Lawyer jailed for cocaine bust

Clutz rolls out Harvey firmwide

HSF flags an uptick in takeovers

A former government liaison officer at Dentons, has been banned from the legal profession after being jailed for 10 years in Abu Dhabi. He was caught smuggling cocaine and amphetamines through Zayed International Airport. The SRA said that while the conviction wasn’t related to legal work, coke trafficking is “undesirable” for future involvement in law: Legal Cheek

Clayton Utz has rolled out Harvey firmwide, after a 100-lawyer pilot confirmed its power to transform contract review, drafting and due diligence. The move coincides with Harvey opening its first Sydney office, reinforcing its commitment to the Australian market: Clayton Utz

You either “get better value work” or “you get mass dystopia and everyone’s fired.” For the sake of our bank balances, we sincerely hope the former. Harvey AI founder Winston Weinberg says we’re at a tipping point, and it’s associate training that’s about to change. Instead of doc review, juniors will learn “in boardrooms, in an actual trial, presenting oral arguments”: Capital Brief

Johnson Winter Slattery has appointed Bhavini Sundarjee as a partner in its real estate team. Based in Sydney, she brings fund-side capital transactions experience across office, logistics and retail. Bhavini previously worked as senior legal counsel at Charter Hall, and now joins Samantha Daly’s team advising major funds and sovereign investors: JWS

The High Court will now weigh in on honest concurrent use, granting Zip Co leave to appeal the Firstmac v Zip decision. Firstmac, a Brisbane non-bank lender, argued Zip’s “Zip” marks overlapped with its long-standing “Firstmac Zip” brand, and the Full Federal Court found Zip hadn’t shown enough “objective honesty” when adopting its mark. Since that ruling, examiners have tightened practice, requiring proof of due diligence (aka searches, legal advice, and written records) before first use. The High Court will decide how far applicants must go to prove honesty. Until then, businesses banking on honest concurrent use should assume benefit of the doubt is gone and build their DD record from day one: HopgoodGanim

ASIC is turning the screws on private markets, with reforms targeting valuations, conflicts, and retail access. Its case against Equity Trustees over the Shield Master Fund is a wake-up call: trustees must go beyond disclosure reviews to rigorous interrogation of structures, valuations, liquidity, and related-party roles. The Court confirmed ASIC can lean on s912A(1)(a) to enforce its consumer protection priority, requiring financial services be delivered efficiently, honestly and fairly. With sophisticated investor thresholds also under review, funds should tighten governance, uplift reporting, and stress-test compliance now: Clayton Utz

The Federal Court has held that disclosure of investigation findings in ASX announcements partially waived legal professional privilege over a third-party report. While the report was prepared for the dominant purpose of obtaining legal advice, referring to its findings publicly was conduct inconsistent with confidentiality. The decision is a clear reminder that public disclosures can waive privilege, particularly when deployed to manage litigation risk or market reputation. Companies should tread carefully when referencing legal or investigative reports in ASX releases, as even partial disclosure can open the door to waiver arguments.

Morgan Stanley surveyed 500 summer interns and found Gen Z isn’t buying the loud luxury look. Almost 40% said they’re loyal to no handbag brand, while Stanley cups are out, Hoka sneakers and Aritzia are in. The bank has tracked intern tastes for seven years, pitching the class as the “next generation of disrupters” shaping future markets. Here’s the trends: Business Insider

At the Pacific Islands Forum, China was formally uninvited but still lobbied hard on the sidelines, part of what Aussie officials call a “knife fight” for influence. Beijing wants ports, airstrips and police ties across the region, with the Solomons a key beachhead. A compromise ban on all outside observers kept the bloc intact, but the contest with Australia and NZ is far from over: Economist

UK PM Keir Starmer has dumped ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson after emails revealed he offered support to Jeffrey Epstein during his 2008 sex offence probe, telling him he was “here whenever you need” and to “remember the Art of War”. Dubbed the “Prince of Darkness”, Mandelson had already twice quit Tony Blair’s government over misconduct allegations: ABC News

HSF Kramer’s: M&A report just dropped. 59 control deals in FY25 kept pace with the five-year average, even with elections and global jitters. Takeovers jumped to 39%, nearly half of all bids launched with premiums north of 50%, and energy & resources dominated deal flow. With XRG’s ~$30bn Santos tilt on deck, FY26 could be even bigger: HSF Kramer

Alinta Energy: has been approached by Singapore’s Sembcorp over a possible deal, even as its owner Chow Tai Fook weighs a $10bn merger with EnergyAustralia. Talks are still early, but both tracks highlight Alinta’s hunt for partners to bankroll its renewables push and manage the transition from coal and gas: AFR

AC Industries: the family-owned maker of mine ventilation systems is hunting a private equity buyer at $100m+. With ~$15m annual earnings and clients in 20 countries, the 34-year-old business has Miles Advisory running the sale, with its co-owner keen to stay on post-deal: AFR

Fortescue scrapped 32 UK graduate roles at the last minute, leaving candidates who’d already moved to Oxford stranded. The company blamed “evolving business priorities” and offered partial comp, but it’s another stumble in Twiggy Forrest’s troubled decarbonisation push: AFR

BHP is unlikely to crash Anglo and Teck’s $53bn copper merger, with CEO Mike Henry signalling the miner has “moved on” from big-ticket plays. Instead, BHP is doubling down on organic copper growth, including a $2bn Lundin stake in Argentina and squeezing more out of Escondida: Mining Weekly

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio says investors should hold 10–15% of their portfolio in gold, warning that debt-laden markets resemble a clogged artery headed for a “heart attack”. Speaking ahead of Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Dalio said gold’s crisis-proof, uncorrelated qualities make it a shield as US debt servicing “squeezes out other spending” and geopolitical risks mount: Reuters

Super funds are ramping up FX hedging, now covering 22% of offshore equities, up from 16% last year, as they brace for a stronger Aussie dollar. With $871bn invested overseas, that shift means nearly $100bn is shielded from currency swings. The move could itself push the $A up, with strategists tipping it to reach US68–73¢ by 2026: AFR

Hostplus has quietly halved its Lendlease holding to ~2%, selling about $70m worth of shares since February, even as it campaigns to strip Lendlease of its $10bn APPF property funds. The sell-down has angered Lendlease, but Hostplus is backing a Mirvac tilt: AFR

MCoBeauty’s ex-head of finance is suing, alleging he was forced into 16-hour days, 7 days a week, once even falling asleep at 1am and suffering second-degree burns from a hot water spill at his desk. He says he was bullied while helping founder Shelley Sullivan sell to billionaire Dennis Bastas, before being sacked mid-deal: AFR

OpenAI execs will meet Treasurer Jim Chalmers next week as the $750bn AI giant expands into Australia with a new Sydney office. The talks follow a surge in local AI investment, now matching mining. Canberra is pitching Australia as a regional AI hub for Southeast Asia: Capital Brief

A French lawmaker has asked prosecutors to launch a criminal probe into TikTok, accusing it of “endangering the lives” of young users. The move follows a parliamentary inquiry into the app’s psychological impact on minors and a 2024 lawsuit by families who said it pushed their children toward suicide: Reuters