Victoria’s judicial watchdog has dropped its investigation of a complaint against Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Judd SC, who accused the judge of making comments attacking her professional integrity.
A judge’s decision to place little weight on the character reference of a defendant that read like the work of ChatGPT should make lawyers think twice before employing artificial intelligence to author material intended for the court’s eyes.
A Sydney law firm and its principal have been fined $14,400 for disobeying a Fair Work Ombudsman compliance notice issued for the alleged underpayment of a paralegal, with a judge saying the lawyer’s belief she did not owe any wages was “unreasoned and unreasonable”.
The numbers are in and most of Australia’s largest law firms have a long way to go in fixing the gender pay gap. Here, Lawyerly looks at the pay gap data provided by more than 50 law firms.
Former Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Lex Lasry served with the “highest standards of integrity”, and the circumstances that led to his resignation from the bench were “regrettable and extraordinary”, the president of Australia’s association of judges has said as reports emerge that the DPP has made a complaint about a second judge.
Allens has a gender pay gap of less than 10 per cent, but Big Six cohorts Clayton Utz, Herbert Smith Freehills and MinterEllison don’t fare as favourably in efforts to achieve salary equity, according to the latest numbers.
Australia’s largest plaintiff law firms and IP boutiques are among the worst law practices when it comes to pay equity, with some of them having a gender pay gap more than double the legal services industry median gap of 17.1 per cent.
A judge has ruled hearsay evidence given by Ashurst solicitors is sufficient for Racing Victoria to bring a claim for legal professional privilege over documents ordered to be produced to Racing NSW, which alleges it was the victim of an anti-competitive plot.
The DPP’s complaint to Victoria’s judicial watchdog that prompted the shock resignation of Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry was an abuse of process, experts say, and the judge’s decision to step down was a “deeply saddening end to a stellar judicial career”. But the Office of Public Prosecutions has strongly rejected the claim.
The Australian Information Commissioner has launched an investigation into the personal information handling practices of law firm HWL Ebsworth following a cyberattack that saw the firm’s data dumped on the dark web.