Justice Simon Steward

A judge has partly sided with a former Mills Oakley client in his challenge to a costs ruling in a saga over $25,000 in unpaid fees, saying the law firm’s arrangement with a debt management company that kept the client in the dark about the consequences of default was “regrettable”.

An appeals court has sided with the tax office in a dispute against two corporate limited partnerships formed in the Cayman Islands, finding that ATO tax assessments issued for the sale of shares in global mining company Talison Lithium were valid and correct.