Law firms race to grow

G’day.

Welcome to Point Blank.

Today’s brief:

• Clayton Utz bolsters litigation arm, sitting 4^th by partnership size.

• This clean energy fund is backing decarbonised mining through RCF.

• The Iconic faces off against Shein in a trademark dispute.

There’s 16 days until Christmas, and the business rush is definitely upon us. How does a free gift for you and someone else sound? Check out our giveaway below. 🎄

 💼 Practice Points

• After pledging to create a public database of beneficial owners, Labor has backtracked—citing concerns that wealthy investors and their families could become targets for identity theft and cybercrime. Now, the government is limiting access to the database, allowing only regulators, journalists, and academics to peek behind the veil.

• New cyber reporting laws could make paying ransoms a PR nightmare. Businesses with $3M+ turnover must now report cyber extortion incidents (including communications with threat actors) or cop fines up to $19,800. While these reforms will give the government a clearer view of the cyber risks faced by Australian organisations, companies face a new dilemma: paying a ransom could become public knowledge and create negative reputational sentiment.

• ASIC wants tougher rules for financial services. Commissioner Alan Kirkland is calling for unfair trading reforms to cover financial products, arguing that firms exploit the intangible, complex nature of financial products to the detriment of consumers (eg, by charging excessive fees or costing consumers their life savings). Kirkland says existing unconscionable conduct prohibitions don’t go far enough—unfair practices in the financial services space often fall short of being legally “unconscionable,” despite still causing serious harm.

🏘️ Word on the Street 

• It’s a good day to be a litigator. Clayton Utz promotes 8 new partners, with all but 1 in commercial litigation or major projects and construction. But how do other law firms stack up? Check out which Australian firms lead the pack when it comes to partnership size👇

• Milbank is closing its Beijing office, becoming the latest US law firm to pull back from China. The firm has said it still remains "very committed to Asia" through its presence in HK, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

• Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing alleged victims of Sean "Diddy" Combs, has filed a lawsuit accusing US law firm Quinn Emanuel of harassing his colleagues, clients, and family. This comes after Quinn Emanuel sued Buzbee and his firm last month on behalf of a celebrity figure, who claims Buzbee falsely accused him of raping minors drugged at Combs' parties.

📢 Talking Points

• A US appeals court has upheld a law forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok in the US by early next year—or face a ban. TikTok is heading to the Supreme Court, while the ACLU argues that banning the app would be a "blatant violation" of Americans' First Amendment rights. Because, of course, no US legal drama is complete without someone mentioning their constitutional rights…

• Pope Francis has shuffled the deck, with 21 new cardinals from 17 countries – most are outside the wealthy countries. With the 87-year-old pontiff (fancy word for Pope) in a wheelchair and retirement rumours swirling, all eyes are on who might be next in line to wear the white robes.

• Canberra’s defence barristers are increasingly footing the bill for their clients, thanks to chronic underfunding of Legal Aid. The ACT Labor-Greens government is cutting funds for community legal services while boosting support for prosecution bodies in sexual assault cases. Guess who ends up covering the difference? Defence barristers.

• There’s no place like the auction house. A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz just clicked their way to a jaw-dropping $28m sale—blowing past the $3m estimate. This makes them the priciest piece of entertainment memorabilia ever sold.

🏦 The Treasury

🤝 Deal Room

• Whitehaven Coal has dropped out of the race to buy the $US3bn (A$4.7bn) Kestrel coal mine, clearing the way for Stanmore Coal to take the lead. After some heated boardroom debates, Whitehaven decided it was time to focus on its Blackwater and Daunia mines, which they bought from BHP for $5bn last year.

• The owner of The Guardian has sold the 233-year-old Observer to news start-up, Tortoise Media for £25m ($49m). Not everyone’s happy, though—Guardian and Observer staff reportedly tore into management at a fiery meeting after the announcement.

• Pacific Equity Partners’ $1.2bn acquisition of SG Fleet is looking more like a warm-up for the purchase of MotorOne. SG Fleet is one of MotorOne’s top clients, selling its products and add-on services to its customers, creating strong synergies between the two businesses. 

• Regal Partners has backed out of its NBIO for Platinium Asset Management. The announcement notes that Regal will not pursue a combination with Platinium after completing diligence. Platinum has gone into damage control since Regal walked away, announcing a special dividend for shareholders.

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is pouring millions into decarbonised mining. CEFC is backing the future of mining with over $100 million injected into Resource Capital Funds. The private equity firm will channel the funds into emerging Aussie miners developing greenfield projects focused on clean energy minerals like lithium, copper, and rare earths.

• Power and gas company Sumo has been hit with a $10m fine for prohibited "door-to-door" phone sales, marking the largest penalty for breaches of Victorian energy laws.

• Noel Hutley SC, representing ACCR, told the Federal Court that Santos' net zero "roadmap" was impossible to achieve due to the company’s increasing oil and gas production targets.

Fin

• ANZ is diving into culture issues in its markets division, hiring consultant Oliver Wyman to investigate after complaints led to three traders’ exits. Let’s just say the interviews weren’t exactly well-timed—they kicked off right as staff learned their annual bonus pool had been cut by about 50%.

• Speaking of ANZ, Nuno Matos, a former HSBC heavyweight, will take the reins as CEO on July 3, 2025, succeeding Shayne Elliott after his nine-year stint at the helm. Matos will also join ANZ’s board as an executive director.

• Macquarie is testing the waters for a sale of its helicopter leasing arm, Macquarie Rotorcraft. Bloomberg sources say the unit could fetch a cool $1.2bn as the company gauges buyer interest. No deal’s locked in yet, but it’s clear Macquarie is eyeing a potential exit from aviation.

Tech

• Musk has raised US$6.3bn (A$9bn) for his AI company, xAI, in a bid to keep up the pressure on rivals like OpenAI, which he co-founded. With xAI now sitting at a total of US$12bn in funding, it’s still trailing OpenAI’s US$17.9bn.

Retail & Real Estate

• The Iconic is suing Shein, claiming the fast-fashion giant has infringed its trademark by launching a "Dazy" clothing line, similar to The Iconic’s "Dazie" brand. The Iconic is repped by Bird & Bird, while Shein has Gadens on side.

• Private equity firms are stuck with over $2bn in childcare assets they've been trying to sell for 2 years. Centres are paying 20-30% more for staff, but with many workers seeking short-term gigs, industry churn remains a major headache.

🧠 Word Guess

• Held for another, concealed cleverly (7)