Judges

The top judge of the NSW Supreme Court has issued a warning over the use of artificial intelligence by practitioners, saying the technology may “encourage or feed laziness in research and analysis”.

ASIC has wasted no time in appealing a judge’s decision to excuse cryptocurrency product provider Block Earner from paying a civil penalty on the basis that it took advice from a leading law firm that was not seen by the court. 

The Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by human rights group Save the Children, which sought to bring home Australians stuck in Syrian camps, rejecting as “mere conjecture” claims that Home Affairs had a repatriation arrangement with an authority in Syria.

A judge has rejected claims that an investor in the Callide power station, which suffered a major failure in 2021, was responsible for delays in the administration of the station’s operator IG Power, saying the administrators’ ten month delay in investigating the incident was to blame.

A former Queensland prosecutor has had his name struck from the roll after committing several drug offences, despite a judge finding the crimes were linked to post-traumatic stress disorder he developed from exposure to child exploitation material at work. 

Trial in ASIC’s action accusing former Dixon Advisory director Paul Ryan of breaching his duties began Monday, a case that puts the spotlight on legal advice over a deed that affected the wealth management firm’s capacity to recoup a $19 million debt on the eve of its collapse.

Westpac has secured confidentiality orders blocking the release of details of an adverse action case by its former head of strategy, after arguing that publicity would hamper settlement talks and force it to defend itself in the media.

Elanco Australasia has lost its bid to appeal a finding by IP Australia that a patent acquired from Bayer covering a lice treatment for livestock lacked an inventive step.

A director of two Paladin Group units is entitled to rely on the privilege against self-exposure to penalty in defending a case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a court has heard.

A judge overseeing several cases against Optus over a September 2022 data breach has raised the possibility of hearing a class action against the telco alongside new proceedings brought by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.