Law Firms

The judge overseeing AUSTRAC’s case against Star Entertainment has questioned the parties’ agreement to refer questions of fact and law to a former judge for determination, rather than an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing expert. 

The owner of a major coal power station in Western Australia has lost its bid for an inquiry into alleged misconduct by the receivers of collapsed Griffin Coal after they tried to avoid obligations under coal supply agreements, with a judge saying the allegations were “relatively trivial”. 

Cargill has won a trade mark infringement case against a company that a judge said appeared to be operating an “internet scam” to intercept a $10 million payment to the multinational food company.

The lead applicant in a class action against former Commonwealth Bank of Australia subsidiary Count Financial has settled individual claims in the case, which alleges the financial advisory firm charged fees for no service.

A day after the National Anti-Corruption Commission closed its investigation of six officials linked to the Robodebt scandal, an appeals court has overturned a decision barring access by a campaigner to documents related to the disastrous scheme for collecting Centrelink debts.

The former headmaster of exclusive Sydney school Cranbrook has settled a dispute with his former employer after it admitted a public statement concerning his management of misconduct allegations against a teacher “may have caused confusion”, but will press on with a complaint against the ABC over the Four Corners episode that sparked the controversy. 

Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has yet to engage lawyers to pursue his appeal of a judge’s finding that he raped colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, but while he has the right to represent himself, experts have told Lawyerly it would be “very unwise” for him to run the case on his own.

Global insurance law firm Clyde & Co has shown six of its partners in Australia the door and will create a new salaried partner position to cope with high competition in insurance law, with the partnership having decreased by a third in the last 18 months.

A judge has ordered SkyCity to pay a $67 million penalty in AUSTRAC’s case alleging it allowed $4 billion in suspicious transactions, finding it was an “appropriate” sum, even when compared with the $450 million fine handed to Crown last July.

A law firm that has gone after major banks and the federal government over their climate exposure has trained its sight on the National Australia Bank.