Working with barristers can be inspirational or infuriating, according to the solicitors who brief them. While regular communication and mutual engagement will see the relationship between barrister and solicitor flourish, poor time management and a lack of respect can cause frustrations to bubble to the surface.
Stepping into his role just as COVID-19 began its rapid spread across the globe, Herbert Smith Freehills’ recently appointed CEO Justin D’Agostino faced what he called a “baptism of fire”.
An increase in the number of unfair dismissal cases and the addition of JobKeeper disputes has seen the general caseload of the Fair Work Commission jump by 30 per cent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, FWC President Justice Iain Ross AO told Lawyerly.
When it comes to briefing barristers, solicitors lie on a spectrum of awesome to irksome. In a series of interviews with Lawyerly, some of Australia’s top counsel reveal what they like and what they don’t like about their instructing lawyers.
A litigation funder’s average rate of return on its investment in shareholder class actions was one of a number of factors weighed by a judge in approving a 25 per cent funding cut from the $42 million settlement in a class action against dairy cooperative Murray Goulburn.
It is entirely possible that the first effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is developed in Australia, with an Australian firm securing patent rights to the vaccine. If that occurs, it is important to remember that a patent is not an impenetrable fortress. Patent laws already contain mechanisms to enable “special access” to patented pharmaceuticals and other technologies, including (perhaps especially) in times like this, say James Neil and Richard Hoad of Clayton Utz.
Hall & Wilcox has lured an insolvency ace from McCullough Robertson to bolster its insolvency and commercial litigation team in Brisbane.
The shocking revelations about the complaints of sexual harassment of young female associates working for Justice Dyson Heydon in his years on the High Court have prompted many reactions and a collective sharing by women across the profession about their own personal experiences. These stories have been incredibly powerful and are a clear call to arms for significant and lasting change. Chief Justice Susan Kiefel set the tone by committing to the adoption of all recommendations of the investigator, but the reforms should not stop there, says Professor Andrew Lynch, the Head of School and Deputy Dean at UNSW Law.
The courts are to be congratulated for swiftly adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic by introducing virtual hearings, but barristers told Lawyerly they were raring to get back to in-person hearings, and cited numerous disadvantages of holding complex matters online.
Law firms are increasingly encouraging men to take paternity leave, with benefits to both the well being of staff, and the bottom line.