The era of online hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic has made advocacy more challenging for counsel representing parties in litigation, but a happy consequence of the virtual courtroom is an end to intimidation, harassment and in some cases bullying by male barristers and judges, female barristers have told Lawyerly.
The Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court told Lawyerly the court will adopt a flexible mixture of virtual and in-person hearings in the long term, as courts and the country slowly awaken from COVID-19 lockdown.
Mayfair 101 has agreed to cease using the brand name Mayfair Platinum to settle a trade mark dispute brought by ASX-listed fund manager Platinum Asset Management.
While some judges have suggested a deed of company arrangement can be terminated at the comparatively low threshold that a liquidator may be “potentially” successful in litigating a claim, this is clearly not the test after a recent Full Federal Court ruling that affirms the high standard to be met by any challenge to a DOCA, where the deed compromises a commercial dispute, writes Baker McKenzies’ David Walter, Maria O’Brien and Ian Innes.
Much of the criticism of the ligitaion funding industry being played out in the media recently is based on misinformation, says Andrew Saker of Omni Bridgeway.
ASIC has slapped an Australian unit of French investment bank Société Générale with additional licence conditions for failing to comply with its obligations for handling client money over a near four-year period.
Restrictions to combat COVID-19 that forced Australia’s courts to go virtual have had unforseen benefits, and Australia’s top law firms say they don’t want online hearings to be scrapped when social distancing measures are eased.
Bupa Aged Care has dropped a lawsuit challenging a directive by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission that it claimed overlapped with proceedings brought by the ACCC in which it was recently ordered to pay a $6 million penalty.
The reopening of law firm offices in Melbourne and Sydney may still be months away but firms have given Lawyerly a glimpse of what it might look like when staff do return to the office, from split workforces to strictly enforced health and safety rules. One thing is for sure, COVID-19 has changed the way lawyers will work from now on.
Seismic changes are set to lead to fundamental changes in the economic feasibility and incentives of the various stakeholders involved. The option to charge contingency fees on class actions will provide the commercial imperative for adopting tried and tested advanced technologies and working practices on class action matters, says James Moeskops of Sky Discovery.