London lawyers on Reddit are confessing what keeps them chained to Big Law. One spends £100k a year on private school fees for three kids, while another can’t go back to business class after a first-class upgrade. Another books Botox “so my look matches my billing rate”. Golden handcuffs, indeed: Reddit
Mergermarket’s 9M26 rankings are out. Mallesons advised on $100bn of deals in the league tables, almost half the Australasian market. It’s Mallies’ second win in a row after topping the 1H26 tables too. HSF Kramer came second on volume ($88bn) but topped deal count with 87. Elsewhere, MinterEllison’s deal count halved and Clayton Utz slid to 16th on volume: Point Blank
Sydney barrister Philip Bates could face jail after Justice Hammerschlag found him guilty of contempt. It began when Sir Anthony Mason Chambers sued him for $112k in unpaid floor fees. Ordered to produce tax records, he stalled seven months, then claimed they didn’t exist as he hadn’t lodged since 2016. Justice Hammerschlag called it “dishonest”: AFR
MinterEllison has launched Australia’s first class action against Meta, alleging Facebook and Instagram are addictive by design and harmed kids and teens. HSF Kramer is defending, with Litigation Lending Services footing the bill. Meta’s lost most similar cases in the US, but who knows how it’ll play out here: Point Blank
Freshfields managing partner Alan Mason wants to spin off its AI unit, Freshfields Lab, for outside investors or an IPO, citing legal tech valuations of 25 to 40 times revenue. Partner Ethan Klingsberg reckons it’s “better than Harvey and Legora”. Mason accidentally forwarded their emails to the “$Freshfields All” mailing list: FT, AFR