Last year brought economic growth and success for law firms, but 2021 was not only marked with good news. A slew of law firms were dragged into litigation by disgruntled ex-clients, with some paying out millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits accusing them of giving bad advice.
Dixon Advisory faces a second class action on behalf of investors who claim they suffered significant financial loss when the advice firm and its directors allegedly encouraged the purchase of high risk, high fee securities for their own financial gain.
Law firm Maddocks has been ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in indemnity costs for “throwing good money after bad” in failing to consider a settlement offer in a negligence lawsuit over a client’s botched deal with Woolworths.
Commercial real estate giant CBRE Group has lost its bid to toss proceedings brought by fund manager Trilogy claiming the company negligently valued a Queensland marina at $34.8 million in 2006 and caused millions in losses.
An appeals court has dismissed an appeal in a professional negligence lawsuit by a New South Wales developer against HWL Ebsworth over a due diligence report that led to the purchase of a $25.5 million parcel of government land at risk of flooding.
Shareholders in a class action against failed steel giant Arrium and KPMG are seeking an unredacted version of an audit file by KPMG to probe the accounting giant’s handling of the steel producer’s financial statements before its collapse in April 2016.
Accounting giant Deloitte has lost its bid to throw out a former client’s lawsuit alleging negligence and fraud over a failed interposition under tax law that occurred more than 16 years ago.
Sparke Helmore will have to pay $285,598 in damages for its negligence in advising a New South Wales property developer, but a judge found the law firm should not be on the hook for costs because the lawsuit was filed in the wrong court.
Law firm HWL Ebsworth has dodged a $424,000 damages claim by a Brisbane property developer, despite a judge finding the law firm was negligent in failing to properly follow its client’s instructions on a contract of sale for large block of units.
Former Slater & Gordon managing director Andrew Grech has told the Federal Court he regretted his “catastrophic error” in approving the $1.2 billion acquisition of Quindell’s professional services division, which resulted in massive losses for the plaintiffs law firm.