Dentons

While the latest round of Respect@Work reforms will likely increase litigation by shielding employees from costs in unsuccessful discrimination cases, this may not spell bad news for employers.

A Muslim leader has won his bid for interim reinstatement as CEO of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils after being sacked over a harassment complaint.

Westpac has won its case against the owner of a fruit stand in Sydney’s Flemington Markets over a fraudulent scheme perpetrated using a $15 million invoice discounting facility provided by the bank.

A Sydney doctor has failed to set aside a bankruptcy notice from Dentons in relation to $113,000 in unpaid legal bills, with a judge finding the law firm validly served the notice and that the application to set aside was not filed in time.  

MinterEllison’s Perth office has welcomed a new energy and resources expert from Dentons, fleshing out the firm’s Western Australian capabilities. 

The High Court has held that a contractor had a “prima facie entitlement” to recoup the costs of building an aircraft hangar in Cessnock, NSW, which it spent in reliance on the local government performing its obligations under their contract, in a case that clarifies how courts should assess reliance damages claims. 

A litigant in an estate dispute dropped his lawyers and filed a notice to the court naming Dentons Australia as his new firm of solicitors. Unhappily for him he made two mistakes: filing the notice himself, and apparently failing to tell anyone at Dentons he had hired them.

Dentons continues to grow its ranks with the recruitment of banking and finance partner, Yechiel Belfer, from Baker McKenzie.

Expect more legal battles this year over the right to work from home, with employees continuing to demand flexibility but businesses starting to push back, according to legal experts.

Increased obligations to address and prevent sexual harassment passed in late 2022 have left some employers confused about their obligations and, in some cases, eager to fire employees before issuing a warning, says Dentons’ new employment partner Edmund Burke.