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Half-day Fridays and an ‘insatiable’ appetite for court: What’s hot in law this week (26–30 Aug)

This week, landmark judgments were handed down in both the High Court and Federal Court, and Lawyers Weekly crowned 40 winners at its annual Australian Law Awards. Here is your weekly round-up of the biggest stories for Australia’s legal profession.

user iconLawyers Weekly • 31 August 2024 • Big Law
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For the week from 26 August to 30 August, these were the 10 most-read stories on Lawyers Weekly (in case you missed them):

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  1. Fake barrister skimmed $30k off client’s settlement
A fake barrister condemned for his “web of lies and deceit” walked away with $30,000 of one client’s money and gave such incorrect advice to a second client that she and her family ended up homeless.

  1. Fourtree Lawyers fires pregnant paralegal in ‘inappropriate’ meeting
Facing an “obvious” power imbalance and with very little support, a pregnant paralegal was terminated by Fourtree Lawyers in a method deemed to have been “inappropriate and inconsistent”.

 
 

  1. Magistrate booted from trial after clash with ‘unacceptably rude’ lawyer
An NSW magistrate was removed from a trial over “deeply sarcastic and critical” remarks he made towards a defence lawyer, but transcripts of a three-day hearing revealed the lawyer had picked fights, was “unacceptably rude”, and bullied a police prosecutor.

  1. Retailer slammed for bid to hide skirmish with chief legal officer
Amid attempts to suppress the media interest in a highly public dispute with its former chief legal officer, a major retailer tried to have a law firm thrown out of proceedings and accused a Federal Court judge of unnecessarily expediting a “vanilla” case.

  1. ACT lawyer guilty of professional misconduct for misappropriating client’s money
An ACT solicitor was found guilty of professional misconduct for misappropriating more than $11,000 from a jailed client she had developed an “overly familiar relationship with”.

  1. Pinsent Masons set to trial half-day Fridays
Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has unveiled a pilot program whereby its staff can finish their working weeks at lunchtime on Fridays, with the trial coming to Australia this summer.

  1. Ex-cop with ‘insatiable’ appetite for court on verge of becoming vexatious litigant
A former police officer kicked out after assault convictions may be declared a vexatious litigant after his latest proceedings brought a full court bench together to hear appeals of two registrar decisions.

  1. Barrister freed from drawn-out disciplinary proceedings
A West Australian barrister accused of giving false medical evidence to the Supreme Court walked away from disciplinary proceedings after the complainant failed to pay security for costs.

  1. Judgment a ‘great win’ for transgender women
In a “great win” for transgender Australian women, the Federal Court found a “women’s only” social media platform discriminated against a user because she did not look sufficiently female.

  1. High Court decision a ‘game changer’ for corporate fraudsters
Those behind predatory business models may be held liable after a High Court’s landmark decision on corporate wrongdoing.

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