Australia

Law firm chief executive lacked law degree

A former chief executive of an intellectual property law firm in New Zealand has admitted he never earned the law degree reportedly included on the curriculum vitae he submitted to apply for the position at Baldwins in 2011. However, Michael Vukcevic says he never meant to mislead anyone and has…

Feb 26, 2014 5:05 PM CST

Thalidomide plaintiffs agree to $80M settlement in Australian case; discovery continues in US

Decades after women were given Thalidomide to combat morning sickness during pregnancy in the 1950s and 1960s and wound up delivering babies with missing or deformed limbs and other birth defects, survivors are still seeking compensation. Litigation continues in the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain, but more than…

Dec 4, 2013 12:00 AM CST

Students fuming after law lecturer’s mistaken claim that exam cut by fire alarm would be rescheduled

First there was the mid-exam fire alarm that sent some 450 law students taking a closed-book corporations test to mill around outside for a half-hour or so Nov. 12. Then, after everyone returned to complete the exam and the clock was started again from scratch, a couple of Sydney University…

Nov 26, 2013 6:40 PM CST

Juror’s ‘total lack of manners’ could result in contempt finding, judge says

A judge has declared a mistrial and is considering holding a juror in contempt because her “total lack of manners” distracted others in the case. The unidentified woman rolled her eyes, stared at the ceiling and fiddled with her jewelry after she was selected to serve on a jury in…

Nov 5, 2013 7:20 PM CST

Motel-sex injury doesn’t merit workers’ compensation, Australian high court rules

A government worker injured during motel sex on a business trip is not entitled to workers’ compensation, Australia’s highest court has ruled. The High Court of Australia ruled the woman was not entitled to compensation because the injury did not occur in the course of employment. How Appealing links to…

Oct 30, 2013 4:09 PM CDT

Seyfarth Shaw opens 2 offices in Australia

Seyfarth Shaw has recruited eight partners from three different law firms to open two new offices in Australia. The offices, which are in Sydney and Melbourne, are part of a global strategy to offer major corporate clients a one-stop shop for dealing with international labor and employment matters, Reuters reports.…

Jun 12, 2013 6:50 PM CDT

Australia’s publicly traded Slater & Gordon raising $64M to buy more UK personal injury firms

In its continuing drive to dominate the global personal injury and consumer legal market, Slater & Gordon is raising $63.9 million to expand its British personal injury practice. The plaintiff megafirm has struck deals to buy three United Kingdom law firms at a total cost of about $35 million, according…

May 7, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Report: Secret plans in place to ax or demote 20 to 50 of 189 partners at Ashurst Australia

Relying on unidentified sources, an Australian business publication says the Australian arm of Ashurst is secretly planning to cull between 20 and 50 of its 189 partners in order to meet financial projections and complete its planned merger with the United Kingdom-based law firm of the same name. Doing business…

Jan 31, 2013 10:39 PM CST

Aussie Court Upholds Workers’ Comp for Woman Injured During Hotel Tryst on Business Trip

An Australian court has upheld a judge’s decision that a woman injured during hotel sex on a business trip is entitled to workers’ compensation. The Full Bench of the Federal Court ruled last Thursday on behalf of the woman, a government employee, report the Associated Press, the Independent and the…

Dec 18, 2012 2:41 PM CST

Squire Sanders to Open an Office in Sydney

Squire Sanders has announced that it will open an office in Sydney on Nov. 1. The news of the firm’s latest growth in the Asia-Pacific region follows announcements earlier this month that it had opened another office in Seoul, Korea, and had expanded in Saudi Arabia. Campbell Davidson, a mergers…

Oct 17, 2012 6:20 PM CDT

Judge Accepts Australian Lawyer’s Argument That He Forgot Stealing Two Paintings

A Sydney lawyer who stole two valuable paintings while dining in an art gallery restaurant has persuaded a judge that he doesn’t remember committing the crime. Michael Gerald Sullivan, 54, claimed to be suffering from a form of amnesia that caused him to take on the identity of an art…

Aug 17, 2012 6:53 PM CDT

K&L Gates in Merger Talks with Australian Firm Middletons

K&L Gates confirmed Thursday that it is in merger talks with the 200-lawyer Australian firm Middletons. In a joint statement published Thursday by the Am Law Daily, K&L Gates chair Peter Kalis and Middletons national managing partner Nick Nichola said, “Our leadership teams believe that the client-driven consolidation and globalization…

Aug 17, 2012 2:38 PM CDT

Ex-CFO at Major Law Firm Gets 10.5 Years in $2.6M Theft Case

A former chief financial officer at a top-tier Australian law firm has been sentenced to a prison term of ten and a half years after admittedly stealing nearly 2.7 million (about $2.6 million in U.S. dollars) from Minter Ellison between 2004 and 2011. Craig Raneberg, who served as CFO of…

Jul 26, 2012 5:46 PM CDT

Herbert Smith and Freehills OK Megamerger; 2,800-Attorney Firm Plans to Open New York Office in 2012

Partners of London-based Herbert Smith and Australia’s Freehills have agreed to merge on Oct. 1. The 2,800-attorney merged firm will open a New York office this year, as well as in Africa and Seoul, reports Bloomberg. An office in Germany is planned next year. The Australian (reg. req.), the Financial…

Jun 28, 2012 3:31 PM CDT

Coroner Blames Dingo for Baby’s Disappearance 32 Years Ago

A coroner has sided with an Australian couple who long maintained that their baby was snatched and killed by a dingo. The coroner ruled Tuesday in a fourth inquest, finding that a wild dog known as a dingo carried the 9-week-old girl way from the tent at the family’s campsite…

Jun 12, 2012 1:46 PM CDT