Special

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has warned taxpayers could be left footing the bill for offshore oil and gas infrastructure decommissioning, despite existing rules requiring titleholders to pay.

Clayton Utz has promoted five senior lawyers to its partnership, including a class actions specialist, the smallest round of promotions this year among the Big Six. 

Legislation introduced in Victoria that would require companies to allow employees to work from home two days a week -- and to cover the reasonable costs of the arrangement -- would give employees in the same workforce different rights, according to a legal expert.

Law firm Allens has told a parliamentary committee that a court should weigh in on whether parliament's powers to compel information overrode KPMG's legal privilege, as the auditor resists orders to produce documents.

MinterEllison has elevated seven lawyers to its partnership, including four disputes specialists, as the firm anticipates litigation over major projects and AI-related class actions.

Hall & Wilcox has hired a property and disputes lawyer and his team of three to build out its offering in Adelaide. 

The Law Council says asserting legal professional privilege is not "inherently scandalous", ahead of a parliamentary hearing on KPMG's sharing ofclient information, at which law firms Allens and Ashurst are expected to stay mum.

The preferred bidder for the Liberty Bell Bay smelter in Tasmania has withdrawn from the process, less than a month after its involvement was announced. 

KPMG has been referred to the national corruption watchdog, with Greens Senator Barbara Pocock calling the federal government's three-month pause on new contracts with the auditor a “slap on the wrist with a stick of limp celery”.

A NSW Supreme Court judge looking to bring class actions back to the state says legislation that would allow common fund orders at an early stage of proceedings was a "no-brainer".