Two years after the Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling merger, A&O Shearman's profits jumped 14% to US$1.6bn while revenue barely moved, stuck flat at US$3.7bn. Partner headcount shrank from 740 to 710, pushing PEP up 12% to US$2.9m, and the firm nailed down a string of high-value, cross-border mandates: Point Blank

⚖️ Privilege: The Full Federal Court has confirmed that explaining your reasons in an affidavit can accidentally waive privilege. In Mastercard v ACCC, the ACCC alleged Mastercard's merchant agreements discouraged retailers from routing transactions through rival EFTPOS. Mastercard filed executive affidavits insisting the agreements had genuine commercial purposes, not an anti-competitive one, without ever mentioning legal advice. The Court still found this impliedly waived privilege over internal communications on the same topic, since Mastercard couldn't advance a narrative on purpose and strategy while shielding the discussions that shaped it. Timing mattered too: the Court held waiver arose on filing the affidavits, not when they were later read in open court: Holding Redlich

⚖️ Modern Slavery: The Federal Government is proposing a new criminal offence for companies with annual consolidated revenue over $100m that fail to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains. It's a big step up from the current Modern Slavery Act, which only makes companies report against seven mandatory criteria, with no real penalties and just a "naming and shaming" deterrent. Under the new plan, companies will have a defence if they can show they took "reasonable steps" to prevent it, pointing to a due diligence style regime. Civil penalties and stronger enforcement are also coming for breaches of existing reporting duties, with consultations to follow: Clayton Utz

⚖️ Regulatory: WealthHub Securities, NAB's online broker, has copped a $1.055m fine from the Markets Disciplinary Panel after botching regulatory reporting over 9.5 million times across a decade. From 28 July 2014 to 31 October 2024, WealthHub repeatedly failed to provide, or provided incorrect, Intermediary ID data in orders and trade reports to market operators like ASX. That data helps ASIC detect insider trading and market manipulation. The MDP found WealthHub lacked the systems, expertise and oversight to catch the issue, missed multiple chances to fix the root cause, and didn't lodge a reportable situation report until January 2023: ASIC

In this week's Clerkship Applications Update from Clayton Utz, the application windows in Brisbane and Melbourne remain open, but it's the final few days for students in Perth to apply; as the deadline for applications is rapidly approaching this Friday.

If you know a penultimate-year law student applying for a clerkship this year, you'll want to send them this link to the Clayton Utz Clerkship Masterclass. This free, online course pulls back the curtain on what law firm recruiters are really looking for, and is packed with essential tips and advice.

Level up your application: https://bit.ly/4vlMg52

Victoria is scrapping a rule that currently blocks most parents from suing Meta, Google and other platforms over psychiatric harm to their kids, unless they can prove a permanent impairment of at least 10% — a bar that's kept most claims out of court. The move follows a US jury ordering Google and Meta to pay US$3m for designing addictive platforms: AFR

One Nation wants the government to issue 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at 5%, through Australia Post, funded by scrapping the $11.5bn Housing Australia Future Fund. Sounds good? Economists say no. 30-year bonds currently sit at 5.45%, so the government would be borrowing high and lending low. Saul Eslake calls it a permanent loss-maker with no guarantee of new homes being built: Capital Brief

🏗️ Allens and HSF Kramer acted on the year's biggest ASX listing, with FDC Consolidated raising $400m at a $1.1bn valuation. Allens advised FDC, while HSF Kramer acted for joint lead managers UBS and Moelis: Point Blank

🐾 On Friday, Coles walked away from its $3.9bn tilt at pet care giant Greencross, spooked by investor backlash over diverting cash from the core supermarkets business. Shares jumped over 4% on the news: AFR

💳 PayPal's board thinks Stripe and Advent International's US$53bn bid undervalues the payments giant, despite JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley stumping up a US$50bn financing package: Reuters