G+T tops the Big 8 with an 8.1% gender pay gap. Corrs and HSFK made the biggest progress this year. While KWM and Allens went backwards. But like-for-like pay is near parity at most firms, so the growing issue isn't what women get paid, it's how few make it to the top. Only Ashurst, Allens and HSFK have cleared 40% female partners. Read our full insight here: Point Blank

⚖️ Corporate/Disputes: Justice Michael Lee didn't hold back in ASIC v Star Entertainment, finding former CEO Matt Bekier and Chief Legal & Risk Officer Paula Martin breached their s 180 duties over failures to manage money laundering risks linked to junket operators between 2017 and 2019. The seven non-executive directors were cleared, largely because ASIC's case suffered from "hindsight bias" and the directors' decision not to give evidence was, per Lee, "vindicated". Still, Lee warned boards can't hide behind "heroically vast" board packs, calling them exercises in management self-protection. Directors must actively engage with risk, not passively receive it. Penalties for Bekier and Martin to follow. You can read the 501-page judgment here: ASIC

⚖️ AI / Privilege: Two recent US decisions are a wake-up call on AI and legal professional privilege. In Heppner, the court held that a defendant's chats with Claude weren't privileged because AI isn't a lawyer and public platform terms undermined confidentiality. Sharing outputs with lawyers after the fact didn't fix it. In Warner, ChatGPT use was protected because it wasn’t discoverable and fell under the work product doctrine, but only because disclosure hadn't reached an adversary. For Australian practitioners, if there’s no lawyer in the loop, no dominant purpose, there’s likely no privilege. Public AI tools are especially risky, given that confidentiality is essential to both advice and litigation privilege here: HSF Kramer

⚖️ Corporate: The Takeovers Panel has accepted a voluntary undertaking from Humm Group Limited over insider participation and conflicts of interest, following an application by Akat Investments. The Panel was satisfied that the undertaking addressed its concerns without the need for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances. But Humm's not out of the woods yet. The Panel is still examining disclosure issues around Humm's December 2025 announcement of a conditional, non-binding indicative proposal from Credit Corp to acquire control, and the acquisition of Humm shares by a director associated with Humm's major shareholder immediately after that announcement.

The US has drafted rules requiring American approval for AI chip exports to virtually anywhere in the world. That would hand Washington gatekeeper status over global AI infrastructure. It's not framed as an Nvidia ban, but a licensing regime covering virtually all sales of AI accelerators from Nvidia and AMD. Both stocks dropped over 2% on the news: Bloomberg

It’s a week into the US-Israel campaign against Iran. A US submarine torpedoed Iran's "prize" warship, the IRIS Dena, off Sri Lanka, killing at least 87 sailors — Defense Secretary Hegseth calling it the first sub-on-warship sinking since WWII. Trump, meanwhile, wants a say in picking Iran's next leader and is backing Kurdish fighters crossing into western Iran. Iran's foreign minister Araghchi says his country is ready to fight US ground troops, and is "waiting for them”: ABC News, AFR

♻️ Bingo Industries looks headed for the block, with owner Macquarie reportedly testing buyer interest after appointing MA Moelis as adviser. Expect distressed specialists like Oaktree, Cerberus and Apollo, or locals Anchorage and Allegro to come circling: The Australian

🏥 KKR might be reviewing options for disability housing platform Synergis, believed to be worth up to $1bn. The buyout giant has reportedly been running a beauty parade among IBs, with a sale, recap or float all on the table: AFR