Law school rankings revealed

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• G+T adopts Harvey AI across its legal team.

• Casual employees gain right to request permanent roles.

• Ivy Leagues still lead, but this law school takes the Aussie crown.

Here’s your latest 👇

PRACTICE POINTS

Wage theft becomes criminal

• Australia’s new wage theft laws are officially in effect. Wage theft is now a criminal offence, applying to employers who engage in conduct that intentionally underpays wages or entitlements to their employees. Luckily, the Fair Work Ombudsman has released guidance to help businesses stay on the right side of the law: KWM

• Remember those new ASX governance rules requiring directors to disclose details about personal diversity? Well, the plans hit a hurdle. The ASX Corporate Governance Council, which includes business, investor, and superannuation groups, was asked to vote on the rules formally. However, at least 4 key business groups plan to vote against them, effectively killing any chance of consensus. While the council doesn’t need unanimous approval, it isn't expected to move forward without broad support: AFR

• Starting 26 Feb, eligible casual employees can request conversion to permanent employment under the new employee choice framework in the Fair Work Act. For small businesses, the date is pushed to 26 Aug. An employer who receives a notice of casual conversion must consult with the employee about their request and ensure a written response is provided within 21 days: Clayton Utz

WORD ON THE STREET

G+T embraces legal AI

• Gilbert + Tobin has officially rolled out Harvey AI, an AI-powered legal assistant, across its 650-strong team of lawyers. The launch follows a successful pilot with over 200 lawyers across various practice groups. Harvey AI recently scored US$300m in a Series D funding round led by Sequoia, bumping its valuation to a hefty US$3bn.

• Corrs Chambers Westgarth advised on Australia’s largest corporate hybrid deal. The firm advised the dealers and joint lead managers (Barrenjoey/Barclays, CBA, Mizuho, Westpac) on AusNet’s record $950m hybrid bond issuance. The 30-year non-call six structure was led by partner Jo Dodd and supported by Chloe Delahunt-Devlin.

• Norton Rose Fulbright has added Lucinda McCann as a partner in its Sydney office. McCann, formerly chief general counsel at APRA, brings over 25 years of experience in transactional and advisory work across sectors like government, financial services, and corporate. Her past roles include GC at AMP, partner at Henry Davis York (now part of NRF), and SA at KWM: Lawyers Weekly

• A&O Shearman has snagged a big name in litigation—Amy Middlebrook, formerly at Baker McKenzie. With a wealth of experience in complex commercial litigation, financial services, and class actions, she’s tackled many matters involving ASIC and the ACCC: Australasian Lawyer

TALKING POINTS

Law schools ranked

• The Times Higher Education global law school rankings are out. The UniMelb takes the crown as the highest-ranked Aussie law school at #11 globally, while ANU and UNSW follow behind at #31 and #35. Stanford, Harvard and NYU take out the top 3 spots globally. How did yours rank?

• US-listed consultancy Accenture is the latest to ditch DEI initiatives, while Australia’s big four accounting firms are doubling down on targets to boost women in leadership. “Accenture’s shift could appeal to those who feel diversity policies have held back their careers,” said James Dowdeswell, director of recruitment firm Key Moves. John Igoe, former EY partner, added, "You sometimes hear people say, ‘If only I had a skirt, I would’ve made partner": AFR

• In more university news, Harvard University just lost its bid to block a law firm from trading under the name "Harvard Legal". The university argued that the firm’s director, John Harvard, was acting in bad faith by making the trade mark application, pointing out that "Harvard" wasn't even his birth name. But the court wasn’t buying it, ruling that whether it’s his real name or not doesn't matter—especially since there was no registered Australian trademark to protect the university’s claim: Lawyerly

TREASURY

• The RBA has delivered a hawkish rate cut. The first cut since 2020. But Bullock has warned against bets on further aggressive easing. Australia’s bond yield discount compared to US Treasuries is nearly gone after 25 basis point cut: Bloomberg

