MinterEllison ran ASIC’s case against Nuix. G+T defended the company, with Corrs, Jones Day and other law firms repping the five directors. ASIC swung hard at Nuix and missed. Justice Goodman dismissed every claim: Nuix’s forecast reaffirmations had reasonable grounds, the 12-day gap before the downgrade was spent stress-testing figures not spinning them, a 4.7% variance fell below the materiality threshold, and draft documents weren't disclosable. Read our deep dive here: Point Blank

⚖️ Privilege: The Fed Court has confirmed that where a law firm is jointly retained, one co-client can't assert privilege against the other, even if that firm's partner believed he was acting for only one of them. A Thomson Geer partner considered AVCE his sole client, but the email evidence led to the "inescapable" conclusion that the firm was jointly retained by AVCE and Angelis. Justice Owens accepted that docs were prepared for the dominant purpose of obtaining legal advice. But they weren't prepared for the dominant purpose of advising AVCE alone. Separate representation on specific topics, and the fact that Angelis wasn't copied on certain emails, didn't change that: Lawyerly

⚖️ Tax/M&A: Treasury's exposure draft on the non-resident CGT withholding rules is quietly rewriting deal mechanics for transactions of $50m or more involving membership interest declarations. Under current law, a vendor declaration keeps the ATO out of the picture and lets buyers rely on it passively. Under the draft, vendors must now notify the ATO before completion, and buyers must conduct active due diligence to satisfy an objective knowledge test, rather than simply accepting the declaration at face value. In public M&A, targets may need to manage ATO notifications on behalf of shareholders, adding complexity to already tight timetables: HSF Kramer

⚖️ Regulatory: ASIC has released proposed updates to RG 172, RG 249 and RG 268 to implement the Financial Market Infrastructure Act 2024, which bolstered ASIC's and the RBA's licensing, supervisory and enforcement powers across market operators, clearing and settlement facilities, trade repositories and benchmark administrators. New measures include fit and proper standards for "core officers" of FMI licensees, a new FMI banning order regime, and expanded oversight of foreign FMIs with a significant Australian nexus: Gilbert + Tobin

Labor hired 41,000 extra public servants since coming to power, and now it's quietly asking them to leave. Voluntary redundancies are rolling out across PM&C, Home Affairs, CSIRO and others, targeting middle managers on $100k-plus with six-figure exit cheques. Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher said they were not across-the-board cuts. The same government that slammed Dutton's plan to cut 36,000 jobs is now... cutting jobs: AFR

Trump's playing maritime escort now, promising to guide stranded ships safely out of the Strait of Hormuz after the Iran conflict choked one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. He's calling it a “humanitarian gesture” for unnamed “neutral and innocent bystanders.” No detail on how it actually works, which, for anyone who's ever drafted a logistics clause, is doing a lot of heavy lifting: ABC News

🎮 GameStop is reportedly preparing a bid for eBay, valued at ~US$46bn, nearly four times GameStop's own ~US$12bn market cap. If eBay's board resists, CEO Cohen says they could pitch directly to shareholders: Reuters

🇦🇪 Allens has advised Abu Dhabi-based PE firm Axight on its acquisition of a significant minority stake in La Trobe Financial from Brookfield, valuing the Aussie asset manager at ~$3bn: Point Blank

💎 SkinKandy, the 100-plus store body piercing and jewellery chain run by ex-Lovisa COO Dain Friis, has opened books on an ASX IPO seeking to raise $137.7m–$149.1m at $2.05–$2.25 per share: AFR