Australia's top rainmakers at firms like Corrs are pocketing around $7m. That sounds great until you clock that Kirkland & Ellis partners are pulling US$25m-US$30m, with recruiter Sabina Lippman calling US$20m "the new $10m." Local firms like Mallesons or Clayton Utz are nudging toward performance pay, but without mega-deal flow or US-scale billing rates, the Aussie pay isn't moving anywhere fast. Read our deep dive here: Point Blank

⚖️ Disclosure: ASX has reminded listed entities that continuous disclosure obligations don't require predicting the unpredictable, including fallout from the Middle East conflict. General macro impacts affecting all entities in a sector equally won't typically trigger Listing Rule 3.1. But entities aren't off the hook entirely. If the conflict is likely to cause earnings to differ materially from previously issued guidance, that gap needs disclosing. The same goes for operational decisions with material price sensitivity: ASX

⚖️ IP/Trade Marks: The Jo Malone v Estée Lauder dispute in the UK is a cautionary tale for any founder selling their name. Malone sold her eponymous fragrance brand to Estée Lauder in 1999, granting exclusive rights to the "Jo Malone" name in fragrance. She later launched Jo Loves in 2011 after her non-compete expired, then collaborated with Zara on a line called "Zara Emotions by Jo Malone", which is now the subject of UK proceedings alleging breach of contract, trade mark infringement and passing off. Malone has since publicly expressed regret about the sale. Paired with the High Court's Katie Perry decision, it’s a lesson in registering your personal name as a trade mark early and understanding exactly what you're signing away in any brand sale: Ashurst

⚖️ Technology: Technology contracts are doing more heavy lifting than ever, but many disputes have nothing to do with bad tech and everything to do with unclear tech contracts. Hall & Wilcox gives you the core pressure points: scope creep without a change control process, IP ownership that doesn't account for future exits or vendor transitions, SLAs that look good but don't drive performance, liability caps that ignore business criticality, and exit provisions that make switching suppliers a nightmare. On data, Privacy Act compliance and breach notification obligations must be baked in from day one: Hall & Wilcox

With the US distracted by Iran, Albo has been quietly locking in fuel supply deals across Asia, hitting up Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea to keep diesel and petrol flowing. Officials point to Australia's role as a reliable LNG exporter as leverage, calling it "a two-way street." Even China, which has mostly banned refined fuel exports, agreed to boost govt-to-govt communication with Australia on regional energy security. The urgency is real — the OECD has singled Australia out as one of the most exposed countries on earth, importing almost all its liquid fuel and fertiliser through the same chokepoints now shut: Bloomberg, Capital Brief

California AG Rob Bonta, who cleaned laundry rooms to get through college and left Yale Law with a mountain of debt, still tells every young person asking that law school is worth it. He says the thinking, writing and analytical skills you get can't be replicated, even by AI. With the average US law degree now costing US$217k, and AI eating junior lawyer work, not everyone's convinced. But Bonta reckons the degree opens doors well beyond legal practice: Business Insider

🏗️ BlueScope's board is weighing a formal sale of its prized North Star steel mill in Ohio, potentially fetching ~$10bn, after Steel Dynamics and SGH Group's $34/share "best and final" bid stalled: The Australian

⛽️ Ampol has sweetened its divestment offer to 37 petrol stations in a bid to salvage its $1.1bn acquisition of EG Australia, up from 19 originally proposed but still short of the 54 sites the ACCC flagged last month. The regulator had warned the deal could push up fuel prices, with combined market share hitting 75% in some areas: AFR

🎵 Bill Ackman has lobbed a €55bn bid for Universal Music Group, home to Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Paul McCartney, pitching a move of its listing from Amsterdam to New York via a blank-cheque merger. The deal adds €5.4bn of debt and cancels ~17% of shares: FT