Everyone thought BigLaw would just buy AI off the shelf. Most did. Freshfields just chose a different path. It’s the first Magic Circle firm to strike a multi-year deal with Anthropic to jointly build legal AI tools, rolling Claude across all 33 offices to 5,700 staff. It's a deliberate bet against single-vendor lock-in, with Freshfields' CIO bluntly calling that approach "inefficient and shortsighted." Whether Aussie top tiers follow Freshfields’ approach is worth watching: Point Blank

⚖️ M&A: A recent scheme decision has confirmed that naked no-vote break fees aren't automatically off the table in public M&A. In the Ausmincon/Afry scheme, the Court approved a $1m break fee (just over 1% of equity value) triggered if shareholders voted the scheme down, finding it wasn't coercive in the circumstances. Critically, the deal was initially structured as an asset sale before Ausmincon insisted on a scheme, making the fee effectively the price of buying shareholders the opportunity to vote: HSF Kramer

⚖️ Regulatory: Home Affairs has released a consultation paper proposing significant expansions to the Minister's directions powers under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act. The five proposed measures include replacing the current ASIO Adverse Security Assessment requirement with a more flexible advice obligation, a new power to impose governance conditions on critical infrastructure entities (think security-vetted directors and voting exclusions), vendor and supply chain restrictions, a mechanism to delay continuous disclosure obligations during high-risk cyber incidents, and a tenfold increase in civil penalties for non-compliance: Ashurst

⚖️ Reporting: Mallesons has published early insights from its review of the first wave of mandatory sustainability reports lodged by 23 Group 1 entities. Compliance is achievable, but the harder job is producing disclosures that hold up. Key findings: 83% of companies have a climate metric in their board skills matrix; companies generally disclosed on average 3 material climate risks and just 1 opportunity; and 87% embedded climate reporting in their annual report while 13% prepared a standalone report. The Santos decision is the key watch point, confirming that softening language from "targets" to "ambitions" won't neutralise greenwashing risk if reasonable grounds aren't there: Mallesons

Albo's floating cuts to the CGT discount and negative gearing concessions, with social cohesion as the pitch — basically, the housing crisis is now a national security issue. The plan is to scrap the 50% CGT discount and revert to the Keating-era inflation-adjusted model, while negative gearing on existing properties may survive only if you already hold them. In other policy news, Albo is legislating a News Bargaining Incentive that would slug Google, Meta and TikTok with a 2.25% revenue tax if they don't cut deals to pay for journalism: AFR, Capital Brief

Brittany Higgins has called out the Albo government for going quiet on the ALRC's 64-recommendation review into sexual violence and the justice system, a year after it was tabled. Meanwhile, Victoria is moving to strengthen protections for victim-survivors' counselling records after advocates flagged that subpoenaed therapy notes are routinely handed to the defence and used to discredit complainants at trial: The Guardian

📺 Pacific Equity Partners has lobbed a $747m non-binding bid for ASX-listed oOh!Media at $1.40 a share, a 65% premium to last trade. With shares down 43% over the past year, big backers are keen for action. Macquarie Capital and G+T are advising PEP, which is now pushing for due diligence access: AFR

🛏️ Sydney PE firm Allegro Funds is closing in on a deal to acquire Fantastic Furniture from Greenlit Brands, with signing expected this week. The 87-store chain posted $563.5m revenue for FY25. Allegro knows the asset well, having previously bought Greenlit's Best & Less, Harris Scarfe and Postie back in 2019: AFR

🏈 Disney is keeping ESPN in-house under new CEO Josh D'Amaro, shelving years of speculation about a spin-off. The sports network's value has shifted dramatically since its cable peak, but Disney reckons it's central to its streaming pivot: Business Insider