Once high-flying barrister Norman O’Bryan might seek to challenge a refusal by the judge overseeing the Banksia class action to revisit his abandoned defence and accept into evidence a document he claims proved he did not secretly hold shares in the funder behind the case.
The litigation funding company controlled by the late solicitor Mark Elliott has told a court of its “remorse and regret” for its misconduct in the Banksia Securities class action, a case that has been described as the “darkest chapter in Victoria’s legal history”.
Barrister Norman O’Bryan SC has failed in his last-ditch bid to reopen his defence in the Banksia class action to submit evidence he says shows he did not retain an interest in the litigation funder behind the case.
The judge overseeing the trial alleging fraud on the part of barristers and the funder behind a class action over Banksia Securities will be asked to award at least $32 million to the failed property lender’s 16,000 debenture holders for the serious misconduct alleged against the lawyers.
A NSW barrister who allegedly pushed an assistant clerk’s head while making a sexual remark at a professional dinner is facing disciplinary action for unsatisfactory professional conduct.
A sacked ANZ trader who alleges he was fired after making complaints about rate-rigging at the bank has sued his former law firm for allegedly withholding documents needed to amend his case against the big four bank.
A judge has refused to disqualify herself from hearing a complex medical negligence lawsuit after she described an expert conclave as a “car crash”, citing concerns over a psychiatrist giving opinions about liability in a surgical setting.
Law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell has failed to postpone its appeal of a ruling over unpaid legal fees until after its senior counsel — who is stuck in London — can get a COVID-19 vaccine and return to Australia.
The High Court will consider whether judges should steer clear of barristers outside the court room, after a husband appealed a ruling by a judge who socialised with his wife’s lawyer during their two-year divorce trial.
A judge has ordered a Melbourne-based law firm to stop acting for property company Xriso in a case against a former client over the terms of a deposit for a $51 million Werribee development in which the firm’s managing partner is likely to be a key witness.