A senior partner at a Sydney-based law firm has denied he made a “deliberate decision” to withhold advice from a former client suing for alleged breach of duties and conflict of interest over a rejected $4.45 million settlement in an employment dispute with Westpac.
A restructuring and insolvency solicitor who is suing Russells Lawyers for summarily dismissing him has largely won a discovery dispute over evidence in the case, with a judge ruling the lawyer could access communications between any of the partners related to his termination two years ago.
A judge has criticised two units of global finance firm TP ICAP Group for “unnecessary and over technical interlocutory skirmishes” as they seek damages from two employees who jumped ship to a competitor and allegedly tried to poach staff.
A judge has ruled that a former executive of cyber security firm Secure Logic Group, who took advice from a lawyer to destroy the contents of a personal computer that allegedly contained confidential infomation from the company, has waived legal professional privilege over the communication.
An appeal judge has stayed a $170,000 judgment against the head of a New South Wales law firm after he was found to have engaged in a “particularly sinister” campaign of sexual harassment against a former employee, despite concerns that some of his appeal grounds were “barely arguable”.
The High Court has unanimously upheld the validity of the Australian Public Service code of conduct, after a former public servant mounted a freedom of speech challenge after being sacked for anonymously tweeting thousands of critical comments about government immigration policy and members of parliament.
The former partner of Westpac-backed venture capital firm Reinventure Group has been ordered to appoint an independent valuer to clarify the claimed loss against her former employer before the parties enter mediation.
Australian stevedoring company DP World has won an interim bid to stop a “go slow” at its container terminal in the Port of Melbourne, after a judge found a “seriously arguable” case that the CFMEU was behind the unprotected industrial action.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has dropped its contempt of court case against the owner of a Cairns tour company after an appeals court set aside the tour operator’s conviction and panned the sentencing judge for his “egregious” conduct.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has warned superannuation funds they face criminal penalties if they try to win over employers with tickets to sporting events or other gifts.