With customary wit the top judge of NSW has sent off Justice Robert Beech-Jones to take his seat on the High Court, observing the value of his colleague’s criminal law experience and the lamentable drop in that bench’s “sartorial standards” with his elevation.
Government should shift away from using large professional services firms for advisory work and retain barristers to help avoid conflicts, increase accountability and ensure value for money, the Victorian Bar has told an inquiry.
Several class action counsel and an IP expert are among twenty-five new silks appointed in Victoria.
The Federal Court erred in finding a judge did not have judicial immunity from liability for damages suffered by a Queensland man found to have been wrongfully imprisoned for contempt, an appeals court has been told.
Reflecting on her early ascension to the bench, retiring High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel has said the advancement of women in the legal profession may be better served by women staying at the bar.
The ACT legal watchdog was not barred from investigating a second complaint of misconduct against a Canberra solicitor after an initial complaint was dismissed, a judge has found.
Johnson Winter Slattery has lured to the firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s intellectual property litigator Chrystal Dare, who led the historical copyright case over the rights to the Aboriginal flag.
Diversity and merit are not mutually exclusive, say supporters of changes to the rules governing barristers in Victoria, which will add to the Bar’s stated aims fostering inclusiveness and preventing discrimination.
Twenty-five barristers have joined the rank of silk in NSW, including one who represented AMP in a class action that settled for $100 million and another who is assisting the Commonwealth in its fight to recoup $325 million in excess subsidies in a dispute over generic Plavix.
A solicitor has been found guilty of professional misconduct for shuttering his law practice to avoid paying a barrister’s $137,000 bill and for repeatedly failing to respond to the legal watchdog’s subsequent requests for information.