Brett Walker SC kicks things off for BRS defamation appeal

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Daily wrap  

Quiet news day yesterday

• Ben Roberts-Smith appeal: defamation trial evidence was ‘speculative’ and ‘contradictory’, court hears | Ben Roberts-Smith | The Guardian
   

  • Brett Walker SC is appearing for Ben Roberts-Smith, Nicholas Owens SC for the respondents (both barristers are from Fifth Floor St James’ Hall Chambers).
     

  • A copy of Owens SC’s CV can be found here. He has a LLM from Harvard and was a speech writer for the Governor-General Sir William Dean in 2000.
     

  • The appeal continues today. Parts of the trial may be live streamed on the Federal Court’s Youtube channel (subject to the court being closed to the public).
     

• Kurtley Beale trial: woman aired sexual assault allegations on family trip to buy wedding dress, court hears | Australia news | The Guardian
   

• Man accused of throwing beloved chicken to alligator will plead not guilty to animal cruelty, NSW court hears | New South Wales | The Guardian
   

• WA school teacher jailed for sexual abuse of teenage student after messaging on Snapchat
   

Editor’s picks

• Courtaid.ai | MVP
   

  • Courtaid.ai, an Australian AI search engine/chat bot using Australia court data. Right now it is querying 40,000+ cases from the NSW Supreme court and Australian Federal court. It provides answers to legal questions with footnoted authorities and hyperlinks to decisions. Just login using a google account to try for free.
     

  • We’ve given it a go and its actually does quite a good job of distilling the law and providing authorities for propositions (if it’s given the right question).
     

• 5 February - the Hon Andrew Rogers AO KC: a condolence message from Chief Justice Andrew Bell 
   

• NZYQ: Consistency, Continuity, and Human Rights  — Australian Public Law - Harry Sanderson and Meghan Malone
   

• Reassessing ‘Reliance Damages’: The High Court Appeal in Cessnock City Council v 123 259 932 Pty Ltd (pdf) - David Winterton
   

• Can you "appear" in Court by Audio Visual Link while driving your car? No! Meek J in Wang v Yu [No 2] [2024] NSWSC 4 at [45] - Lee Aiken (Linkedin)
   

• Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Westpac Banking Corporation (Penalty Hearing) [2024] FCA 52
   

  • Judgment of Lee J ordering Westpac ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of $1.8 million and ASIC’s costs fixed at $5.4 million.
     

  • CORPORATIONS – Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) – largest interest rate swap deal in Australian financial market history – where plaintiff (ASIC) alleges Westpac contravened various statutory norms under Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) (ASIC Act) and Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) – insider trading – unconscionable conduct – failure to comply with AFSL obligations

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