The Australian managing partner of King & Wood Mallesons, Evie Bruce, is set to join Macquarie Group as its next group general counsel and head of the legal and governance group, where she will lead a team of 400 lawyers and governance professionals.
Big Six law firm Gilbert + Tobin has announced it will give all legal staff who have been with the business since July a ten per cent pay rise and increase parental leave to 26 weeks to lure talent in a competitive market.
Two law firms accused of providing negligent advice to Dover Financial over a so-called client protection policy found to be “highly misleading” have argued the defunct financial advisor should not be able to recover the $1.2 million penalty it was ordered to pay.
Asset manager Aurora Funds has won its bid to toss a demand by law firm Piper Alderman for $119,335 in allegedly unpaid legal fees, with a judge finding the terms of a settlement deed between the parties may operate as a “penalty” for defaulting on payments.
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.