Murdoch v Crikey … Round one … Public interest defence holds up … Application to strike out the pleadings rejected … Case management … Public interest defence has legs and arms … Why do titans need to crush their critics? … Another blockbuster   COMMENT: Furphy as rumour is WW1 not WW 2.

Vic Bar readers course and exam … Monstrously hard exam with high failure rate … Clogged readers’ course … Bulging waiting lists … Skewed demographic of bar entrants … The overflow … Barriers to entry … Joseph Friedman reports 

UN’s torture inspectors turn tail … Rebuffed in Queanbeyan … Snail like progress on compliance system … Funding snafu … Australia’s new human rights agenda takes a hit … Max Shanahan with the story 

NSW Law Society swaps sides to support the solicitor it had wanted struck off … NCAT out of line in trust account case … NSW Court of Appeal … Law Society’s original complaint lacked clarity … Max Shanahan reports 

Vic’s bar in ructions over election ticket … NSW bar loses another fine old hand … Bookshelves Brandis – a threat to the rule of law … Alarm on appeal filing fees … KC ordered out of court … Theodora reports 

The ins and outs of cannabis legalisation … Proposals from Greens senator David Shoebridge … Constitutional possibilities … Forget the states … Let the Commonwealth light-up … External affairs … Patents … Referral powers … Max Shanahan takes a puff 

Law Society of NSW … Election watch … Vote for a revamped council … Proxies and pressure … Lack of transparency on expenditures … Consultant babble … Other reforms are more pressing … Theodora reports 

Sweeping constitutional change for the Phillip Street lawyers’ temple … Handing control to the top dogs … Resistance mounts … AGM looms … Patronage possibilities … NZ Law Society loses a president … Cultural review … Theodora files