Ashurst

Cairns Airport has failed to convince a judge to split off the hearing of a counterclaim and set-off defence in its unpaid licence fee case against Ampol and Viva Energy. 

A judge has ordered financier MaxCap to hand over certificates of title for property associated with collapsed developer APH Holding's $320 million Wellington Health precinct in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill.

The partnerships of Ashurst and US firm Perkins Coie have voted to approve their merger, paving the way for the creation of a powerhouse firm with 3,000 lawyers across 23 countries with ambitions to lead the way on AI.

Institutional asset manager IFM Investor was ready to sweep up Dexus' shares in Melbourne Airport operator APAC under a forced sale process triggered by a default notice for alleged confidentiality breaches, a court heard Tuesday.

The chair of airport operator APAC has admitted redacting advice from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer to remove a suggested remedy for major shareholder Dexus' alleged breach of confidentiality, but denies she misled the board.

A top in-house lawyer at Dexus has told a court the real estate asset manager was using an altered form of a non-disclosure agreement with bidders of a portion of its APAC bloc of shares without the approval of the airport operator's co-owners.

Law firms will soon face costly new compliance obligations under the anti-money laundering counter-terrorism finance regime that will need to be finely balanced with their core professional and ethical duties, experts say.

A senior in-house lawyer at Dexus has rejected suggestions she was “careless” in her role in the sale of shares in Melbourne Airport operator APAC, saying she relied on a subordinate lawyer and others within the business. 

Lawyers assured two Dexus executives that it was OK to share the confidential information of Melbourne Airport operator APAC with proposed purchasers of the real estate asset manager's stake in the company, a court has heard.

A judge has threatened to vacate the trial in Dexus’ case against Melbourne Airport operator APAC after all the defendants tried to file documents late, suggesting the lawyers may be hit with personal costs orders.