A&O Shearman just axed 20 London business services roles across finance, marketing and IT. The global firm joins Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Baker McKenzie in quietly culling support staff as AI absorbs the work. In Australia, law firms are opting to take out tomorrow’s lawyers instead, with grad intakes down across the top tiers: Point Blank

⚖️ Employment/Compliance: The Full Federal Court has handed down the first appellate judgment on the post-2019 private sector whistleblower protections in Reiche, dismissing the appellant's compensation claim and clarifying when detrimental conduct actually triggers liability. The Court confirmed four elements must all be satisfied: (1)the alleged wrongdoer must have subjectively believed or suspected a disclosure was made or could be made, (2) that it concerned misconduct or an improper state of affairs, (3) that the whistleblower had reasonable grounds, and (4) that belief was the substantial and operative reason for the detrimental conduct. Critically, the reverse onus means decision-makers need documented reasons for any adverse action touching a potential whistleblower. Mallesons

⚖️ Capital Markets: From 4 December 2026, cash-settled equity derivatives will be captured by Australia's substantial holding regime through the new "deemed economic interest" concept. The regime requires daily recalculation of derivative-based positions, disclosure triggered by movements exceeding 1%, and lodgement within two business days. And, short positions can't be netted against long exposures when assessing whether thresholds are crossed. Exemptions exist for market makers and client-facing AFS licensees: Ashurst

⚖️ Construction/Regulatory: Victoria's amended Security of Payment Act commenced on 15 April 2026, introducing a statutory mechanism for contractors to claim the return of performance security for the first time. Contractors can now serve a claim for the release of cash retention or bank guarantees, with the window to do so opening no earlier than 20 business days after the defects liability period expires and closing at the end of the following month, which can produce a window as narrow as two business days. Principals must now give at least five business days' notice before calling on security, and any 'no injunction' or notice-waiver clauses are void: Holding Redlich

Chalmers just handed investors a rude awakening. The 50% CGT discount is gone, replaced with inflation indexation and a 30% minimum rate. Negative gearing gets quarantined to new builds only. Treasury reckons the changes will cool house price growth by 2%. The whole package raises north of $7bn a year. The proceeds partly fund a $250 tax offset for 13 million wage earners: AFR

Gina Rinehart has appealed last month's Supreme Court decision ordering Hancock Prospecting to pay hundreds of millions in royalties to Wright Prospecting and DFD Rhodes. No surprise there — with an estimated $150m already spent, 34 barristers on the judgment, and billions in East Angelas iron ore still in play, nobody's walking away: The Australian

🙅 CC Capital finally closed its $3.3bn grab of Insignia Financial, after eight bids, three suitors and a nearly 18-month saga. Mallesons acted for Insignia (Peter Stirling, Genovieve Lajeunesse); Ashurst advised the buyer (Anton Harris, Will Mason). Speculation's already swirling over a tilt at AMP. Read our full deep dive: Point Blank

🏥 Qscan, Infratil's $400m Australian radiology group, has drawn a surprise new bidder. London-based infrastructure specialist InfraRed Capital Partners has been shortlisted by sell-side adviser UBS, joining Pacific Equity Partners (advised by Rothschild) and Bain Capital in the race: AFR

🎮 eBay's board has told GameStop where to go, rejecting its unsolicited $56bn takeover bid as "neither credible nor attractive." Chairman Paul Pressler cited financing uncertainty and operational risks of a combined entity: The Australian