Today
CBA’s Matt Comyn loses his right-hand man, the meticulous David Cohen
Over 15 years at the bank, David Cohen has seen it all. On his retirement, he provides a potted history of CBA’s numerous troubles and its transformation.
- James Eyers
Yesterday
Flexibility, part-time work needed for better bench, says judge
Court of Appeal judge Janine Pritchard has called for greater flexibility in the judiciary to stop top women candidates self-selecting out of a judicial career.
- Maxim Shanahan
ACCC rejects Treasury’s attempts to copy US, NZ merger laws
The competition watchdog has warned Treasury that two of the government’s three proposals for merger reforms would fail to fix systemic problems, leaving consumers, small businesses and farmers worse off.
- Hannah Wootton
This Month
The security situation is intense: Life as a lawyer in South Africa
Olivia Clark normally works as a lawyer for DLA Piper in London, but is on a secondment in South Africa.
- Updated
- Ciara Seccombe and Maxim Shanahan
‘Incredibly disappointing’: Pay gap for female barristers at four-year high
Women practitioners got just 20 per cent of the $1.65 billion the Bar charged in fees, prompting calls for quotas, mandatory reporting and tougher targets.
- Hannah Wootton
Aggressive regulators creating legal demand, says new law firm leader
Jones Day’s new Australian partner-in-charge says increased regulatory activity is presenting opportunities in an uncertain market.
- Maxim Shanahan
Two exit Baker McKenzie’s capital markets team
Street Talk understands Transactional Practice Group partner Cécile Baume and special counsel Stephanie Glass have left the firm.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Is the party over for the world’s most profitable law firm?
A boom in private equity meant bumper pay and rapid promotion for Kirkland & Ellis partners, but competition is growing as dealmaking slows.
- Will Louch
Young lawyers want to holiday, not work, in New York
Flat demand and apprehensiveness about an intense overseas working culture are spelling an end to the post-pandemic exodus of Australian lawyers.
- Maxim Shanahan
ASIC sued Star’s board a year ago. The case will be heard in 2025
ASIC’s case against Star’s board, launched 12 months ago, has come to a standstill because a judge is so busy he can’t hear it until February 2025.
- Michael Pelly
The fate of ANZ and Suncorp deal is in the hands of these three people
The high-stakes legal battle over whether the $4.9 billion transaction should proceed is half done. And so far, it is unclear who’s on top.
- James Eyers
Two law firms hit gender parity – and credit WFH
Lander & Rogers and Hicksons are leading the trend of more female partners, but firms including Arnold Bloch Leibler and Thomson Geer are behind the curve.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Analysis
- Immigration
Three potential problems with new detention laws
If the government goes too far, it will be inviting the courts to strike down the new law for “preventative detention” of refugees and asylum seekers.
- Michael Pelly
Bendigo says it can make ‘compelling’ offer for Suncorp Bank
The Australian Competition Tribunal’s hearing, starting on Monday, will reconsider the ACCC’s rejection of ANZ’s takeover of Suncorp Bank.
- James Eyers
November
Court blocks telehealth consultations for euthanasia
Federal Court judge says a Commonwealth law banning the use of the phone or internet to “counsel” suicide prevails over state laws.
- Michael Pelly
Magellan agitator Nick Bolton fights bankruptcy notice
Nick Bolton claims the notice was “mischievous and defective”, and part of “a long-running dispute” in which he asserts he previously overpaid his lawyers.
- Myriam Robin
What this legal team learned from the All Blacks
Organic growth and a raft of acquisitions have helped this professional services firm expand.
- Agnes King
- Analysis
- High Court of Australia
Why two judges thought High Court went too far
Should the court have waited until its reasons were ready in the landmark case on immigration detention?
- Michael Pelly
‘Draconian’ merger plan risks killing good deals: lawyers
Treasury’s proposal to force companies to prove that planned mergers won’t harm competition is “an unwarranted interference in commercial activity”, legal experts warn.
- Hannah Wootton
PwC turning away risky work after tax leaks scandal
The firm’s top lawyer says PwC has turned away work that is “not consistent to our new risk profile”.
- Edmund Tadros
