Administrators of collapsed retailer Colette by Colette Hayman will not have to pay over $714,000 in rent after court ruled that a temporary rent freeze in light of the COVID-19 crisis was in the interests of the company’s creditors.
The coronavirus has forged changes in the legal profession that will outlast the pandemic itself, leading to greater flexibility and efficiencies in an industry steeped in tradition and notably slow to adopt new technologies, sources told Lawyerly.
With a large number of lawyers now working from home amid the coronavirus crisis, law firms are getting creative, turning to virtual yoga, cocktail deliveries and more to maintain the health and well-being of their staff.
The Federal Court is pushing ahead with an expedited trial in Icon Co’s case against Liberty Mutual Insurance and QBE over the Opal Tower disaster, just one month after originally scheduled, and it’s going online to do it.
As states across Australia shut down non-essential services and close borders in the battle to control the spread of the coronavirus, companies are turning to their lawyers for guidance on everything from contracts to disclosure obligations, staff reductions to workplace health and safety issues. Lawyerly talked to practitioners to find out what was on the minds of their corporate clients.
A unit of Telstra contractor Tandem has lost its bid to de-class a ‘sham’ contracting class action brought on behalf of telecommunications workers who claim they were denied benefits by being misclassified as contractors.
An employee in Allens’ Brisbane office may have been exposed to the coronavirus, according to the firm, which has ordered that all staff begin working remotely as of Wednesday.
The number of lawyers working at home continues to grow as the coronavirus spreads in Australia, with four law firms ordering staff to pack up and work from home, and more expected to follow their lead.
Two law firms have mandated that staff begin working from home to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, while others begin shifting their workforce offsite as firms test their ability to weather what is expected to be a prolonged public health crisis.
The High Court has declined two insurers’ request for review of a decision that left them on the hook for covering part of a $6 million class action settlement by Bank of Queensland.