Time for a move to NYC, anyone? Milbank just kicked off the US salary race, bumping associates US$10k-$20k depending on seniority, with first-years now on US$235k (A$329k) and eighth-years pocketing US$455k (A$636k). McDermott matched within hours, and recruiters say plenty more will follow fast. With US Big Law busy, profitable and in "growth mode," let the pay wars begin: Bloomberg

⚖️ Corporate: In Meribel Invest FI, Brereton J confirmed that a company can ratify acts done by a person who was disqualified from managing corporations under s 206A of the Corps Act, by adopting the relationship of agency assumed by that person. The disqualified person, Mr Raftery, had continued to run litigation on behalf of Meribel FIR after losing his directorship. Ms Raftery was later appointed as sole director and passed a resolution ratifying everything he'd done. The opposing parties argued she was a mere puppet, but Brereton J wasn't persuaded, accepting her evidence that she exercised independent judgment and had full knowledge of the proceedings before signing off. Ratification doesn't retrospectively restore a directorship, but it can confirm an agency relationship.

⚖️ Disputes/AI: The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has issued a formal Practice Direction on AI covering all court users including lawyers, litigants and experts. The core obligations under the PD: verify all AI-generated content (including case citations), don't feed confidential or privileged material into public AI tools, and ensure affidavits reflect the witness's own words. There's no obligation to proactively disclose GenAI use (unless you're an expert witness). But lawyers must be ready to explain what tool was used, how outputs were checked and supervised, and how the PD’s principles were observed. Ignorance won't fly as an excuse: FCFOA

⚖️ Property: In Boardman Super Fund v Home & Land Centre, the NSW Supreme Court upheld a purchaser's rescission of a Put and Call Option Deed after soil classifications changed from "unknown" to "P" class, triggering the deed's material change provisions. The court applied an objective two-limb test: would the purchaser have entered the deed knowing of the change, and were they materially prejudiced? Both were satisfied. The court also confirmed that option deeds aren't off-the-plan contracts, so statutory rescission rights under Div 10 of the Conveyancing Act don't automatically apply. Parties should define material change benchmarks clearly in the deed to avoid costly disputes: Clayton Utz

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Sally McManus, secretary of the ACTU, reckons AI could deliver a three-day working week, but only if companies actually share the productivity upside with staff rather than just pocketing it. She's also reminding employers that consultation on AI isn't optional — existing law already requires it when workplace changes affect workers' skills and careers. Bring on the four-day weekend: AFR

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has forced Google to let publishers opt out of their content being used to power AI search features. CMA chief Sarah Cardell called it a world-first, saying publishers need "appropriate bargaining power" over how their content is used as AI Overviews reshape search. The catch: opt out and you lose all AI-generated traffic: Capital Brief, Reuters

⛽️ Gilbert + Tobin notched a first, advising EG Group on the first complex Phase II merger cleared under Australia's new regime — Ampol's $1.1bn buy of EG Australia. The path wasn't straightforward: the ACCC knocked back 19 divested sites, then 37, before finally accepting 41: Point Blank

🚀 SpaceX has set a US$135 IPO price a week ahead of schedule, targeting US$75bn in what would be the largest IPO in history, valuing the company at US$1.75 trillion: Reuters

🏥 Jardine Matheson is lining up an A$1.5bn loan to fund its A$3.4bn acquisition of I-MED Radiology Network from Permira, which picked it up for A$1.3bn back in 2018: Bloomberg