A Sydney barrister who charged $349,360 after giving an estimate of $60,000 for work on a bankruptcy case has lost his bid for a costs review after his fee was slashed, with a judge finding his client could not make an informed choice about her representation.
Law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell and founding partner John Atanaskovic have been ordered to pay penalties of $184,680 to a former general manager, on top of a previous $160,000 judgment for engaging in what a judge said was a campaign to “abuse, belittle and victimise” the woman.
Two Sydney lawyers have lost an application to set aside bankruptcy notices filed by their insurer claiming over $300,000 in legal costs, after a judge rejected their arguments about an “overarching conspiracy” in the case.
King & Wood Mallesons has welcomed the return of employment law expert Annamarie Rooding, who left the firm to serve as top inhouse lawyer with gaming giant Tabcorp.
Bolstering its corporate team in Australia, multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has nabbed a cross-border M&A specialist from DLA Piper.
US multinational firm K&L Gates has lured a partner and four solicitors from HWL Ebsworth for its growing corporate practice, just a month after poaching three other partners from the firm.
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.
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.