US firms race to match mega bonuses

Big Four takes a growth + revenue hit

Bakers hires project finance head

The AFR Top 100 Accounting Firms shows the big end of town betting hard on AI to cut costs and shift from compliance to advice. But it comes as the big four take a hit, with revenue sliding 7% to $9.2bn, dragging total sector revenue down 1% to $15.1bn. BDO saw a boost to its growth at 12.3%: AFR

US Big Law is rushing to match Cravath’s year-end bonus scale, topping out at US$140k (A$216k), with firms like Paul Weiss, Skadden, Davis Polk and Milbank all stepping in line. Juniors snag between US$20k-US$115k (A$30k-A$178k) plus special bonuses, with some outfits offering hefty premiums for extreme hours. One outlier, Wilkinson Stekloff, is splashing up to $172.5k for senior associates: GPL

Baker McKenzie has snapped up Miles Wadley to lead its project finance bench in Melbourne, its third big banking hire this year. The former HSF Kramer partner is a heavyweight in infra and energy: Point BLank

Squire Patton Boggs has lost yet another partner, with workplace specialist Kim Hodge heading to Sparke Helmore alongside special counsel Steve Bowler. Hodge’s exit is Squire’s ninth in Australia this year, following departures to A&O Shearman, NRF, and Piper Alderman: Law.com

Disclosure/Regulatory: ASIC has sued former EOS CEO and director Ben Greene for breaching his duties after the defence and space tech company sat on a major revenue downgrade for 14 weeks. EOS had guided the market to $212.3m revenue for 2022, but by July the figure was likely closer to $164m, with maybe $27m upside. ASIC alleges Greene knew or should have known, failed to properly brief the board and then voted to delay disclosure. EOS has already admitted to a continuous disclosure breach. ASIC is chasing penalties, declarations and a disqualification order: ASIC

Procedure: Courts are sharpening their rules on genAI. The NSW Supreme Court has launched a review of its Gen 23 Practice Note, inviting submissions by 18 December 2025 as it reassesses how AI should be used in litigation. At the same time, the WA Supreme Court has issued detailed guidelines warning that genAI outputs are often inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or fabricated, and stressing that lawyers and litigants must verify all AI-assisted material, protect confidentiality, avoid misleading use, and never treat AI as a substitute for legal research, evidence or expert opinion.

Compliance/Penalty: One of Australia’s biggest super funds has been hit with a record penalty for claims-handling failures. The Federal Court ordered Cbus to pay $23.5m after systemic delays saw more than 7,000 death and TPD claims sit open - many for over a year - despite Cbus being on notice since 2022 that its outsourced administrator wasn’t meeting service levels. The Court found Cbus breached its duty to ensure claims were handled efficiently, honestly and fairly, failed to maintain accurate claims data, and failed to report breaches to ASIC on time. On top of the penalty (which will be funded from member-paid reserves), Cbus will pay $32m in remediation and must undertake a court-ordered compliance overhaul: ASIC, The Australian

Legal tech has gone all-in on New York. Legora has locked in a two-floor lease near Union Square, Harvey just tripled its footprint with a 10-year deal at One Madison, and Clio is hunting for space. With 187,000 lawyers in the city, founders say the strategy is simple: if you want to win the legal tech race, you win NYC: Business Insider

Fiona Brown’s case against the Commonwealth over its handling of the Brittany Higgins fallout won’t be heard until March 2027, locking in a four-week Federal Court trial. The government fronted with Kate Eastman SC, prompting Justice Nye Perram to note the unusual heavy firepower. Brown, represented pro bono, says the saga destroyed her career as the Commonwealth continues fielding top silks to fight parallel claims from Linda Reynolds: The Australian

Ashurst: is betting the IPO market finally wakes up in 2026, with partner Patricia Paton saying a strong US rebound and a busier-than-usual ASX are lifting confidence. Paton says banks are “getting good reception from investors” after a tough year. Ashurst is already working on five mid-size floats across resources, infra and tech. Confidence, she says, is starting to feed on itself: AFR

Brookfield and GIC: are circling the $3.2bn National Storage REIT. The storage giant — long a takeover magnet with 270-plus centres — is back in play as resilient storage assets draw global capital. National Storage is now in a trading halt as talks progress: The Australian

Gina Rinehart has blasted Rio Tinto and BHP, accusing them of sacrificing dividends on the “green altar” as they pour billions into net zero. With BHP alone set to drop $500m on decarbonisation and productivity flatlining, she’s rallying Australians to pressure government to ditch net zero in favour of cheaper power and groceries: AFR

NSW Farmers has hired senior counsel to challenge Santos’ $3.6bn Narrabri gas project, reviving the same legal team that helped torpedo Glencore’s Great Artesian Basin plans. With the Nats, Liberals and Labor now backing the project, the fight will zero in on the project’s groundwater impacts: The Australian

Macquarie’s deposit book has surged past $200bn, tripling household deposits in four years as savers flee the big four’s fees and bonus-rate traps. With 25% annual growth versus the market’s 8%, CBA and Westpac are quietly offering sweeter rates to stop the bleed: AFR

Tyro has reaffirmed its FY26 guidance, saying Q1 growth is running ahead of last quarter, with core verticals up 6% and Q2 shaping well ahead of Black Friday and Christmas. It’s still targeting $230m–$240m in gross profit and a 28.5%–30% EBITDA margin, as CEO Jon Davey exits in December and Nigel Lee prepares to take the reins: Capital Brief

Homeowners are set for another equity boost in 2026, with SQM tipping double-digit property price growth across Perth, Darwin, Brisbane and Adelaide as supply stays tight and demand keeps climbing. Melbourne is even forecast to beat Sydney for the first time in years. Base-case modelling assumes one or two late-2026 rate cuts: The Australian

Qantas and Virgin will ban inflight use of power banks and spare batteries from early December. Only recentky, a lithium battery ignited in an overhead compartment on a Sydney–Hobart Virgin flight, filling the cabin with smoke. Passengers can still carry two under 160Wh, but they can’t be used or charged: AFR

Google is back in the AI race, with demand rising for its specialised AI chips—one of the few real alternatives to Nvidia. News that Meta is in talks to use Google’s chips sent Alphabet’s value surging. Analysts say Google has shifted from dark horse to fully awake contender thanks to Gemini 3 and its full-stack AI push: Bloomberg

Pinterest is doubling down on search under CEO Bill Ready, after user numbers bounced back to 600 million monthly active users. The platform’s visual, AI-powered search is now winning Gen Z and driving two-thirds of ad revenue, as Ready argues the future of search is “more up for grabs than it has been in the 25 years”: Business Insider