DEAL ROOM

Anglo American ditch nickel

• Anglo American just pocketed up to $500m in cash from selling its nickel business as part of a broader strategy to focus on copper and iron while shedding other assets. The Brazilian nickel operations are now in the hands of MMG Singapore Resources. This move comes right after a $600m dividend boost for shareholders from the spin-off of its platinum arm. Anglo American Platinum, the world’s biggest platinum player, will list in London post-June: Financial Times

• BHP is dialling back on big mining acquisitions, just months after walking away from its $49bn bid for Anglo American. CEO Mike Henry said BHP is now focused on organic growth in copper and potash, signalling he’s moved past the Anglo setback: The Australian

• Word is KKR might actually bid for the whole of Perpetual, then hand the asset management arm back to shareholders through an in-specie distribution. This move would help sidestep the steep tax costs of directly selling Perpetual’s Corporate Trust and Wealth Management unit to KKR: The Australian

• Westgold is in the final stages of selling the Lakewood Mill gold processing facility near Kalgoorlie, which Karora picked up for $80m before Westgold acquired Karora. Bidders include ASX-listed juniors like Astral Resources, Horizon Minerals, Chinese-backed Norton Gold Fields, and Black Cats Syndicate. Westgold’s CEO, Wayne Bramwell, plans to reinvest the sale proceeds into expanding the Higginsville mill’s capacity from 1.6m tonnes to over 2m annually: AFR

SECTOR SPECIFIC

BHP’s lowest dividend

🚜 DIGGERS

• MinRes is in the red, posting an $807m loss for the last 6 months of 2024, a sharp drop from the previous year’s $530m profit. The company also slashed its iron ore export forecast for the year, citing damage to its haul road in WA’s Pilbara and shipping delays from ex-Tropical Cyclone Sean: The Australian

• BHP is paying its lowest interim dividend in 8 years after posting a weaker-than-expected $5.08bn half-year profit. Despite higher iron ore and copper production, falling commodity prices dragged profits down—BHP earned 22% less for iron ore and 23% less for coking coal. China’s housing oversupply is slashing demand for new developments, reducing global iron ore demand: AFR

• Pilbersek has delayed the decision to extend the North West Shelf gas project’s life, pushing it well beyond the WA election—and possibly beyond the federal poll, too. Massive blow to Woodside, which has spent 6 years trying to secure the project’s future: AFR

🏦 FIN

• Westpac, NAB, CBA and ANZ announced a 25-basis-point cut to their mortgage rates just minutes after the central bank lowered the cash rate. ANZ, CBA and NAB will be effective 28 Feb, while holders at Westpact will have to wait until 4 Mar: SBS

• After Bendigo Bank’s cash profits tumbled, the ASX stuck its nose in. The fall in share price prompted ASX to fire off a disclosure request letter. Bendigo Bank defended its decision not to warn the market earlier, maintaining that there was no time when the gap between earnings and expectations had exceeded 10% (noting that the ASX's benchmark for disclosure is 15%): AFR

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Goodman Group is raising $4bn to boost growth in its data centre operations, issuing 119.4 million new shares at $33.50 per share, with up to $400m targeted from existing shareholders: AFR

• The ACCC is proposing to authorise Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways' plan to team up and sell flights between Aus and Doha as part of a new alliance: Capital Brief

• Speaking of airlines, Virgin Australia has overtaken Qantas to become the nation’s largest and most reliable airline, with a 35% market share. The ACCC credits Virgin’s growth in part to the collapse of Rex last year: Bloomberg

📱 TECH

• PropHero, an AI-powered real estate start-up aiming to disrupt the buyers' agent industry, is now valued at $100m after raising $25m. The tech hero operates in Australia, Indonesia, Ireland, and Spain and now has its sights set on the UK. The platform matches investors with high-yield properties and provides renovation advice. With 8000 clients on its books, PropHero has sold 1800 properties that outperformed the market, generating an average of $65k in capital gains

• Despite concerns over Trump trade retaliation, the Albanese government continues plans with tech levy under its news bargaining incentive. The policy, aimed at forcing tech giants like Google and Meta to pay for news content, has been delayed due to fears of tariffs and a federal election looming: Capital Brief  

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