McKinsey has publicly rebuked Aussie senior partner Chris Bradley after he told author Julia Carreon on LinkedIn the “glass cliff” (ie, the idea that women are more likely to land CEO jobs at struggling companies) is “a very convenient way to always be a victim in the rain”. The firm says it was “disappointed” and doesn't endorse the comments: Bloomberg

⚖️ Contract: A subcontractor’s boardroom meltdown has cost it a $205k adjudication win. In MacDonald & Co v Kharty, the general manager of Kharty Property Group (KPG) punched a table, swore at staff and told Mac & Co’s CFO, “You better watch your back”. Mac & Co terminated that day, skipping the contract’s show cause process. The Vic Supreme Court upheld the termination. The show cause process dealt with breaches, but not renunciation, where a party’s conduct shows it won’t honour the contract. KPG had an essential duty to work in good faith, including in meetings. The threats showed it wouldn’t, and destroyed trust between the parties, so KPG’s conduct amounted to renunciation: Supreme Court of Victoria, MinterEllison

⚖️ Regulatory: ASIC has published its 2026–27 supervisory priorities, telling banks, super funds, insurers and markets players what it’ll be looking at this year. Banks face a review of AI in customer-facing activities, plus scrutiny of lender incentives, broker oversight and how they treat customers in financial difficulty. Super trustees will see reviews of member services, advice fee deductions and retirement. Insurers can expect a look at “disaster chaser” claims firms, funeral insurance and life insurance service issues. For markets, the focus is integrity, innovation and fair outcomes across public and private markets. Chair Sarah Court wants boards to read the letters and plan accordingly: ASIC

⚖️ M&A: Management equity deals can split scheme votes if they’re big enough. In Re Planet Innovation, four founders agreed to buy $8m of shares in bidder Meiban’s group if the scheme became effective. Beach J ordered them to vote in a separate class. Size was key. In Re Mason Stevens, a similar deal was only 0.9% of scheme consideration and didn’t trigger a separate class. Here, it was 6.8%, and the founders held 33.38% of shares. That affects deal certainty — with the founders’ 33.38% stake voting separately, a rival holding just 16.66% could block the deal (assuming 100% voter turnout): Ashurst Perkins Coie, Federal Court, NSW Supreme Court

The Greens have a new leader. Former barrister David Shoebridge beat Mehreen Faruqi seven votes to four in the party’s first contested leadership ballot. His deputy, Steph Hodgins-May, is an ex-enviro lawyer. Shoebridge wants to “beat down One Nation” and “replace Labor”: ABC News

Bringing an iced latte to your clerkship interview? Bad idea? US recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen says it makes the interview look like “just a stop on your list of errands”. Half of TikTok thinks that’s nonsense, the other half calls it unprofessional, and the split runs neatly along generational lines. Thoughts? AFR

💰 Firmus Technologies’ $7.2bn float is set to hand bankers a $215m payday, the richest adviser haul in ASX history. Morgan Stanley, BofA, JPMorgan and Morgans are JLMs, splitting a 2.2% underwriting fee and 0.55% management fee, plus a discretionary 0.25% incentive: AFR

⚡ IFM Investors, the $291bn industry super-owned fund manager, is prepping a bid with Macquarie Capital for Rio Tinto’s $7bn Pilbara and Canadian power infrastructure sale. KKR is also circling. NBIOs are due to Morgan Stanley in two weeks: AFR

🚗 Transurban is buying Canadian pension fund CPP Investments’ stakes in three of Sydney’s busiest toll roads for $4.5bn. The deal takes Transurban to 75% of Westlink M7 and NorthConnex, and 60.5% of WestConnex: Bloomberg