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Judges were not afraid to vent their spleen in 2023, but lawyers were not the only object of judicial scorn last year, as judges waded into public discourse and sounded off over issues including complex legislation, media reports, famous social media commentators, and the involvement of government departments in legal proceedings.
Companies and government entities paid out less to settle class actions in 2023 than in the previous two years, with no mega settlements hitting their pocketbooks.
Generative artificial intelligence will completely transform the legal industry, potentially decimating the billable hour in the process, and experts say practitioners who don’t embrace the technology will be swiftly replaced by those who do.
While the use of artificial intelligence is becoming more commonplace in law firms, it has not yet transformed the practice of law, with lawyers reporting that concerns about privacy, reliability, and liability mean the application of AI remains limited.
From the ongoing saga of the high-profile Christian Porter action against the ABC to “backyard” litigation testing the serious harm bar, defamation cases made headlines in 2022, with winners and losers alike shelling out millions to lawyers to protect their reputations.
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.
As the courts open up after 18 months of online hearings, junior barristers who were recently called to the bar may be apprehensive at the move to in-person appearances. Here, ten top silks share their wisdom with new barristers on how to be an effective advocate in court.
Employment law experts say the current lawsuits challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates are likely to fail, and that future lawsuits lurking around the corner will also face a high bar.
A recent High Court ruling that condemned communication between trial judges and barristers outside of court could have dire consequences, including further isolation for members of the bench, experts warn.
It has been described as the darkest chapter in Victoria's legal history, an exemplar of all that is terrible with class actions in Australia. A case of greedy lawyers who found their golden egg in a group of retirees who had lost their life savings, never thinking the chickens might come home to roost. Until now.