A judge has set aside a costs agreement between a Perth-based law firm and its client in a family law matter that culminated in a $87,000 bill, saying the agreement was “positively misleading” with respect to the applicable hourly rates.
A judge has ordered Seven West-owned publication The West Australian to pay a former public servant $180,000 in damages over an article about an allegation of fraud that had “a sensationalist overtone”.
K&L Gates has lured three partners from rival firms to bolster its corporate, IP and real estate offerings across the country, including a former principal of Davies Collison Cave.
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”.
A judge has left open the question of whether a line of authority relating to the materiality of information under the continuous disclosure regime could be relevant to a stoush between collapsed engineering firm Forge Group and Clough Group, saying the decisions may apply to cases alleging breaches of the insider trading provisions of the Corporations Act.
Australia’s largest brick manufacturer Brickworks has accused a rival founded by billionaire Len Buckeridge of substantially lessening competition in Western Australia through a 2021 acquisition and engaging in predatory pricing that caused it to shut its doors in the state.
A tribunal will recommend that a Perth solicitor be struck from the roll of practitioners after being found to have engaged in professional misconduct for failing to comply with requests for information by Western Australia’s legal complaints body.
A barrister who had a “close personal relationship” with a judge presiding over her case has been suspended and fined $10,000, after the High Court ruled their communications gave rise to the appearance of bias and justified recusal.
Thomson Geer is set to nab four partners and 19 staff in a merger with boutique Perth-based firm Tottle Partners, expanding the national firm’s presence in Western Australia.
The ATO has lost its appeal of a tribunal decision in favour of Perth land developer Tina Bazzo, with the court rejecting its “all or nothing” approach to a key provision of the Taxation Administration Act.