The Law Council of Australia has come out against proposed Victorian legislation that would allow lawyers to charge contingency fees, saying lifting the current ban would compromise solicitors’ ethical duties to their clients.
Hong Kong-based casino group Melco Resorts must hand over documents claimed to be privileged to a NSW public inquiry into James Packer’s Crown Resorts, with an appeals court ruling the inquiry had the power of a royal commission.
The ACCC has been given the go-ahead to continue its regulatory action against car rental company Australian 4WD Hire over allegedly threatening emails, three months after the firm went into voluntary liquidation.
The number of law firms forcing staff to work remotely in response to concerns about exposure to the new coronavirus has grown, with four firms making the decision Thursday to shut down floors or whole offices.
Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy is “cautiously confident” that her bill allowing lawyers in the state to charge contingency fees will pass as early as next week, but the class action reform couldn’t come soon enough, she says.
Telstra has won its battle with Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over a planned upgrade of its payphone network across Australia, with a judge ruling the teleco did not need planning permits to install the next generation, digital phone booths.
Facebook has been hit with regulatory action by the Privacy Commissioner alleging the social media giant exposed the personal information of over 300,000 Australian users to third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, without authorisation.
A theatre producer facing a lawsuit by his former collaborators for stealing the script for his off-Broadway puppet show parody of the 80s TV sitcom Golden Girls has lost his own legal action against them, which alleged they defamed him and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by talking to a New York Times reporter about their lawsuit.
Staff at the Sydney office of Clayton Utz can return to work Monday after the law firm sent employees home last week amid concerns that one of its employees has been exposed to the coronavirus.
Country Care and two employees have lost an appeal of a first-of-its kind Federal Court ruling on jury directions in a criminal cartel case against the mobile equipment provider.