Australian law firms grew demand 4.8% in the first half of FY26, but the practice area split tells the real story. Workplace relations led the pack at 9.9%, followed by restructuring (7.9%) and disputes (6.2%). M&A was the only practice in the red, down 2.1%, even as top firms throw money at dealmakers like David Gray and Alex Elser. Betting on the rebound, or overpaying for it? Point Blank

⚖️ Privilege: In Wadren v Probuild, the Victorian Supreme Court confirmed that Allens' engagement of engineers MPN to report on structural defects at Pacific Werribee was privileged. But privilege was lost. In their pleadings, the plaintiffs relied on a series of MPN reports to show they took reasonable steps to mitigate defects. The judge held it was inconsistent under s 122 of the Evidence Act to disclose helpful reports while shielding unfavourable ones from the same engagement covering the same defects. Privilege was waived across virtually all MPN documents, including draft reports and letters of instruction.

⚖️ Corporate: The Takeovers Panel has declared unacceptable circumstances over Humm Group’s handling of a $385m takeover bid from Credit Corp. The panel found that Humm’s market statements claiming the board was “carefully evaluating” the proposal were misleading, because former chairman Andrew Abercrombie had already decided to reject it weeks earlier. He instructed advisers to tell Credit Corp the board wouldn’t recommend the deal, without sign-off from other directors. Meanwhile, two non-exec directors said the bid warranted serious consideration. The panel also found Abercrombie's purchase of 3% of Humm shares immediately after disclosure was unacceptable. Final orders are still being considered: Takeovers Panel

⚖️ Greenwashing: The ACCR has appealed the Federal Court's dismissal of its greenwashing case against Santos, arguing the decision sets the bar for corporate climate communications too low. Justice Markovic had found Santos' decarbonisation claims weren't misleading, largely accepting the company had reasonable grounds for its net zero targets. ACCR CEO Brynn O'Brien said the judgment places too heavy a burden on investors to interrogate assumptions and uncertainties behind climate commitments: Capital Brief

The High Court's struck down Canberra's detention monitoring laws for the second time, ruling ankle bracelets and curfews on the NZYQ cohort unconstitutional. Justice Michelle Gordon found that "protecting the community from harm" wasn't enough to justify ongoing monitoring unless the circumstances were exceptional, like preventing a terrorist attack. Tony Burke pointed to the $2.5bn Nauru deal as the fallback, but critics say the government's been making rushed laws on the run: The Guardian

The ACCC’s gone public with a probe into Ampol, BP, Mobil and Viva Energy over alleged anti-competitive conduct during the Iran oil crisis. It focuses on diesel supply to independent wholesalers in regional Australia. Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the watchdog doesn’t usually announce investigations, but made an exception this time. It comes as Iran struck Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG plant, which handles a fifth of global supply, pushing Brent past US$111 a barrel: AFR, Bloomberg

💰 Pay.com.au is pushing ahead with its IPO despite Goldman Sachs stepping back from the float, leaving Morgans to drive the deal. Beyond market volatility, the payments platform faces a bigger threat: an RBA review of interchange fee rules that could gut its rewards-for-business-spending model. The broader market looks wobbly too, with Greencross and I-MED all reportedly back talking to trade buyers: The Australian

🏥 Bain Capital is running a dual-track exit for Estia Health, Australia's second-largest aged care provider. It’s pitching an IPO to fund managers while simultaneously running Stonepeak through due diligence on a trade sale. Revenue's jumped 71% to $1.3bn since Bain bought the business for $838m. The portfolio's grown to 94 homes: AFR

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