This is the 34th episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts. In this episode we discuss the upcoming pilot on public access to court documents, the new disclosure survey, and some important decisions on service of proceedings, termination of contracts, contractual interpretation and conditions precedent. This episode is hosted by Maura McIntosh, a knowledge counsel in our commercial litigation team, who is joined by James Farrell, a disputes partner, and Chris Cox, a senior associate in our disputes team.

Below you can find links to our blog posts on the developments and cases covered in this podcast.

• UK Commercial Court pilot will mean many more court documents publicly available by default from 1 January 2026
• Disclosure Review Working Group seeks views on disclosure under PD 57AD
• Court of Appeal confirms defendant not required to take any steps in proceedings unless claim form validly served in time
• Court of Appeal confirms party cannot waive contractual right to terminate unless it is actually aware of the right
• Court of Appeal finds loss of bargain damages were available on termination for non-repudiatory breach of contract under express contractual provision
• Court of Appeal overturns High Court’s interpretation of deferred consideration clause
• Supreme Court finds there is no principle in English law that a condition precedent to payment of a debt will be deemed fulfilled if fulfilment was prevented by a party's own breach

See podcast episode transcript here.

In this episode, we cross examine Dr Bruce Tonkin, Chief Executive Officer at auDA. Dr Tonkin is one of Australia’s true internet pioneers and has been at the forefront of the cyber security discourse in Australia for a number of decades.

He is now the CEO at .au Domain Administration, the organisation endorsed by the Australian Government to manage the .au domain.

We have a great conversation, talking about Bruce’s career journey (and the evolution of the internet here in Australia), the role of auDA and the importance of protection of the .au domain. You may be surprised how much we depend on auDA as part of our interconnected business community. We also talk to the effective role of a lawyer in a cyber incident.

Bruce also shares some really interesting insights into the global domain space, including the unexpected economic benefits of having a country code like “tv” or “ai”. Fascinating!

It was a privilege to speak with Bruce. Thanks again for listening. This is Cross Examining Dr Bruce Tonkin. Here we go…

This podcast explores how ESG and energy challenges are being addressed in data centre design and development, with a focus on innovation during the AI boom.

Speakers: Tim Healey - Partner, HSF Kramer, JP Attlee – Senior Associate, HSF Kramer, Ben Worth, Senior Legal Counsel, Global Switch, Steven Parker – Solutions Engineering Director, Global Switch