Despite COVID-19 case numbers in Australia hitting historic highs and the threat of an economic recession, law firms are cautiously optimistic about their ability to weather the storm without redundancies or reductions in staff pay.
The barrister acting for a former Deutsche Bank executive named in a criminal case over an ANZ share placement has ascended to the NSW Supreme Court.
The number of new class actions has nosedived in the past six months, but experts say the drop does not signal a long-term trend but a recalibration by lawyers and funders, whose ingenuity is not to be underestimated.
Hall & Wilcox has expanded its corporate insurance, commercial and regulatory offering with the appointment of new partner Philip Hopley, formerly of Herbert Smith Freehills.
As states across Australia grapple with lockdowns and rising COVID-19 cases, lawyers practising in a range of areas, from employment to insurance, are bracing for a fresh wave of pandemic-related litigation before the year is out.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority must develop policies to protect the environment from the threat of climate change, a judge has found in a significant victory for climate advocates.
Just three years after adopting its ‘why not litigate’ approach in response to a lashing by the Hayne royal commission, the corporate regulator has abandoned the tough enforcement stance as the Morrison government focuses on economic recovery from COVID-19.
In a recent decision, the Full Federal Court confirmed that a trade mark owner who merely authorises use of its trade mark cannot be subject to liability for direct trade mark infringement under section 120(1) of the Trade Marks Act, writes Shelston IP’s Kathy Mytton and Sean McManis.
Reforms by the Morrison government passed earlier this month weakening continuous disclosure obligations will spur corporate defendants to engage in “expensive interlocutory warfare” to shut down class actions right off the bat, and plaintiffs lawyers are waiting to see how the courts interpret the new laws to determine these early strike-out fights.
Insurers Lloyds Australia and QBE want class actions by policyholders who were denied business interruption coverage for COVID-related shutdowns stayed until a related test case in the Federal Court is decided.