Litigation funders say they do not oppose the government’s plan to subject them to a licensing regime, but legal experts told Lawyerly the crackdown on funders may go too far too fast and could harm class action litigants.
Boral has successfully defended a lawsuit brought by a subsidiary of building products supplier Wagners, which previously estimated it would take a $10 million financial hit for suspending a cement supply contract with the construction giant.
The Federal Court’s, albeit not total, approval of common fund orders, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the likely approval of contingency fees in Victoria mean that, more than ever, litigation funders and plaintiff law firms will be on the lookout for class actions, says Alex Haslam of Gilchrist Connell.
Herbert Smith Freehills has bolstered the ranks of its global financial services team with the recruitment of former Norton Rose Fulbright partner Charlotte Henry.
From a hand sanitiser called Covidfighter to delivery services branded The Quarantine Concierge, the coronavirus pandemic has led to numerous trade mark applications to IP Australia seeking to capitalise on the outbreak. And while some applications will be expensive failures, others have good prospects for success, say Spruson & Ferguson’s Blake Knowles and Rhiannan Solomon.
A new parliamentary inquiry into the class action regime in Australia will go ahead as planned, Attorney-General Christian Porter said Wednesday, a move backed by defence firms as strongly as it was denounced by lawyers for plaintiffs.
Two men who claimed they were denied entry to a Sydney nightclub because it was “Asian night” will walk away with $15,000 after winning a racial discrimination case against the venue.
A decision this week rejecting a proposed common fund order at the settlement approval stage of a class action against teleco Vocus has dashed the hopes of litigation funders that a recent High Court ruling would not foreclose on judges using discretion at the end of a case and will cement a return to bookbuilding and a focus on shareholder class actions by institutional investors.
Global law firm Jones Day has nabbed former Herbert Smith Freehills partner Matthew Bull to boost the ranks of its antitrust and competition practice.
A ruling Wednesday that struck down class closure orders — a device used by judges in class actions for the past two decades — has split the courts in Australia and is expected to head to the High Court.