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Questions of privilege and expectations for flexibility: What’s hot in law this week (20–24 May)

This week, Parliament heard testimony about abuses of legal professional privilege, and the demand for flexible working conditions may be waning. Here is your weekly round-up of the biggest stories for Australia’s legal profession.

user iconLawyers Weekly • 25 May 2024 • Big Law
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For the week from 20 May to 24 May, these were the 10 most-read stories on Lawyers Weekly (in case you missed them):

  1. Women fight Qld Law Society over money stolen by struck-off lawyer
The Queensland Law Society failed to stop money being paid to two women who claimed their brother’s lawyer stole more than $1 million.

 
 

  1. Gilbert + Tobin loses total control of Jaguar class action
A judge’s decision to award the Jaguar Land Rover class action to Gilbert + Tobin was found to be “procedurally unfair”.

  1. Barrister suspended for kissing, texting family law judge
A West Australian counsel who had a “close personal relationship” with the judge presiding over her client’s matter has been fined and suspended from practising for nine months.

  1. Lawyers and auditors should not work under same roof, inquiry hears
A parliamentary hearing has heard testimony that abuse of legal professional privilege will continue so long as the big four accounting firms are allowed to own law firms.

  1. Solicitor clashes with client over Sydney property
A Sydney solicitor has been locked in a lengthy court fight to hold onto a caveat lodged on a former client’s Rydalmere home.

  1. HWL Ebsworth moves into new leadership model
HWL Ebsworth has formalised its new leadership structure after the tragic death of its managing partner, Juan Martinez, earlier this year.

  1. How these law students are addressing an issue ‘so rife in our community’
Giorgia Wilson and Sarah Welfare, two of the founders of WGG Australia, are making remarkable strides in sparking crucial discussions about male violence. Here, they share the insights they have gained from their advocacy efforts as they raise further awareness of the pressing issue within their communities.

  1. ‘Expectations have now fundamentally changed’ around flexibility
With predictions that working from home will eventually die out and office mandates will return, will flexibility become a less common demand from legal candidates? Here, legal recruiters weigh in.

  1. New ‘low-fee’ family law service set to open in Victoria
A new affordable family law service is launching in Victoria to improve individuals’ “access to justice” and tackle the nationwide rise in clients “unable to afford private fees”.

  1. Medibank fights to keep privilege over data hack report
To scrap legal professional privilege from the Deloitte report, lawyers behind the Medibank class action have grilled the CEO on public comments the insurance giant made after the October 2022 data hack.

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