Twenty-seven barristers across seven parties, burning $250k a day in legal costs. Gina Rinehart keeps the Hope Downs tenements but must share royalties with Wright Prospecting and DFD Rhodes, after a 1,655-page WA Supreme Court judgment. Corrs led Hancock Prospecting, with Noel Hutley SC and Peter Brereton SC commanding $35k a day. Clayton Utz steered Wright Prospecting, led by Julie Taylor SC. Allens had Rio Tinto. Each side's costs are tipped to crack $100m: Point Blank

⚖️ Corporate: The Full Federal Court has clarified the reach of s 183(1) of the Corporations Act in New Aim Pty Ltd v Leung. Former CCO Jack Leung shared WeChat contacts of 17 suppliers with a rival retailer post-departure, breaching his equitable duty of confidence and employment contract. On s 183(1), the Full Court overruled Futuretronics, rejecting the primary judge's finding that no improper use under equity meant no improper use under the statute. The Court confirmed s 183(1) has independent operation. Even where information falls short of the equitable confidentiality threshold, the degree of confidentiality and circumstances of misuse can still ground a statutory contravention. Corrs acted for New Aim: Australasian Lawyer

⚖️ Employment: The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission has handed employers a reality check on vicarious liability for sexual harassment. The employer had policies, contracts and training modules ticking all the right boxes, but its "reasonable steps" defence still failed: employees could skip slides, change quiz answers until correct, and completed modules every two years while juggling other duties. Worse, despite a 2016 final warning against the same manager, no targeted controls followed. Generic training won't satisfy the defence, especially where you're already on notice of a specific, identified risk: Hall & Wilcox

⚖️ Consumer: The Federal Court has handed Qteq a $5m penalty and its CEO Mr Ashton a $1m penalty, plus a non-indemnification order blocking him from using insurance to pay, following findings of five attempted cartel contraventions in the coal seam gas sector. Justice Bromwich confirmed deterrence is the primary objective of cartel penalties, and that attempted conduct in "difficult circumstances" attracts no discount, if anything it justifies more. Selling the business won't soften the blow either. If you're relying on ignorance of the law to mitigate, you'd better prove it: Mallesons

Six weeks in, and the Iran conflict is showing up in Q1 earnings. Kering is down 11% in Middle East retail, LVMH's CFO says demand is "very much down," and Hermès is copping a "strong decrease" in French stores as Gulf tourists stay home. TSMC is flagging chip input costs rising on helium shortages. Goldman and BlackRock say dealmaking and sovereign wealth flows are holding, for now: Business Insider

AI is getting physical. Sony's AI robot Ace has beaten expert table tennis players in what's being called a landmark moment for AI. It won three out of five matches against elite players with 10-plus years of training. It follows a Beijing half-marathon on the weekend, where a robot finished in under 51 minutes, nearly seven minutes faster than the human world record: AFR

🍁 TMX Group, operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, has agreed to buy Cboe Australia from Chicago-based Cboe for US$300m (A$419m), picking up roughly 20% of Aussie equity market trading. Sidley Austin, Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Mallesons advised Cboe. ASIC approval required, with the Treasurer also likely in the loop: AFR

✈️ Moorabbin Airport is set to change hands in a $1.5bn deal, with US insurance giant MassMutual's asset management arm Barings leading a consortium that includes Aware Super and REST Super. Goodman, which bought the Melbourne training airport for $201.5m back in 2010, is retaining a minority stake. The ACCC's reviewing the deal: AFR

☀️ Maddocks has advised CleanPeak Energy on its acquisition of 100% of Sustainable Energy Infrastructure (SEI), an Australian solar and battery storage owner backed by Australian Retirement Trust and CareSuper. Partner Ron Smooker led the deal team: Maddocks