Most Recent
Silk’s $990 hourly rate trimmed in case against Christian Porter, Sue Chrysanthou
A court has made orders trimming the $990 hourly fee charged by a QC while representing Jo Dyer, a friend of the woman who accused Christian Porter of rape who succeeded in having silk Sue Chrysanthou removed from a defamation suit brought by the former attorney-general.
Law firm accused of ‘head in the sand’ dodges costs in failed dismissal case
A law firm has escaped an order for costs sought by a Melbourne city council that argued the firm had turned a blind eye to a client’s lack of credibility in an unfair dismissal case.
Christian Porter, Sue Chrysanthou hit with $430,200 bill in Jo Dyer lawsuit
Christian Porter and silk Sue Chrysanthou have been ordered to pay $430,200 in legal costs to Jo Dyer, a friend of the woman who accused Porter of rape, after she succeeded in having the barrister removed from the former attorney-general’s defamation lawsuit against the ABC.
Banksia funder to be wound up, liquidators to probe potential claims against directors
The litigation funder behind a scam to defraud members of a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities has entered liquidation, and the funder's two surviving directors will be among potential targets of attempts to recover money to pay a $21.7 million court judgment.
Law firms felt the sting of litigation in 2021, with angry clients leading the charge
Last year brought economic growth and success for law firms, but 2021 was not only marked with good news. A slew of law firms were dragged into litigation by disgruntled ex-clients, with some paying out millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits accusing them of giving bad advice.
Barrister faces discipline after ‘gut-feeling’ prompts unfounded allegations against solicitor
A Sydney-based barrister has been reprimanded for relying on his “gut feeling” in making baseless accusations of misconduct against the principal of a law firm.
Barrister who sexually harassed clerk has suffered enough, appeals court says
The New South Wales Bar Association has lost an appeal seeking a financial penalty and a professional reprimand against a Sydney barrister for his “poorly judged, vulgar and inappropriate” behaviour, with an appeals court finding damage to his reputation and a hike in his insurance premium dwarfed any punishment it could dole out.
‘Serious professional misconduct’: WA lawyer found to have misled Supreme Court
A Western Australian lawyer will face penalties and disciplinary action in the State Administrative Tribunal after nine professional misconduct findings were made against him, including a finding that he knowingly sought to mislead the Supreme Court.
On trial for ‘parody of court hearing’, judge says he made a mistake
A Federal Circuit Court judge has hit back at accusations he conducted “the grossest parody of a court hearing” when he unlawfully imprisoned a Queensland man for contempt of court, telling a trial “he is a human being [who] made a mistake”.
Banksia-inspired conflict of interest regulations quietly take effect
Spurred by the Banksia class action scandal, the federal government has implemented new regulations requiring litigation funders to manage conflicts of interest that arise when the lawyers acting on a class action have a "material financial interest" in the funder that's running it.