Yesterday
‘We didn’t have a hope in hell’: KWM’s cautionary China tale
A corrupt wind farm deal in Montenegro, a controversial Russian legal conference and the financial problems of one of its most senior executives have thrown the spotlight on the Sino-Australian law firm.
This Month
Why lawyers are overworked and (relatively) underpaid
Lawyers are employed to work 38 hours a week, but that is a fantasy at most of Australia’s top-tier law firms.
Waislitz and Pratt drama is running out of lawyers
Billionaire Alex Waislitz may have lost Arnold Bloch Leibler’s services, but he’s got plenty of other lawyers on his books.
April
King & Wood Mallesons goes cold on having a global chief executive
The firm’s Australian head says a “lot has changed” since 2012, when Mallesons merged with China’s King & Wood, but the combination isn’t drifting.
What legal jargon taught this solicitor about translating literature
Stephanie Smee left corporate law to become a translator, where she says the ‘discipline of thought’ from her legal training remains influential.
February
Tech bros share the riches (with their lawyers)
Lawyers are cashing in on the legal scandals rocking the start-up world, but it’s tougher for those footing the bill on the other side to the founders.
December 2024
Top-tier firms are cutting lawyer numbers for the first time in years
The country’s most prominent legal practices have reduced the number of lawyers they employ in the past six months. But their mid-tier rivals are hiring.
Another Corrs partner follows rebel group to KWM
Corrs property partner Lizzie Knight will follow seven Corrs partners to King & Wood Mallesons, becoming the latest to move between the two major firms.
Explore: Law Partnership Survey results for second-half of 2024
The latest results show law firms continue to perform strongly, boosted by big-ticket deals, litigation assignments, and the steady flow of fees from insolvencies and disputes.
It was a boom year for law firms. But signs of a slowdown have emerged
Law firms held their gains in the second half of 2024, but some leaders are wary of rising pressures on price and profit margins.
November 2024
Pro bono laggards rewarded as major law firms cut free hours
Law firms were warned that failure to meet a target for pro bono hours would endanger government assignments, but laggards have been rewarded.
Government legal spending hits $600m
Commonwealth spending on legal fees increased rapidly before an overhaul of the government panel, but barristers’ bills were trimmed.
October 2024
Why the $5m lawyer is no longer a rarity at top Aussie firms
Top law firms are forking out more than $5 million a year to poach or protect big-billing market leaders from rivals, amid intense industry competition.
KWM sues former global chief operating officer
King & Wood Mallesons is suing a former member of its international management committee for debt relating to loans worth more than $1 million.
King & Wood Mallesons global chief executive to step down
Sue Kench will depart at the end of the year and retire from the partnership next year, as the firm doubles down on its Sino-Australian alliance.
Shareholder class actions plunge after prominent corporate victories
Only two new shareholder claims were filed in the first half of this year, as law firms await the outcome of a High Court special leave application on contingency fees.
MinterEllison nabs KWM’s former disputes head
Litigator Peter Pether says “the calibre and structure” of Minter’s partnership enticed him to leave KWM.
September 2024
KWM changes partner pay to reward the biggest billers
KWM’s top-performing partners will be able to take home a greater share of the firm’s profits, after “moderate” changes to remuneration structure were approved by partners.
How a law firm shaped an award-winning poet’s style
Amy Crutchfield last week won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry, and credits her time at Mallesons for shaping her poetic style and philosophy.
August 2024
Top law firms locked in negotiations for lucrative panel
Corrs, HSF, KWM and MinterEllison are yet to be appointed to the federal government’s legal panel, more than a month after an initial announcement.