Lawyers push AI education reform

DLA trainee leaves over burnout

Workers allege laptop spying

Just weeks into her training contract, DLA Piper UK recruit Inês Pinheiro has quit, citing burnout and the grind of an “insecure overachiever” culture. Pinheiro, turned to LinkedIn, going viral after sharing her fears of Big Law. She said she collapsed in week one and is stepping away to recover. Her story has reignited debate on mental health in law firms: NB

A LexisNexis/ALITA survey of APAC lawyers found just 15% think legal education should stay the same, with 74% pushing for AI-focused reform. Respondents want degrees that teach practical AI use cases, not just theory. In-house lawyers were the strongest backers of change (85%): Artificial Lawyer

KPMG has boosted its M&A tax bench in Melbourne, poaching Enzo Coia from Deloitte and Chris Hogger from PwC. Coia, who advised on BHP’s $6.2bn coal sale and Iberdrola’s $841m Infigen takeover, teams up with ex-ATO man Hogger on 1 Oct. It follows a spree of recent lateral hires: AFR

Bird & Bird has added Chris Case as a Sydney partner in its commercial team, sharpening its focus on defence, energy and utilities. Case brings chops in defence procurement, infrastructure delivery and outsourcing. His hire continues the firm’s local growth push, following new partner and associate additions in its projects and defence teams: Lawyers Weekly

ASIC has taken RACQ Insurance to the Federal Court, alleging it misled customers on more than 573,000 renewal notices by inflating the “last premium paid” figure so new prices appeared smaller. In one case, a real 40% hike was made to look like 1.5%. ASIC says RACQ knew of the practice for five years but failed to act, undermining pricing transparency and consumer trust. The case follows RACQ’s $10m penalty in 2023 and sits within ASIC’s broader crackdown on misleading pricing, which has already seen insurers repay $815m to 5.6m customers: ASIC

More than five years on, companies are still hitting technical snags under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). The regime requires entities to report on risks and actions across owned and controlled entities, but mapping these can be complex in multi-layered groups. Allens gives the rundown on the common complexities - Consultation obligations mean subsidiaries with higher risk may need separate engagement. Inconsistent reporting periods post-merger also cause headaches, with limited guidance on avoiding gaps. And apparently, many programs don’t yet match the Act’s aims, with companies often disclosing goals without showing how they test effectiveness, or shift compliance onto suppliers: Allens

The ACCC has launched Federal Court action against US-based JustAnswer, alleging it misled consumers from 1 November 2022 by promoting access to its Q&A service for just $2 via a chat widget, while automatically enrolling them in $50–$90 monthly subscriptions. Fees were only disclosed late in the sign-up process. The regulator also says JustAnswer falsely implied affiliation with the Fair Work Ombudsman and government agencies. with The ACCC is seeking penalties, injunctions, compensation and compliance orders: ACCC

An Aussie company has been accused of turning staff laptops into listening devices, with software recording screens and conversations near the mic. The company says workers consented, but two staff were sacked after complaining and have now lodged Fair Work, police and OAIC cases. The saga highlights calls for new laws, as “bossware” surges in remote work: ACS

Jimmy Kimmel Live! returns Tuesday after Disney yanked it over Kimmel’s remarks on activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The host struck a deal with Bob Iger and will address the controversy on-air. The suspension followed FCC threats and backlash from Nexstar and Sinclair, but Hollywood and even Republican senators slammed it as intimidation. Disney stock shed $4bn after the show was pulled: BBC

Another tech-fuelled rally pushed the S&P 500 to its 28^th record this year, while gold hit a fresh peak. Nvidia juiced AI optimism, pledging up to $100bn for OpenAI. The Aussie and kiwi ticked higher as the USD eased. And with a local manufacturing index due, ASX futures are pointing to early gains for Aussie stocks: Bloomberg

Distressed wind and solar farms: are piling up for sale as grid bottlenecks, delays and negative power prices crush returns. John Laing and Elliott Green Power have already quit, while European giants are scaling back. Still, with Canberra’s 82% renewables target by 2030, cashed-up PE and pensions see a buyer’s market in batteries and storage-backed projects: AFR

KMD Brands: is being eyed up by Brett Blundy who’s quietly trying to buy into the $150m owner of Kathmandu and Rip Curl, whose shares have slumped to 21.5c. The retail veteran has built stakes in City Chic and Best & Less before pouncing with takeovers, and investors say his interest could shake up a struggling board already under pressure: The Australian

Edify Energy: has been snapped up by Canadian pension giant La Caisse for $1.1bn, giving it a long-sought foothold in Aussie renewables. The deal funds two big solar-and-battery projects in Queensland and an 11GW pipeline - it’s a green sign global investors are piling into Australia’s clean sprint: AFR

MinRes’ new chair Malcolm Bundey is in line for an $11m payday, with 780k stock options set to vest if shares stay above $40. Unusual for a non-exec, the deal comes as Bundey tries to stabilise a miner that’s posted a $900m loss, is under ASIC scrutiny, and has seen five directors quit this year: AFR

Santos has started production at its $4.5bn Barossa field, piping first gas into the Darwin LNG plant after a year-long shutdown. The move follows ADNOC’s $19bn bid collapse, with investors watching if Barossa’s 3.7m tonnes of LNG a year can lift returns. Critics call it one of Australia’s dirtiest projects, making it a flashpoint in the climate debate: Bloomberg

UBS is lining up a new A$ AT1 bond issue, with ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac as joint leads. Priced around 7%, the notes come despite APRA banning CoCos for Aussie banks after they were wiped in Credit Suisse’s 2023 collapse. Still, UBS raised $2bn in August, showing investors aren’t scared of the risk premium: Bloomberg

HSBC has opened a 24,000 sq ft wealth hub in Dubai, its biggest wealth play in 20 years. With 90 relationship managers chasing high-net-worth clients, the bank’s tapping the UAE’s millionaire inflows and growing China-Middle East trade corridor. The move cements the UAE as a priority $1bn profit market, and underscores HSBC’s Asia-ME pivot: SCMP

CBRE is being sued by senior manager Damian Frazzica, who claims he was pushed aside after raising concerns about a business leader who quit last year. The firm says the allegations are “without merit” and will fight them in court. The claim comes just weeks after rival agency JLL axed its CEO over misconduct claims, putting a spotlight on agency culture: AFR

ADIA has put the Novotel and ibis Darling Harbour hotels on the block for $500m+, with Salter Brothers pushing a scheme for 1,000 apartments and two new hotels. A Pullman and Mama Shelter brand are flagged, but mogul Jerry Schwartz is warning against turning a tourism precinct into another residential free-for-all: The Australian

Nvidia will pump up to US$100bn into OpenAI, funding data centres with 10GW of power - about New York City’s peak demand. Nvidia gets equity, OpenAI gets the chips it needs to fuel ChatGPT’s 700m weekly users. Shares jumped 3.9%, cementing Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company: Bloomberg

Aussie chip maker Morse Micro has landed $88m in fresh capital, led by Japan’s MegaChips, with the federal government tipping in $35m. The raise pegs the Sydney start-up at $500m, funding the scale-up of its long-range Wi-Fi chips. With losses of $63m in 2 years, it’s banking on exports to turn the corner: AFR