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.
ASIC has launched a bid to gain access to legal advice provided by Ashurst to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in the regulator’s case over $35 million in allegedly illegal bank fees.
The Court of Appeal for the NSW Supreme Court on Saturday overturned a ruling that banned this weekend’s Black Lives Matter protest, saying the rally was an authorised public assembly.
The global pandemic has shown that the traditional law firm operating model can be transformed with speed and agility if needed. Beyond the anticipated shift to more flexible working arrangements, Lawyerly asked law firms leader to share some of the other lessons they have learned from COVID-19 and how they will incorporate these experiences into the management of their firm.
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.
With COVID-19 forcing courts to deal with more matters on the papers, written submissions are more important than ever and must be carefully crafted to assist the court while offering clients the best chance of success, barristers told Lawyerly.
In its latest move aimed at shielding companies from “opportunistic class actions”, the Morrison government has announced a temporary change to the continuous disclosure rules to give companies more wriggle room in updating shareholders during the coronavirus pandemic.
A five-month litigation drought due to the difficulties of remote investigations and staff diversions during the coronavirus pandemic will end soon, ACCC chairman Rod Sims told Lawyerly, with enforcement action set to ramp back up in the second half of the year.
The NSW Supreme Court has announced a staged reopening of in-person hearings after a two-month hiatus as well as measures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, including temperature checks and increased cleaning and disinfection of high-traffic areas.
Lawyers can kiss goodbye to the daily commute because working from home, which has become the new normal during the coronavirus pandemic, is here to stay, according to several leading law firms.