Veterinary pharmaceutical company Norbrook Laboratories has filed court proceedings after a delegate of IP Australia tossed its opposition to a patent by Bayer New Zealand for a bovine antiseptic treatment.
When it comes to briefing barristers, solicitors lie on a spectrum of awesome to irksome. In a series of interviews with Lawyerly, some of Australia’s top counsel reveal what they like and what they don’t like about their instructing lawyers.
A contradictor investigating alleged professional misconduct on the part of the legal team and funder behind a class action against failed Banksia Securities will subpoena the bank records of deceased class action lawyer and funder Mark Elliott and associated companies. Meanwhile, the barrister for the lead applicant has returned her brief on the eve of trial, on the advice of the bar ethics committee.
Court documents sought to be kept confidential in a case alleging professional misconduct against barrister Norman O’Bryan SC in his role as counsel for a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities accuse the top silk of continuing to have an interest in the funder that bankrolled the proceedings after his wife was said to have sold her shares.
A judge has rejected calls to keep confidential the details of professional misconduct claims against the funder and lawyers behind the Banksia Securities class action, in a ruling that revealed that investors of the collapsed lender could recover $30 million more if allegations against the legal team are established at trial.
A prominent silk deliberately misled a cost consultant retained to provide an opinion on the barrister’s fees to a court overseeing a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities, then joked about it with lawyer and litigation funder Mark Elliott, a judge has been told.
The funder behind the Banksia Securities class action has failed in a bid to have an outstanding case over legal fees and its commission sent to mediation, with a judge saying the issues for trial involve allegations against lawyers of serious misconduct not appropriate for closed-door negotiations.
The liquidators of defunct stockbroker Halifax are justified in their decision to refrain from realising existing investments over the protests of some investors, until substantive issues in the liquidation are resolved, a court has directed.
Voluntary administration was the only option for Virgin, and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the airlineās decline could present a unique opportunity for the administrators to push the boundaries of corporations law, according to insolvency experts.
Engineering firm Adcon has failed in a bid to block developer Icon from accessing a $396,000 bank guarantee after delays in the development of the Botanic Melbourne residential apartment complex.