No one wants the top job anymore. The Big Four's partner pipeline is running dry. Graduates are leaving for banking and tech, the path to partner keeps getting “pushed out further and further,” and AI is eating the junior work that used to train future rainmakers. Some smaller firms are already replacing grads with AI. If the same AI squeeze hits junior legal jobs, will law firms face the same problem? FT

⚖️ Corporate: ASIC has banned Victorian director Vincenzo Tesoriero from managing corporations for the maximum 5 years under s 206F of the Corps Act. The ban follows the failure of 20 companies he directed. It’s safe to say that the misconduct was extensive. He funnelled $2.1m in suspected fraudulent funds from Westpac through 11 companies, diverted nearly $197k from nine companies to pay his home mortgage, and failed to maintain adequate books across 17 entities: ASIC

⚖️ Contract/Construction: Two recent decisions show that bank guarantees aren’t bulletproof. In Synergy v GSA, Synergy had completed works and issued the final certificate, but the principal refused to return nearly $2m in guarantees and foreshadowed calling on them. The Court of Appeal granted an injunction restraining a principal from calling on the guarantees. It held that the “risk allocation device” label associated with bank guarantees doesn't trump the balance of convenience where there's a serious question to be tried. The Vic Supreme Court followed suit in Cobolt v Duke, restraining a call on guarantees where the principal had waited over two years before seeking to call on the security. Both courts gave real weight to reputational and cash flow prejudice to the contractor: HSF Kramer

⚖️ Consumer: HelloFresh and Youfoodz are pushing back on the ACCC's misleading conduct claims in the Federal Court. The ACCC alleges the meal kit companies told customers they could easily cancel subscriptions online, when in reality first deliveries could only be cancelled by contacting a service rep. That meant over 100k customers were charged despite cancelling. The companies say the case is too vague, arguing it's unclear exactly which website representations are allegedly misleading. Justice Moore was unsympathetic to their plan to call consumer behaviour experts, noting that how ordinary people read ordinary messages is “quintessentially for the court to determine”: Lawyerly

Arizona just became the first US state to file criminal charges against prediction market Kalshi. The platform lets people bet real money on everything from elections to the weather. Arizona Attorney General calls it illegal gambling. Kalshi says it's regulated by federal, not state laws. About a dozen states are lining up against the platforms, but the Trump administration has said it will defend federal jurisdiction over them: Bloomberg, Business Insider

The RBA pushed the cash rate to 4.1% on Tuesday in a tight 5-4 split, its second straight hike and a direct response to Iran-driven energy costs feeding into inflation. Governor Michele Bullock said the board’s worried about the knock-on effects of higher energy costs. Markets are pricing a 60% chance of another hike in May to 4.35%, which would wipe out every cut from last year: ABC, Bloomberg

🍀 KWM and Allens are on either side of Bain Capital's $550m acquisition of Perpetual's wealth management arm KWM's Peter Stirling led for Perpetual. Allens' Noah Obradovic co-led for Bain. The deal ends a two-and-a-half-year saga after a KKR deal blew up over a $500m tax bill and talks with Oaktree stalled. Third time’s the charm. Read our deep dive here: Point Blank

💳 Mastercard is acquiring London-based stablecoin platform BVNK for up to US$1.8bn (A$2.53bn). The deal lands just four months after BVNK's talks with a crypto exchange fell over at roughly US$2bn. Mastercard says BVNK will expand its digital assets offering and bridge traditional payments with blockchain: Capital Brief

🛏️ Koala co-founders Dany Milham and Mitch Taylor are sitting on a combined $117m stake as the online furniture retailer heads for a 31 March ASX debut. The company raised $20m at $3.40 a share, putting the market cap at $305m. Revenue's forecast to hit $332m this year. Barrenjoey is underwriting: AFR