Two former staffers of senator Jacqui Lambie who represented themselves in an unsuccessful unfair dismissal case have been hit with nearly $50,000 in legal costs each due to their “unreasonable conduct” in the case, including attempts to turn the proceeding into “a trial by media.”
Insurance law firm Wotton + Kearney has lured a MinterEllison partner and her team to its recently established Adelaide office, as well as a special counsel from Barry.Nillson.
Thomson Geer has lured a long-standing partner from Adelaide firm Finlaysons to lead its banking and finance team after its former banking head partner decided to end his 40-year stint with the firm.
Nine Entertainment and Marcus Bastiaan have reached a settlement which includes a contribution to legal costs but no damages in a defamation case over a 60 Minutes segment accusing the former Liberal powerbroker of branch stacking.
Clayton Utz has snagged an energy regulatory expert who has worked as general counsel at AusNet and was formerly a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills to join its Melbourne corporate practice.
Requests by litigants for judges to disqualify themselves from presiding over cases were largely denied last year, in a raft of decisions containing lessons for litigants weighing up their own recusal bids in 2023.
A Corrs Chambers Westgarth veteran known for his work defending the Catholic Church has left the law firm for rival Wotton + Kearney, taking with him a number of senior associates as well as the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.
ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes will step down next month after taking a role with investment manager Vanguard – which paid a $40,000 fine to the corporate watchdog just last month.
The Albanese government is inviting submissions on a federal judicial commission tasked with dealing with alleged misconduct by judges, saying the commission will strive for transparency and will not adopt a disciplinary model.
The state of Western Australia has been left with a $2 million legal bill for defending a defamation action by billionaire Clive Palmer and advancing cross-claims on behalf of premier Mark McGowan, which a judge blasted as “a futile exercise”.