Law firm Johnson Winter Slattery has recruited energy and resources specialist Nick Thorne for the firm’s Brisbance office, an appointment that represents a reunion for a former Corrs Chambers Westgarth trio.
The Federal Court is set to become a more attractive forum for class actions now that the Full Court has confirmed it has power to make orders granting solicitors a contingency fee from any settlement or judgment in a group proceeding.
A Greens senator has called for reducing a proposed immunity from climate disclosure litigation from three years to one after lawyers, including the NSW Bar Association, blasted the moratorium. But some law firms say the immunity doesn’t go far enough and should shield companies and their officers from continuous disclosure-related claims.
Veteran corporate lawyer Jim Peterson has left Baker McKenzie to join the Clayton Utz team as a legal consultant in Brisbane.
A Senate committee has release a damning report blasting the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as a failed regulator that should be broken up.
The Environmental Defenders Office has replaced its chair and appointed a former judge to its board as it undergoes a review of its processes in the wake of an unsuccessful case against Santos over the oil and gas company’s $5.6 billion Barossa pipeline.
Embattled online bookseller Booktopia and a number of subsidiaries have entered voluntary administration, appointing three partners from McGrathNicol to oversee a possible sale of the business.
K&L Gates has lured three partners from rival firms to bolster its corporate, IP and real estate offerings across the country, including a former principal of Davies Collison Cave.
Despite arguing for suppression as a means only to successful mediation, Westpac now wants a settled employment case brought by an executive kept under lock and key. And in a worrying sign the Federal Court may have lost sight of the importance of open justice, a judge has indicated she would entertain an order that the suit never see the light of day.
The Australian Energy Regulator has filed proceedings against several units of Origin Energy, after they admitted to breaching life support obligations for 5,000 customers over three years, including deregistering or disconnecting premises where someone was receiving life support.