A judge won’t make HWL Ebsworth managing partner Juan Martinez the representative defendant in a former partner’s $4.4 million lawsuit against the firm, saying Martinez’ interests and those of the other partners could diverge.
The NSW Law Society says law firms should consider equitable briefing and setting quotas to improve cultural diversity in the legal profession, saying more needs to be done to make the industry more inclusive.
Last week’s judgment denouncing the scandalous behaviour of the legal team running the Banksia Securities class action cast a spotlight on the conduct of lawyers for some of the defendants, asking whether “untenable” defences were maintained beyond an acceptable point in the case.
Law firm Colin Biggers & Paisley has pulled off a merger in the middle of lockdown, acquiring a Melbourne law firm that will boost its partner count by six.
The solicitor behind the successful challenge to the claim for ill-gotten spoils by the Banksia Securities class action legal team says he draws little comfort from the conclusion by the judge who strongly condemned the misconduct that the legal system is capable of regulating itself. More needs to be done to root out the systemic causes of the arrogance on display in the case, he says.
This week’s judgment referring the conduct of lawyers behind the Banksia class action to prosecutors shows the effectiveness of unique legislative provisions in Victoria that should serve as a blueprint for federal reform, says barrister and University of New South Wales adjunct professor Dr Peter Cashman.
Independent Australian law firm Hall & Wilcox has nabbed “high calibre” employment lawyers from Corrs Chambers Westgarth and King & Wood Mallesons as it seeks to expand its presence in Western Australia.
Lawyers running the scandal-ridden Banksia class action have been struck from the roll of practitioners, will face criminal investigation and must pay group members $11.7 million in damages.
It has been described as the darkest chapter in Victoria’s legal history, an exemplar of all that is terrible with class actions in Australia. A case of greedy lawyers who found their golden egg in a group of retirees who had lost their life savings, never thinking the chickens might come home to roost. Until now.
An appeals court hearing the case of a barrister who allegedly made a sexual comment to a clerk while intoxicated at a dinner following a legal industry event has questioned how a professional reprimand can serve a protective purpose if the person remains unnamed.