Big Six firm Allens has admitted it should have advised a female associate of the disciplinary action it took against a lawyer accused of sexual harassment and has said it regretted its handling of the matter. But at a town hall meeting in the firm’s Brisbane office on Monday, managing partner Richard Spurio remained mum on the repercussions for the harasser.
Barristers in Victoria have fired back after a memo from the head of the Victorian bar urged them to head back to court because “shorts and thongs under the desk” are “not who we are”.
The Victorian government has passed legislation allowing the state’s courts to permanently retain digital hearings, electronic signing and remote witnessing, which were implemented last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A judge has refused to grant a further “indulgence” to Melbourne-based construction company Maxcon in a settled dispute with a barristers chambers, finding justice was better served by putting an end to the case despite on ongoing costs dispute.
MinterEllison has appointed Sydney-based partner Virginia Briggs as acting chief executive officer after the board asked CEO Annette Kimmitt to leave over her controversial staff email about the firm’s work for Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared Attorney-General Christian Porter an innocent man under our law” and has no plans to remove him from his post as top law officer or seek the advice of the country’s second law officer.
MinterEllison boss Annette Kimmitt has reportedly been asked to leave the law firm after she sent a letter to staff sympathising with those upset by a senior partner’s representation of Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Law firm Sparke Helmore has been accused of failing to heed concerns from client Nick Scali about “escalating legal costs” in an intellectual property lawsuit, leaving the furniture retailer with “no choice” but to switch law firms.
As pressure mounts for the board of MinterEllison to remove the law firm’s CEO in response to a staff email apologising for a partner’s representation of the federal attorney general, legal ethics experts told Lawyerly law firms must be free to vet potential clients, and that social issues may in the future play a bigger role in deciding whether to reject matters.
A judge has found a group of insurers defending a $309 million lawsuit over an Australia Pacific LNG project in Central Queensland cannot be represented by two law firms, saying it would not be in the interests of justice.