MinterEllison has appointed Sydney-based partner Virginia Briggs as acting chief executive officer after the board asked CEO Annette Kimmitt to leave over her controversial staff email about the firm’s work for Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Lawyers and experts welcomed the High Court’s ruling Wednesday, which approved a class action beauty parade approach to dealing with competing proceedings and provided guidance as to how judges might otherwise manage the problem of duplicative cases. Here, Lawyerly outlines the important things to take away from the majority’s judgment.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared Attorney-General Christian Porter an innocent man under our law” and has no plans to remove him from his post as top law officer or seek the advice of the country’s second law officer.
MinterEllison boss Annette Kimmitt has reportedly been asked to leave the law firm after she sent a letter to staff sympathising with those upset by a senior partner’s representation of Attorney-General Christian Porter.
The ACCC has secured a court-enforceable agreement from Visa that it will not tie cheap interchange rates for large retailers to their use of the Visa network for processing debit card payments, after the regulator raised concerns the credit card giant may have engaged in anti-competitive conduct.
Judges have power to manage competing class actions by picking a winner in a so-called beauty parade, the High Court has ruled, but there is no one size fits all approach to the decision, and the law firm that files first is not guaranteed the coveted prize.
As pressure mounts for the board of MinterEllison to remove the law firm’s CEO in response to a staff email apologising for a partner’s representation of the federal attorney general, legal ethics experts told Lawyerly law firms must be free to vet potential clients, and that social issues may in the future play a bigger role in deciding whether to reject matters.
ANZ will fight to keep a sacked trader from accessing a client file held by HWL Ebsworth, citing privilege over the documents, a court has heard.
After months of uncertainty and a scolding from the judge about “vague” excuses, former Linchpin Capital directors facing proceedings by ASIC and a class of investors have been given assurance that their legal costs will be covered under an insurance policy.
MinterEllison boss Annette Kimmitt has found herself in the middle of an internal furore after she reportedly sent a letter to the law firm’s 2,000 plus staff members sympathising with those angered by a senior partner’s decision to advise Attorney-General Christian Porter.