At $250k a day, battle of Perth billionaires is ultimate lawyers’ picnic
The showdown between the Wrights and Rineharts over billions of dollars of mining royalties has attracted a galaxy of legal talent to the West Australian Supreme Court at a cost of at least $250,000 a day.
The seven parties involved have engaged 27 barristers and forced the court to undertake extensive renovations to Courtroom No. 42, including ripping out rows of public seating to accommodate five rows of five-long desks.
The “big dog” among the 13 silks – barristers anointed as King’s Counsel or Senior Counsel – involved is Noel Hutley, SC, a Sydney-based barrister who has been Gina Rinehart’s advocate of choice for the past decade and can charge up to $35,000 a day.
Senior lawyers told The Australian Financial Review it can be hard to attract leading counsel to Perth for long trials – this case is expected to run until at least December – and that having the colourful Mr Hutley aboard was a coup.
He is one of seven barristers for Mrs Rinehart’s companies Hancock Prospecting and Hope Downs, with the other silks being Christian Bova ($9000), SC; Peter Brereton, SC ($15,000); Charles Colquhoun, SC ($9000). The most junior of the cohort is James Hutton, SC, who made silk in 2022 and would charge up to $8000 a day. They are being instructed by Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
Wright Prospecting has hired six barristers – three silks and three juniors – led by John Rowland, KC, who practised in Britain for 30 years before taking on an in-house role from 2011-2016 at law firm Clayton Utz, which is acting for Wright.
He played a supporting role for Australia’s richest silk, Allan Myers, KC, in previous cases involving Wright Prospecting and while not in the top echelon he would still command about $14,000 a day.
When the trial
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