Mallesons topped the 2026 FT Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific index at 95.3/100, with G+T, MinterEllison and Corrs all making the top five. The best firms are thinking beyond just AI. Minters CEO Virginia Briggs says pricing must be anchored in the value delivered, not hours recorded. Mallesons CEP Renae Lattey said talking about target hours "feels like you're in the Middle Ages now": Point Blank

⚖️ Disputes: In Jako Industries v Perkins, the WA Supreme Court has clarified when an expert determination crosses into arbitration territory. Forrester J upheld a binding ~$10.3m expert determination, rejecting Jako's argument that the expert had strayed into arbitral territory by weighing competing expert evidence, applying a burden of proof to resolve disputed quantities, and deciding credibility on the papers without affording cross-examination. The expert was found to have stayed in lane. The real test isn't whether the process resembles arbitration in the abstract. It's whether the expert acted within the process the parties contractually agreed.

⚖️ Banking: A solicitor's certificate confirms that independent legal advice was given before a loan, mortgage or guarantee was signed. But when does solicitor liability actually arise? Courts can expect practitioners to explain the real-world consequences of a transaction, not just its legal mechanics. In some cases, solicitors should counsel clients against proceeding where risks can't be properly assessed without financial information. Liability can arise where a solicitor failed to warn a guarantor they could lose their home, acted for both borrower and guarantor, didn't arrange an interpreter for a non-English speaker, or failed to probe whether the guarantee offered any benefit to the guarantor: Moores

⚖️ Employment: The Federal Circuit and Family Court has handed down the first decision under the Fair Work Act's sexual harassment provisions. The Court found a sole cafe director personally liable for sexually harassing a 23-year-old casual employee. Justice Mansfield ordered $50k in non-economic compensation and a $9k penalty, with aggravating factors including the director's position of authority and the applicant's vulnerability as a young migrant with limited financial resources. Section 527D, introduced via the Respect@Work reforms in 2023, creates a standalone prohibition on sexual harassment "in connection with" work, broader than the old "at work" threshold: Gadens

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Next time you're about to vent to your work bestie on Teams or Slack, think again. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff just admitted he uses Slack's AI to query "what are my employees upset about?" and gets a real-time answer. "All your DMs, all your channels, we're reading that now through the AI." Benioff isn’t alone. Meta is tracking keystrokes and mouse movements, and Microsoft's Copilot is scanning Teams, Outlook and emails for insights: Business Insider

Classical pianist Jayson Gillham is in the Federal Court this week, suing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra after it cancelled his concert following remarks he made onstage about Israeli forces killing Palestinian journalists in Gaza. MSO says the comments were "unauthorised" and unprofessional. Gillham says cancelling over his political beliefs was unlawful adverse action: TDA

⚡ NextEra Energy is acquiring Dominion Energy in a ~$US124bn deal, one of the largest mergers in US history. The tie-up hands NextEra control of the Virginia grid, anchoring 150-plus data centres powering America's AI build-out. Regulators are already circling, with a $US4.8bn break fee on the line if it falls over: FT

⛏️ Anglo American has announced that it’s offloading its Queensland coking coal portfolio to British-registered newcomer Dhilmar Limited for up to $5.4bn, with $3.2bn upfront and a further $2.2bn tied to coking coal price thresholds.

⚡ Rio Tinto is prepping a multi-billion-dollar sale of its Pilbara power infrastructure, with KKR and Canadian pension fund La Caisse already expressing interest ahead of an August launch: AFR