Recent High Court rulings—CFMEU and Jamsek—have redrawn the line on who’s an employee. Forget the old multifactor test that weighed up control, uniforms, and practicalities. Courts focus solely on the legal rights and obligations in that contract, not how the relationship played out in practice. The ATO has now locked this same approach in with TR 2023/4, including for superannuation purposes. For employers, this means contract terms are everything, and getting them wrong risks serious consequences: super contributions of 11.5% (rising to 12%), penalties up to 200% and director liability: Holding Redlich

HSF’s latest analysis of $250m+ NBIOs (2022–24) shows bidders with a pre-bid stake won control 83% of the time. But success often came at a cost: over half had to increase their offer, and 14% had to fend off rivals. Hard pre-bids (direct holdings, derivatives, call options) were rock solid—only 7% failed. Soft pre-bids (voting agreements, intention statements) were shakier, with a 30% failure rate. For example, Potentia’s pre-bid stake in Nitro helped it outbid Alludo and reach 90%, while Genesis’ 19.9% stake in Pacific Smiles blocked Crescent’s $2.05 bid, despite being lower.

Yesterday, the Federal Court rejected ASX’s bid to access 12 privileged documents in ASIC’s case over the failed CHESS replacement. ASX tried to argue that ASIC had waived privilege over witness statements and interview notes from Digital Asset CEO Yuval Rooz, whose tech firm was central to the $250m CHESS debacle. But Justice Markovic wasn’t having it: privilege held and ASX now has to foot ASIC’s bill.

Ex-UK PM David Cameron is in discussions to join DLA Piper as a geopolitical risk adviser, adding to the firm’s 30-strong government affairs team that already includes ex-home secretary Lord Blunkett. Cameron would advise on global political trends and strategic risks—leveraging his time in 10 Downing St and brief stint as foreign secretary: Global Legal Post, Legal Cheek

Herbert Smith Freehills has launched an AI-powered tracker to monitor updates in AI laws, policies and cases across 12 jurisdictions—using AI to track AI laws? Very meta. Built by its Emerging Tech team, the tool’s been used 5,500+ times in pilot and now joins HSF’s digital marketplace. Real-time legal intel for AI risk, regulation and case law—powered by AI itself: Artificial Lawyer

Ford sues law firms over ‘magical’ billings. Ford has filed a US$300m claim in LA, accusing Knight Law Group and others of fraudulent overbilling. The car giant claims lawyers billed impossible hours, like 57.5 in a single day. That’s across thousands of cases. Ford calls it a “magical mystery tour” of fake time entries, costing them US$100m+ over five years: CanadianLawyer

Top UK firms have ditched old-school lockstep pay for a messy mix of tiered equity, fixed-share, and bonus-heavy roles, chasing profits to match US rivals. Even 277-year-old institutions like Freshfields are switching things up. But insiders warn it’s fuelling internal turf wars—with every man out for themselves and collaboration falling off a cliff. Clients may not notice yet, but some say service quality is quietly slipping: Law.com

Gen AI is eating into billable hours, and a new report says flat fees are on the rise, especially in smaller firms. Still, hourly billing reigns for now. But with $27k in revenue per lawyer at risk, firms clinging to tradition could face serious cash flow pain. Clients want predictability. AI demands efficiency. Wants the move? Flat fee, contingency, subscription or the billable hour: Above the Law

Trump’s going to war with Harvard, threatening to strip US$3bn in grants and funnel the cash to trade schools. He’s accused the Ivy League giant of antisemitism and liberal bias, and is demanding a list of foreign students to determine how many “radicalised lunatics” to not let back into the country. With US$9bn in funding under review, Trump’s making elite unis his next political punching bag: ABC News

Salesforce: is reportedly close to sealing a US$8bn deal for Informatica, marking its largest post-Slack acquisition. Talks first fizzled in 2024, but now it’s back on, at a handsome US$25/share. Informatica soared 17% on the news. Permira and CPPIB, who took it private in 2015 before going public again in 2021, stand to cash in big: Capital Brief

Polus Capital: has emerged as the power player behind Healthscope’s $1.6bn debt saga, muscling in with a $300m stake and triggering a long-awaited receivership. It’s the hedge fund’s first Aussie distressed debt play. Now States want assurances from Albo that the feds will back critical care if Healthscope clapse: AFR

Harmony Gold: is buying MAC Copper for $1.6bn, beating out South32 and Sandfire after a hush-hush auction. The 20.7% premium locks in Harmony’s pivot away from South Africa, adding Aussie assets to its copper play. Ashurst is advising Harmony while Gilbert + Tobin rep MAC Copper: The Australian

Circle: the firm behind the world’s #2 stablecoin, is eyeing a US$624m NYSE float under ticker CRCL, offering shares at US$24–26. Backers include ARK Invest, Accel and FMR. The IPO lands as Congress weighs new stablecoin laws, which could support the sector if approved: Capital Brief

BHP is setting up a new AI centre in Singapore to sharpen safety and productivity across its global operations. Partnering with AI Singapore, the hub will focus on embedding automation and data-driven decision-making into mining. BHP already uses AI in finance and procurement, but this move signals a broader push to digitise the entire value chain: Capital Brief

MinRes cuts its forecast again. The miner has downgraded its 2024–25 iron ore shipment forecast to 7.8–8 million tonnes, blaming ongoing drama with its troubled Onslow haul road. Only 65 contractor trucks are running—well short of its 85–100 target. There's light at the end of the tunnel, with a full ramp-up to nameplate capacity of 35 million tonnes expected in FY26: The Australian

ASIC has lashed out at boards of super funds for being complacent and over-reliant on outsourcing, especially after scathing findings on death benefit delays. One fund resolved fewer than 1 in 10 claims within 90 days. Coupled with cyberattacks hitting 5 funds in April, ASIC says boards are blind to fraud risks—and it’s “not done with death benefits” yet: AFR

Big banks are scrambling to win back home loan customers lost to brokers, who now write up to 60% of new loans. With margins squeezed and loyalty lost, banks are reopening weekend branches, poaching broker talent, and using AI to speed up approvals. ANZ and Westpac lead the charge with new CEOs and cost-cutting drives, betting AI can boost profits: The Australian

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing’s CK Group has snapped up 350,000ha in WA for a carbon farming project, eyeing both carbon sequestration and tradable ACCUs. The land is 3x the size of Hong Kong and taps into the now-expired human-induced-regeneration (HIR) method to score carbon. It’s a high-stakes play as uncertainty swirls around Australia’s evolving carbon market: AFR

Bain Capital is sounding out fundies again as it weighs a Virgin Australia IPO, potentially the ASX’s biggest float in 4 years. With Qantas stock flying high and domestic demand strong, sentiment is improving. But Bain continues to watch market volatility and pricing closely before any moves: AFR

Tech companies like Klarna and IBM are backtracking on their AI-first cuts, rehiring staff after chatbots failed to provide human empathy. Klarna slashed headcount by nearly half but now admits customers still want a real person. IBM’s AI-powered HR bot couldn’t handle nuance either. A growing number of execs now say automating too hard, too fast was a mistake: startupdaily

Google will pay a whopping settlement of US$1.38bn to Texas’ privacy lawsuits, after the State’s AG Ken Paxton accused the tech giant of secretly tracking users’ locations, voiceprints and facial geometry. The deal covers Incognito, Location History and biometrics, but Google admits no wrongdoing, saying the issues are old and policy changes are already in place: Reuters