Law grads trail IB by $65k

Ex-PwC CEO barred for 4 years

Court covers Banksy's judicial mural

Grads in investment banking are pocketing $170k on average. Yep, ~$65k more than law. But the grind’s steeper too. IBs like Morgan Stanley and RBC offer ~$195k packages. ABL is a clear legal outlier, as most top law firms sit around the $112k mark. Add patchy bonuses in law, and IB wins. But sleep is worth more, right? Aussie Corporate

From Jack Dorsey to 23andMe to NPR, elite Gibson Dunn partner Michael Bopp is the US lawyer CEOs call when Congress comes knocking. A veteran GOP investigator, Bopp’s mock hearings, prep tapes and strategy have helped execs dodge landmines, including keeping Ivy League presidents off witness lists: AFR

King & Wood Mallesons has lured Andrew Sommer, one of the country’s most in-demand indirect tax specialists, as a senior consultant in Sydney. Formerly at Clayton Utz, Sommer brings 24 years of partnership-level experience and deep GST expertise across sectors. His hire caps off a flurry of senior additions as KWM deepens its tax bench: Lawyers Weekly

PwC Australia’s ex-CEO, has been banned for four years from practising as a tax agent over his role in the firm’s now-infamous tax leaks scandal. The Tax Practitioners Board found he oversaw a “widespread culture” of misusing confidential government info, breaching the Code of Conduct. Seymour denies wrongdoing, but the TPB says he failed to act with integrity or manage conflicts: The Australian

The WA Supreme Court has handed down one of the highest-value unfair contract terms (UCT) rulings to date, letting Mr Tomasso keep a $5.5m profit he made trading on a test market glitch in IG Markets’ platform. The Court found Term 11 of IG’s user agreement, which allowed it to void trades based on “obvious errors”, was… wait for it… unfair and therefore void. It gave the platform rights to cancel deals but didn’t grant clients any reciprocal protection, creating a “significant imbalance”. The decision comes after the 2023 reforms removed the price cap on “small business contracts,” meaning more high-value UCT claims are now possible: Clayton Utz

The Federal Court clarified the scope of directors’ duties under the Corporations Act. Justice Jackman confirmed that the fiduciary duty to act bona fide in the company’s interests still exists, despite the High Court authority that suggests duties are proscriptive rather than prescriptive. He also cautioned against branding s 181(1) “objective vs subjective”. Instead, a director complies if they honestly and rationally believe their conduct is in the company’s best interests. That is a decision a reasonable director in that position could have made. The ruling reinforces that good faith is more than belief. It must also pass the pub test.

An interesting practice point has come from the PointsBet saga. The Takeovers Panel has declined to conduct proceedings when Betr challenged the board’s decision to accelerate the vesting of PRs, which lifted rival bidder MIXI’s stake by 3.09%. Betr argued the move skewed the contest and undermined a competitive market. The Panel disagreed, noting the shares were validly issued under PointsBet’s equity plan and would likely have flowed into MIXI’s bid anyway. Cancelling them, it said, risked distorting the market more than it helped.

Banksy’s latest mural, which depicts a judge beating a protester with a gavel, appeared outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice before being swiftly covered up by staff. The work, thought to reference pro-Palestine protests, was confirmed on Banksy’s Instagram. Officials say it must go due to the court’s listed building status, but critics call it a blatant act of censorship: The Guardian

Billionaire Kerry Stokes has been ordered to pay $13.5m in Nine’s legal costs after bankrolling Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation case against the SMH and The Age. Stokes, via his private firm ACE, funded the disgraced soldier’s original trial. The costs order avoids the release of thousands of emails between Stokes, his fixer Bruce McWilliam and Roberts-Smith’s legal team: AFR

After 17 years of legal sparring, the Katy Perry v Katie Perry trade mark fight reaches the High Court. The singer first tried to block designer Katie Taylor’s “Katie Perry” mark in 2008. The designer won at trial, lost on appeal, and now the High Court will tackle big questions on reputation, confusion and trade mark discretion. Another great piece by Michael Pelly: Capital Brief

