Law firm mergers create a retention problem. Three transatlantic mega-mergers are currently underway — Ashurst with Perkins Coie, Taylor Wessing with Winston & Strawn, and Hogan Lovells with Cadwalader. Collectively, the merging firms have already shed 40-plus partners in six months. A&O Shearman is the cautionary tale: it axed 10% of its global partnership (around 80 partners), with total departures hitting 190 since its merger announcement: NB

⚖️ Corporate: Justice Lee has handed Matthias Bekier and Paula Martin penalties of $700k and $400k respectively for breaching their s 180 duties over "inherent and obvious" money laundering risks at Star Entertainment. Both are disqualified from managing corporations for 6 and 7 years. Lee noted the fines were lighter than they'd otherwise be, because ASIC's "generous" deals with other senior executives made harsher penalties irrational by comparison. For Martin, Lee was pointed: a lawyer's honesty obligations aren't "aspirational or optional". A dysfunctional corporate culture doesn't dilute them. If anything, it heightens them: Lawyerly

⚖️ Crypto: The High Court has unanimously ruled that Block Earner's fixed-yield crypto product "Earner" was a financial product under the Corporations Act, reversing the Full Federal Court and handing ASIC a significant win. Earner let users swap AUD for crypto, with funds pooled and loaned to third parties to generate a fixed return. The Court found it was also a derivative, because the final payout varied by reference to the AUD/crypto exchange rate. The matter returns to the Federal Court on penalties. ASIC considers the financial product definition to be deliberately broad and technology-neutral, capturing new products without any need for legislative amendment: Capital Brief

⚖️ Consumer: The ACCC has issued two infringement notices to ugg footwear retailer Christofi Investments. Christofi has since paid $39.6k in penalties for allegedly misleading strikethrough pricing on its Ugg Originals and Ugg Australia Classic websites. The products were advertised with a "was/now" price format, but the ACCC alleges the higher "was" price had never genuinely applied in any reasonable prior period. A strikethrough price must reflect a price the product was actually offered at, not an aspirational one: ACCC

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Victoria is about to make working from home a legal right. Premier Allan's bill lets most employees WFH two days a week, forces employers to cover the cost of equipment, and if they knock back a request without good reason, VCAT can award compensation. Although lawyers are warning that workers could double-dip on WFH entitlements, claiming two state-law days then turning around and requesting two more entitled under the Fair Work Act: AFR

Childcare workers dodged a nationwide walkout, with the Federal Government locking in another 15% pay rise over 18 months after the existing scheme wraps up in November. It’ll cost the gov $3.6bn and provide an extra $255 to $410 a week depending on the role: ABC

🚶 Bain Capital has walked away from the race to take oOh!media private, leaving three PE firms, Pacific Equity Partners, Oaktree and I Squared Capital, in the $845m tilt. Bain's got a full plate heading into June 30, including closing its $2.5bn Estia Health sale to Stonepeak: AFR

⚡ Sembcorp Industries has closed its $6.5bn acquisition of Alinta Energy from Hong Kong conglomerate Chow Tai Fook, picking up 1.1 million customers. Ashurst (buy-side), HSF Kramer (sell-side) and G+T (financing) split the mandates: Point Blank

📉 Morningstar is backing IFM Investors' $5.10-a-share bid for Atlas Arteria, telling shareholders the case for holding out doesn't stack up. IFM's blocking stake deters rival bidders, while French tax headwinds and a stronger Aussie dollar are squeezing earnings: The Australian