Law firm bonuses hit A$215k

G’day.

Welcome to Point Blank.

Today’s brief:

• US law firms’ bonuses soar to US$140k. How much do you think Australian law firms should hand out in bonuses?

• Netflix exec faces backlash over 'catastrophising' pregnancy leave request.

• MinRes boss Chris Ellison dodges accountability as AGM drama unfolds.

Friday pub lunch anyone?

 💼 Practice Points

• With AI taking over, traditional consumer law guarantees are starting to feel a bit outdated. For example, how do you determine whether AI is “acceptable quality” or “fit for purpose” when AI is constantly evolving? The Federal Government’s latest consumer law reforms are looking to bring these guarantees up to speed to match AI’s rapid pace. Stakeholders are pushing for new guarantees, focusing on cybersecurity, interoperability, and even requiring manufacturers to provide regular software updates.

• Who needs directors' duties when you can misrepresent your shareholdings and end up with an easy 6 months in jail? Former public company director Harry Hatch learned the hard way after authorising misleading substantial holder statements and annual reports.

🏘️ Word on the Street 

• Nothing says “Happy Holidays” like a phat end-of-year bonus. After US law firm Milbank set the bar with bonuses up to US$115k (A$176k), the competition quickly followed suit. Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Paul Hastings, and others are getting in on the action, promising bonuses as high as $US140k (A$215k).

• What’s worse than losing a case? Losing a client... and then being sued by them. Cornwalls, an Eastern states law firm, is denying claims it negligently caused a company to go into receivership, resulting in a $4.8m loss.

• This week at Baker McKenzie, it’s all about partner politics. Australian partners have firmly rejected the firm’s proposal to merge with its Asian division. Management, not quite ready to face the music, is now calling for a re-vote.

• Keypoint Law snaps up senior commercial lawyer Sophia Kailis from Pragma Lawyers, bolstering its national growth streak. Kailis brings expertise in governance, IP, tech, and disputes, alongside roles at Hartwell Funds and Sussex Street Community Law Service.

📢 Talking Points

• The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza, ramping up controversial scrutiny of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.

• In a rare win for bald men, a UK High Court has ruled that calling a bald man "bald" could be considered sexual harassment. There was apparently "a connection between the word 'bald'" and "the protected characteristic of sex", noting that it is "much more prevalent in men than women". Looks like bald-headed banter is now officially off-limits.

• OpenAI is fighting back in a US defamation suit brought by the national radio host Mark Walters over false claims generated by ChatGPT. When a journalist asked ChatGPT to summarise a court decision involving Walters, ChatGPT produced fabricated statements linking him to financial misconduct despite there being no such issue in the decision. Walters claims the statements damaged his reputation. OpenAI, in its motion for summary judgment, argues Walters can’t prove defamation since no reasonable person would believe ChatGPT’s "clearly inaccurate" outputs. John Monroe Law PC represents Walters. DLA Piper LLP represents OpenAI.

• Taking to X, Elon Musk has taken fire at PM Anthony Albanese for the proposed social media ban for kids, which could see tech giants fined $50m for non-compliance. Norway imposed a similar age ban on 13-year-olds, but surveys found more than 70% of 11-year-olds were still using the platforms. But Musk's criticism is aimed at censorship, arguing that the bill is a “backdoor way to control access to the Internet”.

• A regional Victorian law firm switches to a 4-day workweek and discovers a boost in productivity. If only the Big 6 would take a leaf out of their book...

🏦 The Treasury

🤝 Deal Room

• As the year winds down, law firms are dusting off their M&A crystal balls. Corrs thinks M&A will stay strong, thanks to interest rates settling, while HSF is betting on a surge in taking companies private. Both firms are also forecasting a spike in foreign bidder interest, especially from North America.

• Cuscal’s $336.8 million IPO is almost there, with the book closing well oversubscribed. Come Monday, the payments infrastructure business will hit the market, debuting at a $479m market cap. G+T advised Cuscal on its IPO, charging a cool $2.34m in fees.

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• Gautam Adani, billionaire and founder of the Adani Group, has been charged by the Justice Department for orchestrating a bribery scheme. Adani allegedly paid off the Indian government to score some lucrative solar energy contracts.

• The MinRes AGM? Talk about a divided room. Shareholders are torn following the company's recent tax evasion scandal. On one side, proxy firms and super funds are hammering MinRes for its shoddy corporate governance and questionable related-party deals. On the other, you've got the profit-focused crowd, all in for Ellison’s money-making magic. The one thing they agree on? The board’s a disaster. Either they're too hands-off or too heavy-handed. The shareholders made their frustration known by voting down the rem report, handing out the company’s first strike. A second strike next year could spell a board spill. As for Ellison, he took the stage with a heavy heart, calling the scandal “a dark cloud in my life”. But sincerity? Not so much. The man dodged all questions from shareholders and media alike, avoiding any real accountability. But let’s turn our focus to the real star of the show…

  

  When you have an AGM at 9:30am but the beach at 12pm.

Fin

• Some say the best part of a deal is raising a glass at the completion dinner. Not for Jarden. The investment bank is suing its former client, Birch & Waite, claiming it’s owed a $300m transaction fee because the deal wrapped up shortly after Jarden was axed as an advisor. Jones Day is representing Jarden, while Arnold Bloch Liebler is backing Birch & Waite.

Tech & Media

• After the scandal involving founder Richard White, WiseTech is back on track—the company posted a record profit and surpassed $1bn in revenue, all while hunting for a new CEO. Unlike MinRes, WiseTech has weathered the storm and is expected to dodge a protest vote at today’s AGM.

• An ex-Netflix employee is claiming that a company exec accused her of “catastrophising” her high-risk pregnancy when she requested parental leave. Despite Netflix having a policy that supports a full year off, the exec reportedly tried to talk her out of it.

• The US DOJ has filed its plan to break up Google, which involves a forced sale of Chrome and restrictions to stop Android from playing favourites with Google’s search engine. But it doesn’t stop there: the DOJ wants to put an end to the lucrative multibillion-dollar deals locking Google as the default search engine on iPhones and other devices. Oh, and if you thought Google could keep pushing its own services like YouTube or Gemini ahead of the competition, think again.

Health

• Healthscope has cut ties with Bupa, leaving 4 million customers without hospital cover in a dramatic escalation over rising healthcare costs. The move follows failed fee negotiations and insurers' legal threats after Healthscope proposed additional patient charges.