20% of private legal aid lawyers unsure if they will continue

Was this email forwarded to you?

Sign up for our free daily email newsletter at headnote.com.au

Daily wrap  

• ‘I buy my clothes at the op shop’: On the front line of a lawyer exodus over pay [SMH paywall]

  Parts of NSW in dire need of legal aid help are facing a lawyer drought. Low rates of pay are to blame.
   

  • NLA Private Practitioner Census 2024 Report | National Legal Aid
     

• 'Illegal practices' affected Adelaide City Council election result, judge finds - ABC News
   

• The simple question that triggered a bitter culture war now goes to the UN - as Aussie founder fights to keep her app a safe space for females-only

  Giggle app founder Sall Grover has lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, challenging a Federal Court ruling that found 'sex is changeable'.
   

• Super Retail seeking to hide ‘dirty laundry’, court hears [The Australian]

  The owner of Supercheap Auto and BCF has been accused of trying to suppress key details of an alleged settlement with two former legal executives.
   

• Maurice Blackburn losses mount amid class action failures [AFR paywall]

  Contingency fees were expected to boost plaintiff firms, but the recent reversal in results has exposed the high-risk, high-reward strategy.
   

• Prosecutors drop child sex charges against ex-Nationals MP James Hayward - ABC News
   

• Magistrate criticises ACT police over delayed investigation into sexual offence by Uber driver - ABC News
   

Editor’s picks

• ‘David and Goliath’ firm nabs six partners from global outfit [AFR paywall]

  Piper Alderman has hired six partners from Squire Patton Boggs, as the international legal market in Australia undergoes another shift.
   

• Appointment to the Federal Court of Australia - Graeme Hill SC | Our ministers – Attorney-General’s portfolio
   

• Re-appointment of Sia Lagos as Chief Executive Officer & Principal Registrar of the Federal Court of the Australia
   

• Limits on State taxing powers - the Vanderstock excise case - Anne Twomey - YouTube

  This video is about the constitutional limit on the States imposing an excise. It discusses the historical meaning of excise and how the High Court has changed its interpretation over time.
   

• 27 March 2025 - Courting danger: Threats to judicial independence, authority and the administration of justice in Australia - 2025 Seabrook Chambers Public Lecture
    

• Referring Legislative Matters to the Commonwealth: Four Common Drafting Issues - John Ledda

  The current Commonwealth statute book is replete with legislation that relies on the Commonwealth’s legislative power under s 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution to make laws with respect to matters referred to the Commonwealth Parliament by Australian state parliaments. This article examines uncertainties concerning the scope of the power by focusing on four drafting issues that legislative drafters have commonly needed to consider when preparing legislation for schemes that rely on the power. It is argued that these uncertainties are either overstated or can be addressed using appropriate drafting techniques. Consequently, the power offers a constitutionally sound cooperative mechanism that allows the Commonwealth and the states to legislate for issues of national concern when they individually have insufficient legislative power to do so.
   

• ‘She is evil’: Amy Coney Barrett under attack by right wing after USAid ruling | US supreme court | The Guardian
   

Like our free newsletter? The best way to support us is to tell your colleagues about our newsletter!

We love feedback - [email protected]