Special

The Business Council of Australia has advised the government that civil penalties are not necessary to ensure compliance with the Modern Slavery Act, saying a proposed Anti-Slavery Commissioner should not impose “additional bureaucratic burdens” on businesses. 

Expect more legal battles this year over the right to work from home, with employees continuing to demand flexibility but businesses starting to push back, according to legal experts.

In the appeal that uncovered the Banksia class action scam I was a lawyer for – and the son of – the group member who dared to object to the $64 million settlement. What followed came to be known as the darkest chapter in Victoria’s legal history, but have we really learned our lesson?

The contingency fee regime in Victoria promises class action members “vastly superior” recoveries when compared with class actions financed by commission-paid funders, a new report shows.

COVID-19 lockdowns may have ended years ago but the impacts on small businesses are only now being seen, with larger companies likely to suffer a “contagion effect” in 2024, says K&L Gates’ newest partner.

A former senior media advisor for the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission has sued the watchdog, alleging she was fired after complaining about bullying behaviour by a senior employee. 

The Australian Law Reform Commission has recommended extensive reforms to the “confusing maze” that is the Corporations Act, including the creation of a standalone financial services law.

Raiding a competitor is a great way for ambitious law firms to expand their reach and achieve their strategic goals. In 2023 ten firms, big and small, managed to catch a big fish or lure whole teams of lawyers away from their rivals.

Global law firm K&L Gates has lured the head of McInnes Wilson’s construction and infrastructure group  to join its growing team in Brisbane.

Judges were not afraid to vent their spleen in 2023, but lawyers were not the only object of judicial scorn last year, as judges waded into public discourse and sounded off over issues including complex legislation, media reports, famous social media commentators, and the involvement of government departments in legal proceedings.