The Access to Justice Arrangements report proposes broad-ranging reforms to our civil justice system with the aim of improving access to justice Partner Belinda Thompson and Lawyer Annie Santamaria highlight some recommendations which also have the potential to impact more broadly on Australias ...

Following a decision earlier this year preventing a solicitor from acting in a class action in which the solicitor managed and controlled the representative plaintiff the Victorian Supreme Court has held that a solicitor and senior counsel should be prevented from acting in a class action in which ...

In the past 12 months there have been a number of important decisions of the Queensland Planning and Environment Court that provide an insight into the application of the courts discretion to award costs Special Counsel Rosanne Meurling and Senior Associate Michael Zissis discuss the lessons learned ...

With financial services providers already taking advantage of the possibilities created by a new tide of internet meta data we need regulators and a regulatory regime that see the opportunities implicit in the change and not only the risks ...

Two recent trade mark cases have widened the field of marks that are potentially registerable in Australia on the basis that those marks are inherently adapted to distinguish. ...

Superannuation fund trustees and their lawyers including this one have been grappling for years with what the covenant in section 522c of the Superannuation Industry Supervision Act 1993 means What must a trustee do to exercise its powers and discharge its duties in the best interests of ...

In an important ruling the High Court has decided that a purchaser of leased premises will make a supply of the leased premises when after completion the purchaser observes its express obligations under the lease The decision provides much-needed certainty for vendors and purchasers of leased ...

Our Contract Law Update provides an overview of important contract law decisions by Australian appellate courts in the past 12 months and considers their significance for the development of Australian contract law ...

In a decision that has potential implications for a raft of Federal Government programs the High Court held that legislation passed to authorise hundreds of government funding arrangements is invalid insofar as it relates to the national schools chaplaincy program The decision once again confirms ...

A one stop shop for Commonwealth and state environmental approvals in Queensland and New South Wales is a step closer with the release of draft Approval Bilateral Agreements If implemented as planned Queensland and New South Wales will each become responsible for assessing and approving projects for ...