Elite US litigators’ billing rates have got out of hand. US law firm Susman Godfrey are charging up to US$4,000 an hour for top partners in 2026. One partner said, if there’s someone out there who bills higher, “please let us know so we may raise our rates.” Premium disputes talent keeps pushing the ceiling higher: Reuters

⚖️ Regulatory: White-collar enforcement is accelerating. In 2025, regulators leaned hard into deterrence, doubling ASIC investigations year-on-year (132 vs 63) and lifting court actions, criminal convictions and civil penalties. The focus has widened beyond classic financial crime to cover bribery, AML/CTF, ESG and greenwashing, cyber failures, consumer harm and AI-enabled fraud. With new regimes now live or imminent, including failure-to-prevent foreign bribery, expanded AML obligations (pulling lawyers, accountants and real estate into scope), the Financial Accountability Regime and a new statutory privacy tort, both companies and senior executives face materially higher personal and corporate exposure heading into 2026: A&O Shearman

⚖️ Construction: The NSW Court of Appeal confirmed that payments made under NSW security of payment laws are interim only and can be clawed back if they exceed what was actually owed under the contract. Even where claims are approved, paid, or enforced through SOPA mechanisms, principals can later recover overpayments via restitution if the works were overstated. The Court also clarified that payment claims aren’t automatically misleading under consumer law. That is factual claims can mislead if wrong, but percentage progress claims are opinions and won’t breach the ACL if honestly and reasonably held: Thomson Geer

⚖️ Employment: Payday Super kicks in from 1 July 2026, forcing employers to pay super with every pay cycle (within seven business days) instead of quarterly. Treasury says many businesses have been using super as a cash-flow tool, and more than one in five SMEs may struggle once that buffer disappears. Industries with volatile revenue and large workforces face the most pressure. Late super will also block access to Safe Harbour, lifting the director's risk. Employers need to stress-test cash flow, update payroll systems and tighten controls well before the deadline: Hamilton Locke

The US Fed held rates steady for the first time since July, but Australia’s story is heading the other way. A surprise 0.9% spike in trimmed mean inflation has markets bracing for a rate hike next week, with Westpac, ANZ and BOQ all calling it. Chalmers was on defence, saying if the government budget was to blame for inflation, Australia wouldn’t have seen three rate cuts last year: Capital Brief, CNN

Elon Musk’s Grok churned out 3 million sexualised images in 11 days, including child abuse material. That’s roughly one every 41 seconds, researchers say. The fallout is moving fast, with Indonesia and Malaysia blocking Grok, a UK regulator probe, and Australia’s eSafety Commissioner flagging an increase from almost none to several reports of non-consensual sexual images: TDA

🛏️ Koala’s back with IPO pitch 2.0. The homewares group has kicked off a fresh non-deal roadshow for a ~$400m float, this time leaning hard into margins, profitability and a “Trump-proofed” supply chain after last year’s tariff wobble derailed its debut. A March bookbuild is on the cards: AFR

💥 Rio-Glencore merger talks are running into a legal minefield, with unresolved UK investor lawsuits over historic bribery potentially exposing Glencore to multi-billion-dollar civil damages. Any full takeover would see Rio inherit that unquantified liability, complicating valuation, timing and asset divestments: AFR