Sydney man Matthew Laba, who appeared in court posing as a lawyer for clients, has been sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of practicing law without a licence.
The lead plaintiff in a class action over Sydney’s light rail construction, who is seeking a $3 million judgment, has brought a novel bid for the NSW government to pay a funder’s 40 per cent commission as damages, rather than as a deduction from the amount owed to group members.
Former Pinsent Masons lawyer George Varma has been recruited to Gilbert + Tobin’s energy and resources team, marking the second lateral hire for the firm’s Perth office this financial year.
The peak body for Australian judges has condemned an inquiry into a Supreme Court Justice reportedly charged with assault, saying that it will have sweeping powers that interfere with the judiciary’s independence and violate “basic notions of fairness”.
In a rare public statement, the NSW Supreme Court has sought to correct what it says are inaccuracies in comments by the state industrial relations minister contrasting it unfavourably with a proposed new court dedicated to workplace disputes.
A judge has refused to disqualify himself from a case by the Victorian legal watchdog against the former directors of two law firms, saying errors by him at directions hearings in the case did not equate to bias.
The firm behind a class action over Victoria’s COVID-19 hotel quarantine debacle has won a group costs order providing for a 30 per cent contingency fee, after promising it won’t ask for more down the road.
A law firm is investigating potential class action claims against New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia for allegedly discriminating against First Nations families by unnecessarily placing children in out-of-home care.
A new law firm has taken over from Quinn Emanuel in a class action against Transport for NSW over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of land to construct the $16 billion Westconnex tunnel in Sydney, after the mystery funder that’s backing the case lost its bid to avoid security.
A judge has ruled that a settlement offer made in a case can be adduced into evidence in a construction company’s suit against its former lawyers, finding that the offer was not covered by without penalty privilege.