One in six juniors will walk

ASIC’s enforcement uncovered

Here’s a new job opportunities board

New data shows associate attrition across the UK and US has nearly doubled in a year, with 1 in 6 juniors walking from private practice. Poor work-life balance, rigid progression paths, and hybrid fatigue are fuelling the exodus. Mid-sized firms suffer the most, with tighter budgets and smaller teams making each resignation hit harder: Legal Cheek

NetDocuments has launched a Judge Analytics App that builds AI-generated profiles of judges based on their past rulings – think grant rates, procedural habits, and reasoning style. It’s a rare DMS play into litigation prediction, letting lawyers prep with on-demand insights into how a judge might respond to different motions: Artificial Lawyer

Aussie firms’ billings jumped 8.6% last year, says Thomson Reuters, with banking & finance demand up 9.4% and workplace relations up 7.4%. Real estate was the only laggard. But costs are biting, with lawyer pay and expenses up ~9.5%. Firms are working fewer hours per lawyer, but making up the gap by jacking up rates as the billable hour model creaks.

ASIC has officially locked in a strategy that prizes impact over volume. As we covered last week, the regulator has set a quota of 35 civil cases a year. Just a decade ago, the regulator leaned on settlements and enforceable undertakings. Then, the Royal Commission drove a “why not litigate?” blitz that peaked at 80+ cases a year. Now, under Joe Longo, ASIC is targeting fewer but market-shaping cases — from record greenwashing penalties (Mercer, Vanguard, Active Super) to the first whistleblower victimisation ruling. The pivot signals ASIC’s courtroom firepower is aimed at matters that set precedent and sting. Check out our full article here.

The VCAT has found a Melbourne GP guilty of professional misconduct for publishing 54 social media posts that denigrated other practitioners and spread misinformation on abortion, gender dysphoria and COVID-19. While the Doc claimed freedom of speech and that his posts were private, the Tribunal ruled that the National Law regulates doctors both inside and outside practice. It held that even posts not identifying him as a doctor undermined public confidence in the profession. The decision reinforces that, much like lawyers, medical practitioners are “always a doctor”, and online conduct must meet professional standards: Barry Nilson

A Sydney gym director has been convicted of falsifying an ASIC form by declaring his company had no debts when seeking deregistration with ASIC. The director authorised a 2021 ASIC form stating the company had no liabilities, despite owing $58k to the ATO and $14k in lease debts. He pleaded guilty under s1308(1) Corporations Act and was convicted in Mt Druitt Local Court, receiving a 12-month good behaviour bond. ASIC reminds directors that deregistration requires no outstanding liabilities, no ongoing proceedings, assets under $1k and business cessation. False statements risk criminal conviction, even where no jail time is imposed: ASIC

Women founders still miss out. Australia’s two biggest VC firms — Airtree and Blackbird — have missed their gender diversity investment targets for the third straight year. New data shows women-only founding teams secured just 2% of funding in FY25. Blackbird put most of its capital into mixed-gender teams, but Airtree still funnelled the majority to male-only founders: AFR

Australia dominates the ‘world’s most unaffordable’ list. A new Visual Capitalist map shows Sydney (2), Adelaide (6), Melbourne (9), Brisbane (11) and Perth (19) all in the global top 20. Hong Kong still ranks worst, with houses costing 14 years of income. North America’s West Coast also stacked the list, but Australia is clearly punching above its weight in pain: Visual Capitalist

Makes sense why Albo’s plans to deliver 1.2 million homes by 2029. But that plan is on shaky ground, with Master Builders warning of a shortfall of 36,000 a year, leaving the country 180,000 homes behind target. NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully blasted opponents of new developments, saying wealthy suburbs are entrenching a “kind of housing segregation” by resisting new builds: AFR

September’s usually a big one for M&A. Except this year. Global dealmaking has hit its slowest patch since Covid, with just $100bn in Aussie M&A this year versus $157bn in 2024. Bankers blame Trump’s tariffs and jittery boards, despite cashed-up PE and low rates: The Australian

Santos: is edging closer to ADNOC’s $30bn takeover, with due diligence nearly done and internal approvals flagged for mid-Sept. Santos has twice extended exclusivity, this time extracting “ticking fees” if talks stall. FIRB now looms as the real hurdle, with gas supply security likely the political bargaining chip in Australia’s biggest energy bid in a decade: The Australian

Federation Mining: has shelved its IPO, rebranding as Endura Mining and turning to a private raise led by Goldman Sachs to fund its Snowy River gold project in NZ. Backed 90% by AustralianSuper and now chaired by Evolution founder Jake Klein, the miner is chasing cash to deliver 60k ounces a year by 2026: AFR

Lightsource bp is close to selling its $800m Aussie solar portfolio to Macquarie-backed Aula Energy, after a failed deal with Beijing Energy got stuck in FIRB red tape. Aula would gain a 1037MW solar portfolio to push its pipeline towards 4GW. For Lightsource, it’s a long-awaited exit from assets that have sat on the auction block for months: AFR

MinRes has drafted in iron ore giants Baowu and POSCO, plus PE firm ACMI, to back its WA Supreme Court fight over disputed Onslow port levies. The Pilbara Ports Authority claims MinRes owes $14m+, with the levies flowing to Chevron under a secret deal. The escalation means WA Labor is now suing not just MinRes, but its heavyweight global JV partners too: The Australian

ANZ staff are on edge after a town hall flop failed to spell out how many jobs will go in its restructure. The FSU’s been told 200 roles are on the line, while brokers tip up to 2000 cuts globally. Insiders say 30–40% of retail and tech staff could be slashed: AFR

Revolut has launched a secondary share sale valuing the fintech at US$75bn, up from US$45bn last year and now pricier than Barclays. Staff can sell shares at US$1,381 each. The London-based firm, which now boasts 60m+ customers and US$4bn in revenue, is eyeing a US banking licence to fuel expansion: Bloomberg

Domino’s Pizza will now slash exec bonuses if delivery drivers are killed or hospitalised, after two deaths in Japan and the Netherlands last year. The ASX-listed chain, reeling from flat earnings, 312 store closures and a $3.7m loss, says the new safety clause recognises the “enduring area of responsibility”: The Australian

Property bosses are warning Victoria’s WFH laws could scare off global investors, on top of its already heavy tax load. Charter Hall’s David Harrison says foreign capital won’t cop a 30% tax hit when Madrid or Mumbai are rolling out the red carpet. Blackstone’s Chris Tynan adds Melbourne risks becoming a hard sell as governments keep piling on intervention: The Australian

Google’s new Veo 3 video generator is churning out clips so real that users “can’t tell what’s fake”. For $249 a month, the tool can spit out 8-second films with dialogue, soundscapes and lifelike faces, raising alarms over deepfakes and misinformation. Cyber experts warn it could erode online trust, while Google insists flaws still mark content as fake: Tech News

Uni of Newcastle is launching FLIP, a 9-week program to boost female entrepreneurs and leaders across the Hunter and Central Coast. Backed by alumna Belinda MacDougall (The Lady Shake), FLIP offers workshops on pitching, leadership and confidence, aiming to shift the stats that saw women win just 2% of VC funding last year and 22% of CEO roles: Startup Daily