More than a dozen law firm partners in Perth including Paul Evans, Paul Lingard and Spencer Flay are on the move in an extraordinary period of change for the sector.
RCR Tomlinson's secured creditors may only receive around $70.6 million of the $230 million they are owed, and its unsecured trade creditors are likely to receive none of the $170.6 million they are owed, as administrators McGrathNicol recommended the failed engineering firm be liquidated.
The state government has confirmed it is in talks to reach a settlement that would end the long-standing dispute over the $1.7 billion of litigation proceeds from Alan Bond's failed Bell Group.
RCR Tomlinson has been served with a shareholder class action, as the engineering contractor requested a one week extension to its suspension from the ASX while it seeks to clarify its earnings outlook and funding requirements.
The Insurance Commission of Western Australia increased spending on the Bell Group litigation to $9.6 million last financial year, while also revealing in its annual report it has applied to the Supreme Court for a single trial to cover all related matters.
It was 20 years' ago this month that Perth's two largest law firms surprised the business community by merging their operations. Herbert Smith Freehills hosted many of the 50-plus partners who were there at the time to mark the occasion.
The state government has muscled up for the renewal of legal battles over the $1.7 billion Bell Group dispute, appointing a US law firm that promotes itself as being tougher and scarier than its peers to handle the matter.
