Federal government legal spend shifted this year. Clayton Utz held top spot with $57m, but Thomsons stole the show, jumping 627% to $40m after swooping on Ashurst's gutted Canberra team. Gilbert + Tobin cracked the top 10 again, while MinterEllison copped the biggest fall, down to $14m: Point Blank

⚖️ Corporate: Former Berndale Capital Securities director Stavro D'Amore has been sentenced to three years and ten months in prison, with a non-parole period of 23 months, for dishonesty offences committed between 2017 and 2018. The Federal Court heard D'Amore improperly transferred $681,496.98 in client funds and authorised false statements to ASIC, claiming Berndale held overseas accounts that either didn't exist or were grossly inaccurate. Berndale collapsed in December 2018, owing clients more than $8.9m. Justice Abraham said victims of this kind of conduct extend beyond those who lost money directly, to the investing public at large. Co-director Daniel Kirby was sentenced for the same misconduct last year: ASIC

⚖️ Online Safety: X Corp has beaten the eSafety Commissioner in the Federal Court, with Justice Elizabeth Raper ruling a platform can't be both a “social media service” and a “relevant electronic service” under the Online Safety Act. That means the 2024 RES Standard, which targets messaging apps over child abuse and pro-terror content, doesn't apply to X, since it's already covered by the Social Media Services Code. The judge found the Act was drafted to stop double-regulation and preserve a consultative, industry-led model, not let the regulator stack a second standard on top: Lawyerly

⚖️ Costs: A solicitor's equitable lien over a costs order crystallises the moment the order's made, no fund required. In Enyo Lawyers v Island Resorts, Enyo had acted for a body corporate that won costs orders in 2022 but was never paid, and a receiver was later appointed over the client. The trial judge refused Enyo priority because no "special fund" existed. Later, the Queensland Court of Appeal unanimously overturned that finding, holding Enyo's lien attached to monies recovered under the specific costs orders its work had produced. The causal link required is low: solicitors just need to show they acted in the proceeding that produced the order: Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Australian wages are expected to rise 3.2% over the year to June, but that’s still trailing inflation at around 4%, meaning living standards keep sliding. Unemployment is expected to hold around 4.4%, although CBA sees it climbing to 4.7% by late 2027. Economists say stronger productivity growth is needed if wages are going to rise without fuelling more inflation: Capital Brief

Australia's gig economy just got what the government calls "world-leading" protections. The Fair Work Commission approved a new standard requiring Uber Eats, DoorDash and other food delivery drivers to earn a minimum $31.30 an hour, including time spent waiting for orders: The Guardian

💵 Blackbird has locked in more than $1bn for its sixth fund, putting it within touching distance of its own $1.032bn Aussie VC fundraising record. Gilbert + Tobin advised on the fund formation, which targeted $1.2bn: Capital Brief

🥛 Synlait could be heading off-market, with Fonterra reportedly working alongside 19.8% shareholder A2 Milk on a take-private of the struggling $187m dairy producer. Synlait’s shares have collapsed from $11+ in 2018 to 31c: The Australian

💰 Brookfield is back hunting a major Aussie wealth deal, entering active due diligence on $5bn-plus Colonial First State and hiring Citi to prep its bid after Mercer dropped out of the auction: AFR