An appeals court has ruled that a judge was not justified in slapping two lawyers with personal costs, finding she should not have considered alleged poor conduct such as one of the lawyers eating a muffin while appearing during a remote hearing.
Arnold Bloch Leibler has picked up a new partner from King & Wood Mallesons to bolster its property and development practice.
The conduct of Corrs Chambers Westgarth in the preparation of an ostensibly independent expert report in a trade secrets case “must not be repeated”, a judge has said, throwing out the expert’s evidence as potentially tainted by the law firm’s involvement.
The solicitor found to have acted as a “postbox” to hide conflicts of interest in the class action over Banksia Securities’ collapse has been suspended from the roll of practitioners in Victoria for two years, after a judge found he was presently unfit to practice.
Law firm Mills Oakley is launching a cyber risk and insurance offering spearheaded by former HWL Ebsworth partner Jason Symons.
The Australian Taxation Office has finalised its protocol for dealing with claims of legal professional privilege, developed in response to large companies asserting “reckless” privilege claims which the ATO says obstruct its investigations.
As it severs ties with specialist outfit Greenwoods, Herbert Smith Freehills has brought on three tax law experts as part of the firm’s plans to beef up its commercial tax practice.
A judge has ruled that a senior Queensland police official waived legal professional privilege during cross examination, allowing the plaintiffs in a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination challenge to see legal advice about the jab direction by the Crown Solicitor.
The head of NSW’s peak legal body has called on the state’s Attorney General to retain a number of COVID-19 measures to improve access to justice.
A judge has rejected a court-appointed costs assessor’s opinion that engaging a silk to fight an interlocutory application in a spat between two Queensland law firms was “plainly a luxury”.