The federal Attorney General’s Department has faced calls to reveal the constitutional heads of power behind the latest class action reform bill that aims to cap the amount of fees and commission lawyers and funders can earn.
Legislation being advanced by the Morrison government that would allow religious statements of belief to override laws that bar discrimination “waters down long-standing and hard-fought protections” and clashes with international human rights law, the country’s peak legal body has said.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic’s challenge to the Immigration Minister’s decision revoking his visa was unanimously dismissed Sunday, clearing the way for his removal and crushing his hopes for another Australian Open title.
Last year brought economic growth and success for law firms, but 2021 was not only marked with good news. A slew of law firms were dragged into litigation by disgruntled ex-clients, with some paying out millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits accusing them of giving bad advice.
Jam Land, the company co-owned by energy minister Angus Taylor, is contesting an order made by the federal Environment Department to restore 28.5 hectares of illegally poisoned native grassland.
An Airbnb host’s claim for JobKeeper payments has been shot down, with a tribunal saying the accommodation of paying guests at one’s own home did not constitute a business.
If evidence were needed that courts are not rubber stamping class action settlements, the scrutiny of multi-million dollar agreements in 2021 is proof positive that judicial oversight of representative proceedings is robust.
Class action settlement totals skyrocketed to over $900 million last year, and one law firm negotiated the lion’s share, with $672 million in settlements under its belt.
Lawyerly will be closed from December 24 until January 10.
A litigation funder has told a Senate committee that class action reforms that purport to protect group members by guaranteeing them at least 70 per cent of litigation proceeds is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that will make it harder to bring claims.