Lawyer etiquette classes rolled out after backlash

Cooley orders lawyers back four days a week

AFP probes after fake Santos exec scam

After complaints that it was too rigid in fund negotiations, Kirkland & Ellis has introduced etiquette training for its lawyers, even banning the phrase “we respectfully decline.” Investors accused the firm of refusing to negotiate on even minor fund terms, with some buyout clients unaware Kirkland was stonewalling on their behalf. Tensions peaked when the Institutional Limited Partners Association was accused of discouraging private equity groups from working with the firm: AFR

Stockholm-based legal AI platform Legora has raised $150m in Series C funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, doubling its May valuation to $1.8bn. Founded in 2023 by Max Junestrand, the startup now counts 400+ law firm clients — including Linklaters, Cleary, Goodwin and MinterEllison — and expects $40m in annual revenue this year: NB

Return to work mandates are officially hitting law firms. US law firm Cooley will require all lawyers across its US and European offices to return to the office four days a week in 2026. The move aligns Cooley with peers like Latham & Watkins, Covington & Burling, and DLA Piper, which have also tightened hybrid policies. Some of Cooley’s Asia offices already operate five days in-office, reflecting a broader shift back to pre-pandemic norms: Law.com

Former KWM global CEO Sue Kench has been appointed as a global independent non-executive on the EY Global Governance Council, effective November 1. She’ll advise EY’s leadership on governance, strategy and public interest matters. Kench, the first woman to lead both a top-tier Australian and international law firm, retired from KWM in June after a 32-year career: Australasian Lawyer

Banking/Compliance: The Federal Court has hit RAMS Financial Group with a $20m penalty after it admitted to widespread compliance failures in its home lending operations. Between 2019 and 2023, RAMS, part of the Westpac Group, breached its Credit Act obligations by using unlicensed referrers, failing to manage conflicts, and neglecting to supervise franchise staff, who in some cases submitted false pay slips and altered customer data to push loans through. Justice Shariff said the misconduct “exposed consumers to a risk of substantial hardship”, with some loans potentially unsuitable or unaffordable: ASIC

Property/Consumer: the Federal Court found that a property vendor did not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law over the sale of a luxury penthouse apartment. The Court held there was no agreed variation to deliver the unit as a “cold shell”, rejecting the buyer’s claim that the vendor had misrepresented the deal. The vendor’s purported termination of the contract was wrongful and had failed to perform its contractual obligations, leaving the developer exposed to potential damages.

Insurance: What’s the go with double insurance? KWM explains that when an insured holds two or more policies covering the same risk, that’s double insurance, but it doesn’t mean double payout. The High Court in Albion Insurance v GIO confirmed that while multiple insurers can respond, the insured can only recover up to the actual loss. Under s 76 of the Insurance Contracts Act, the insured may claim from any one insurer, with others later contributing between themselves. There’s no common law duty to disclose other double cover to an insurer unless required by the policy. And s 45 voids any term in a policy that seeks to limit or exclude cover simply because another policy exists—unless the other policy is specifically identified. Practically, insureds should review all responsive policies and seek broker input to avoid coverage gaps or overlaps: KWM

OpenAI’s secretive “Project Mercury” has seen the company hire around 100 ex-JPMorgan, Goldman and Morgan Stanley bankers, each paid $US150 an hour after a 20-minute chatbot interview. Bankers are training chatbots to handle financial modelling, restructurings and IPO work. The goal? To replace the grunt work of junior bankers. With AI tools already shaking up software and finance, some now wonder — could OpenAI one day run its own investment bank? AFR

The World Justice Project has revealed a sharp drop in Australia’s global standing on crime control and religious freedom. Aus ranked 35^th for crime (down from 17^th a decade ago) and 24^th for religious freedom (down from 5^th). The report links the fall to rising anti-Semitism and Victoria’s surging retail crime, where offences jumped 20% last year: The Australian

Pepper Money: is set to acquire Westpac’s $30bn RAMS loan portfolio, beating out Cerberus and Apollo-ColCap in the final round. The KKR-backed non-bank lender, capitalised at $947m, has secured exclusivity and is expected to announce a deal this week. The sale follows Westpac’s 2024 shutdown of RAMS over those compliance failures we mentioned earlier, marking Pepper’s biggest expansion since its 2021 IPO: AFR*

UGL: Japan’s Sojitz Corporation has emerged as a frontrunner for the $1bn transport arm of ACS-controlled UGL, alongside select private equity bidders. The division, which makes and maintains locomotives, buses and rail systems across five major cities, generates $1.5bn revenue and $100m earnings. Macquarie Capital is running the sale: The Australian

Santos was hit by an executive impersonation scam. The gas giant has called in the AFP and cyber authorities after a fraudster posed as senior executive Tracey Winters to seek confidential company info during the collapsed $30bn XRG takeover. No data was leaked, but the incident adds to turmoil following CFO Sherry Duhe’s exit: The Australian

After shipping a record 11.4m tonnes of iron ore, MinRes says it’s under no pressure to sell lithium assets despite hiring JPMorgan to explore options. The haul triggered a $200m payout from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, strengthening a balance sheet still carrying $5.4bn in debt. CFO Mark Wilson said any asset sale would happen “only if we see real value”: AFR

Insurance giant Steadfast has stood down chief executive Robert Kelly pending a King & Wood Mallesons investigation into sexual harassment allegations made by an employee. Kelly will remain on full pay during the probe, with Tim Mathieson appointed acting CEO. The inquiry comes ahead of Steadfast’s AGM: AFR

ANZ says its second-half earnings will take a $721m after-tax hit from restructuring, staff cuts and compliance settlements. The charges include $414m in redundancies, $264m in ASIC-related settlements, and $78m to wind down Cashrewards: Reuters

Endeavour Group’s liquor sales fell 1% in the September quarter as subdued spending offset boosts from major sports events. Dan Murphy’s and BWS recorded $2.5bn in sales, while hotels rose 4.4% to $567m thanks to the Lions series and Father’s Day. Acting CEO Kate Beattie said trading improved late in the quarter ahead of key summer events.: The Australian

Singapore’s Soilbuild Group Holdings is in talks to buy a 25% stake in North Sydney’s Coca-Cola Place, valuing the tower at about $360m. The share is being sold by M&G Real Estate at a yield of roughly 7%. The A-grade tower, 94% leased and anchored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, sits near the new Sydney Metro Victoria Cross station and is co-owned by Investa’s flagship fund: The Australian

Atlassian posted $US1.4bn in quarterly revenue, up 21% year-on-year, as monthly active AI users climbed 50% to 3.5 million. Former Google and Slack executive Tamar Yehoshua will join as chief product and AI officer, while CFO Joe Binz will depart in 2026: The Australian

Canva has launched its own design-specific large language model and new AI tools as it targets growth ahead of a potential IPO. The company now has 260 million monthly users and expects $US4b in annual recurring revenue, with AI features used 22 billion times. Co-founder Cameron Adams dismissed talk of an AI bubble, saying Canva’s focus remains on “fundamentals” and “delivering value”: AFR