Australia's legal market looks rosy at 9.8% fee growth, but Thomson Reuters data tells three very different stories. Large firms like Gadens, Mills Oakley and Hall & Wilcox are the ones surging, with profits up 27.4% since FY22 and partnerships growing 30%+. The Big 8? Coasting on rate rises. Read the full breakdown on our website: Point Blank

⚖️ Employment: The High Court's recent decision is a wake-up call on termination risk. Vision Australia sacked an employee after a disciplinary process the trial judge called "a sham and a disgrace", then copped a $1.4m damages bill for psychiatric injury. The employer accepted a third party’s account, relied on prior allegations not put to the employee, and failed to give him a real chance to respond. The Court held that Vision's policies were incorporated into the employment contract because the contract required compliance with them, and breaching those procedures opened the door to compensation for psychological harm. Notably, an earlier deed of release from settled unfair dismissal proceedings didn't save Vision: Piper Alderman

⚖️ AI: As companies lean harder on AI tools to generate source code, logos and marketing material, a tricky IP question is emerging in M&A deals: does anyone actually own the output? Under the Copyright Act, copyright only subsists in works created by a human author with sufficient intellectual effort. That means AI-generated assets with minimal human input likely aren't protected. For buyers, that's a due diligence red flag; you could be paying for assets that aren’t exclusive. Sellers should document human involvement in key assets and tighten AI provider contracts to address IP ownership before heading to market: Lander & Rogers

⚖️ M&A/Takeovers: Got a surprise takeover bid landing on your desk? HSF Kramer has dropped a practical playbook for target boards fielding unsolicited proposals. Some key moves include preparing a takeover defence manual before you need one, keeping the Chair in listening mode during first contact, and not letting the bidder set the timeline. On disclosure, boards need to weigh whether announcing flushes out rival bidders or just invites hedge funds and media noise. And on exclusivity, tread carefully; the Takeovers Panel allows up to four weeks of "hard exclusivity" but boards should reserve that for exceptional circumstances only: HSF Kramer

While AI might not kill grads, a uni degree alone won't cut it anymore. Employers want proof you can actually use AI, not just a piece of paper. Accenture’s chief learning officer Majd Sakr reckons: "What will be replaced are people who don't speak AI." To back it up, Accenture built a 14-module digital training platform that scores employees on tech literacy on things like cybersecurity, data and agentic AI. "We are saying university degree – plus": AFR

AG Michelle Rowland is pushing legislation to grant spies immunity from prosecution if they breach national security secrecy laws while giving evidence to the Bondi Royal Commission. Existing laws meant spooks might face jail time for speaking up. Crossbenchers like Allegra Spender had been pushing hard on this, and the new protections should help the gov’s review of how our intel agencies dropped the ball: AFR

💰 Gilbert + Tobin and Allens acted on either side of one of Australia's largest private credit financings. Firmus (advised by G+T), the AI infrastructure outfit, locked in a US$10bn (A$14.2bn) debt facility led by Blackstone (advised by Allens) with Coatue backing. The funding will bankroll GPU clusters and data centres for the likes of OpenAI and Meta: Point Blank

📈 Ashurst reckons the Aussie dollar's 6% rally won't slow US dealmakers eyeing ASX targets. The firm's latest public M&A report shows foreign bidders featured in 63% of deals in 2025, up from 51% the prior year, with resources and tech the hot sectors. Head of M&A Neil Pathak is tipping more mid-market public-to-privates as private capital drives activity: AFR