Anglo American: will merge with Canada’s Teck Resources in a zero-premium deal, creating one of the biggest mining groups in a decade. Anglo holders take 62.4% of the newco, Teck 37.6%, with Anglo also handing out a $US4.5bn dividend. Teck has a US$17.2bn market cap, while Anglo fought off a US$49bn approach by BHP last year. The copper-heavy combo, long rumoured, could still attract rival bids despite unanimous board backing: Bloomberg

Woolworths: is quietly testing buyer interest in Big W, with execs and bankers sounding out suitors. Names floated include Best & Less backer Brett Blundy, NZ’s Briscoes, and PE shops like Anchorage, Allegro, Platinum and Oaktree. With $4.1bn sales but patchy profits, the chain may finally be carved out after years of speculation: The Australian

Clarus Group: is set to change hands in a $2bn NZ deal, with Brookfield and Powerco in advanced talks to buy Igneo’s gas and electricity distributor. Powerco will carve out Firstlight Network while Brookfield takes the rest, adding to its global pipeline spree: AFR

BHP will settle an Aussie shareholder class action for $110m tied to the 2015 Fundão dam collapse in Brazil, which killed 19 and caused mass environmental damage. The claim covered investors between 2012–15 who alleged losses after the Samarco JV failure. BHP says there’s no admission of liability and expects insurance to cover most of the payout: MiningWeekly

A new report says Aussie miners are two decades behind. Miners now spend $5.50 to earn $1, up from $3.50 two decades ago, as productivity slumps and regulatory hurdles rise. ABS data shows mining productivity has fallen four years straight, with Pilbara majors spending up to 70% more per tonne than in 2015. BHP and Woodside warn Australia risks losing ground to cheaper rivals: The Australian

The ABA says banks will cut interest-free days and hike card costs if the RBA bans surcharging and slashes interchange fees, which could wipe $900m a year from their revenues. Australians put $1tn on cards annually, generating $7bn in fees. The ABA argues the plan favours global payments giants like Apple Pay and Visa, while Macquarie has broken ranks, backing lower credit card costs: AFR

Aussie fintech Zeller has launched a developer suite, ramping up its challenge to global rivals Stripe and Adyen. Backed by brands like Domino’s and The Cheesecake Shop, Zeller now serves 600+ franchisees and has doubled enterprise transaction volumes in a year. CEO Ben Pfisterer says fast support and local focus are its edge, with global expansion next: The Australian

Macquarie has launched a new $2.9bn housing fund, with plans to develop 5000 homes for over-50s downsizers over the next 5–7 years. Backed by global investors, the fund has already secured 2000 lots in QLD and NSW, starting with a $200m Flagstone project. It puts Macquarie up against Stockland and Mirvac: AFR

Large hospo player Accor is rebranding four Elanor-owned hotels in NSW and SA, marking its return to Byron Bay. The venues, still run by 1834 Hotels, will plug into Accor’s 100m-member loyalty program. For Elanor, whose stock is suspended as it pursues a $125m rescue, the move offers stability after a torrid year fending off takeover plays: AFR

Tesla’s $56bn pay plan was blocked in Delaware, prompting Tesla, Dropbox and others to quit the state. Delaware panicked, rewrote its corporate code, and Texas and Nevada followed suit, making it far easier to approve giant exec packages. Now Tesla, incorporated in Texas, has rolled out a jaw-dropping $1tn pay plan for Musk that’s unlikely to face a challenge: Business Insider

Atlassian and Canva insist AI isn’t behind recent job cuts, blaming restructures and tougher performance reviews instead. Atlassian has axed 350 customer roles since August, while Canva has made just four redundancies this year despite dozens of exits. Both are tightening cost controls ahead of Canva’s IPO and as Atlassian battles leaner AI-powered rivals: AFR