playbook | Myer’s boss with a mission | Ashurst’s new partners
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
The lawyers working themselves to death
The mental health of lawyers is under the spotlight following the death in London of a Pinsent Masons partner, who worked 18-hour days in the months before her death.
- Adam Mawardi and Lucy Burton
Ashurst picks up four partners as law firms march into consulting
The new hires from PwC and CBA continue law firms’ march into consulting, and comes after King & Wood Mallesons last month established its own advisory division.
- Maxim Shanahan
EDO hires silk to review ‘made-up’ Barossa pipeline case
Tony McAvoy, SC, will review the “processes” of the Environmental Defenders Office after harsh criticism by a judge.
How the legal system went to war with itself
The chief prosecutors of NSW, Victoria and the ACT are all under fire over how they run cases.
- Michael Pelly
The reasonable doubts over Anatomy of a Fall
The contender for best picture Oscar showcases the inquisitorial French legal system, but is it accurate? And would it be different for an accused in Australia?
- Michael Pelly
- Updated
- Regulation
ASX breached rules on ’8417 occasions’, says ASIC
The regulator’s findings are the latest woe for the bourse, which remains embroiled in investigations over a failure to replace clearing and settlement systems.
- Updated
- James Eyers
Corner offices are out; collaboration is in. Enter the new law firm
Larger law firms have been shedding space even as they have added lawyers. The rise of remote work has hastened the goal of many to downsize their real estate.
- Ellen Rosen
