K&L Gates has fended off a mid-case bid for costs by former clients who are seeking $3 million in a negligence lawsuit and told a court on Wednesday they wasted money responding to a “defective defence” by the law firm.
Law firms could be the target of regulatory action as sexual harassment “hotspots”, with the upcoming launch by the legal watchdogs in NSW and Victoria of anonymous 24-hour online reporting platforms for lawyers.
Speculation is growing that Prime Minister Scott Morrison is poised to move embattled Cabinet ministers Christian Porter and Linda Reynolds off their portfolios, in a reshuffle of his front bench amid a deepening political crisis.
Allowing former senior barrister Norman O’Bryan to reopen his defence in the Banksia class action while “avoiding the witness box” was clearly prejudicial, and futile to boot, a judge has said in his reasons for refusing the silk’s last-minute application.
A bid by KPMG to push off the filing of its defence in a class action over misleading statements ahead of Arrium’s $754 million capital raising in 2014 has been shot down by a judge, who said the auditor has known the claims against it since November.
Star Entertainment Group Ltd is facing a lawsuit brought by a high-roller claiming the casino giant owes him almost $14 million won at the Baccarat table over a seven-day gambling spree last year.
A judge has ruled the plaintiffs in the Gladstone Ports class action cannot reserve the legal costs of an application to avoid disclosure of expert reports, despite finding they had raised a novel issue.
PZ Cussons has lost its bid for indemnity costs against the ACCC, with a judge saying the consumer watchdogâs case over an alleged laundry detergent cartel was âsignificantly wantingâ but not hopeless or doomed to fail.
Big Six firm Allens has admitted it should have advised a female associate of the disciplinary action it took against a lawyer accused of sexual harassment and has said it regretted its handling of the matter. But at a town hall meeting in the firm’s Brisbane office on Monday, managing partner Richard Spurio remained mum on the repercussions for the harasser.
The judge considering the $50 million settlement reached in the shareholder class action against failed training company Vocation and auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers has signalled his likely approval of the deal, but wants a senior lawyer to tell the court why the funding commission is reasonable.