Was it a stinker of a decision? Employee appeals after judge rules farting wasn’t workplace bullying

A former contract administrator with an Australian construction firm in Melbourne wants an appeals court to reinstate his lawsuit of $1.28 million in U.S. currency ($1.8 million in Australian currency) claiming his boss bullied him by repeatedly farting on him. The Supreme Court of Victoria’s Court of Appeal heard the…

Mar 27, 2019 10:52 AM CDT

Traumatized crime and courts reporter entitled to damages, Australian court says

An Australian court has awarded about $127,000 in U.S. currency ($180,000 in Australian currency) to a former journalist for a Melbourne newspaper for the psychological injury she suffered while covering crime and courts for a decade. The County Court of Victoria ruled on Feb. 22 in a case by a…

Mar 11, 2019 11:16 AM CDT

Philippa Ryan: Developing trust through blockchain

Philippa Ryan thinks a lot about trust. A barrister in Australia, she lectures on the subject, and her PhD thesis focused on the breach of trust and the liability of third parties. So when Ryan heard about trustless relationships enabled by blockchain technology, her interest was piqued.

Sep 1, 2018 2:25 AM CDT

Funding your legal tech initiative through an initial coin offering

Ari Kaplan: Why is Legaler funding its access to justice initiative through an initial coin offering?

Stevie Ghiassi: Fundraising has seen a significant shift to companies actually raising money directly from their communities.

Aug 17, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

LegalZoom announces $500M secondary investment

LegalZoom, the legal services giant, has landed a $500 million secondary investment led by Francisco Partners and GPI Capital, according to a press release issued Tuesday.

Jul 31, 2018 3:30 PM CDT

Supreme Court rules lawyers cannot defy their clients’ wishes to argue for their innocence

A recent Supreme Court decision addresses a dilemma that would challenge any lawyer—how to respond if a client refuses to confess to a capital crime when the lawyer believes such a strategy may be the only way to avoid a death sentence.

Jul 1, 2018 1:40 AM CDT

Proposed Florida law resurrects the debate around the legal duty to help someone in distress

Florida would be in a distinct minority of states if it imposes a duty to rescue people in distress. The rule in the United States is you have no duty to rescue a stranger, and legal scholars are divided on whether that’s a good thing.

Jun 1, 2018 1:50 AM CDT

Lawyers have to move on from witnesses who won't budge

Do you have some purpose in mind in your persistent questioning? Are your questions a tactical gambit with a strategic goal you can articulate, at least to yourself, and hopefully it becomes apparent to others? Or are you just belaboring the obvious?

Sep 1, 2017 1:45 AM CDT

Norton Rose Fulbright confirms merger talks with Australian law firm Henry Davis York

Norton Rose Fulbright and Australian law firm Henry Davis York have issued a statement confirming they are in merger talks. Partners will vote on the merger this summer, Legal Week reports. “Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright and leading Australian law firm Henry Davis York are exploring a potential combination…

Jun 8, 2017 9:28 AM CDT

Legal aid agencies are using webchat to answer queries

South Australia is big—and empty. With almost 1.7 million residents (the vast majority in its capital city of Adelaide) spread over 379,725 square miles, the state's size makes it hard for the 40 attorneys at the Legal Services Commission of South Australia to be everywhere. Some residents are 800 miles from one of the public legal aid organization's seven brick-and-mortar offices.

Jul 1, 2016 1:50 AM CDT

Struggling Slater & Gordon makes deal with lenders, boosting stock price, but won’t pay dividends

Financially struggling Slater & Gordon, the world’s first publicly traded law firm, has boosted its chances of survival by making a deal with lenders to extend some $640 million in debt, in U.S. dollars. Under the agreement, the Australia-based international personal injury law firm must pay lenders an addiitional fee…

May 2, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

As its stock hovers near a record low, Slater & Gordon GC resigns after two months

Moana Weir started work on Jan. 29 as in-house legal chief and company secretary for Slater & Gordon, the Australia-based personal injury Goliath that made history by becoming the world’s first law firm to go public. But last month, after less than 60 days on the job and after law…

Apr 5, 2016 12:05 PM CDT

SCOTUS antitrust ruling against dentists raises questions about lawyers’ regulatory structures

The organized bar is feeling pain from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a regulatory board for the dental profession in North Carolina doesn't have state-action immunity in a Federal Trade Commission antitrust action challenging the board's efforts to block nondentists from providing teeth-whitening services to consumers.

Apr 1, 2016 3:00 AM CDT

Slater and Gordon could be on the brink after reporting huge losses in the second half of 2015

The first law firm to go public may be on the verge of collapse after reporting a loss of nearly $700 million during the second half of 2015. On Monday, the Herald Sun (sub. req.) reported that Australia-based firm Slater and Gordon must present a plan to several banks in…

Feb 29, 2016 12:05 PM CST

Will first law firm to go public face a shareholder suit? Stock prices seesaw with whiplash plan

Share prices of the world’s first publicly owned law firm lost 65 percent of their value last Thursday and Friday, but prices partially recovered this week. The share price for Australian personal injury firm Slater & Gordon fell after the United Kingdom announced a crackdown on whiplash fraud, report the…

Nov 30, 2015 7:32 AM CST