Africa

Judge tosses $300M RICO suit against 2 major firms, saying it would be ‘futile’ for plaintiffs to amend complaint

Dentons and Boies Schiller Flexner have won dismissal of a $300 million racketeering lawsuit claiming that the law firms ran up legal fees by ignoring red flags suggesting that its former clients signed an invalid contract to build a power plant in West Africa.

Oct 2, 2025 9:20 AM CDT

Trump administration tells Supreme Court that judge defied its order allowing third-country deportations

The Trump administration told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that it had to address a federal judge’s “unprecedented defiance” of its order the previous day that allowed deportation of immigrants to countries other than their own.

Jun 25, 2025 11:51 AM CDT

Judge orders US to maintain custody of migrants possibly sent to Africa, says US violated his order

Updated: A federal judge in Boston said Wednesday the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated his preliminary injunction requiring meaningful notice before removals to third countries when it deported eight men to a country that the United States refused to identify.

May 21, 2025 11:11 AM CDT

59 partners leave A&O Shearman outside Asia since decision to trim 10% of equity partnership

Twenty-five U.S. partners are among the 59 partners who left A&O Shearman since its decision last year to trim 10% of its global equity partnership, according to a count by Law.com.

Apr 28, 2025 3:19 PM CDT

In ‘difficult but necessary step forward,’ merged law firm trims 10% of equity partnership

A&O Shearman is cutting 10% of its global equity partners, closing its Johannesburg office in South Africa and terminating its consulting business, multiple legal publications are reporting.

Sep 9, 2024 2:36 PM CDT

Lawyer writes children’s book based on her childhood in Nigeria

In March, Bunmi Emenanjo, an ethics and compliance lawyer, released her debut children’s book, I’ll See You in Ijebu. The book tells the story of a Catholic girl growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, who takes a trip to the rural town of Ijebu to celebrate Eid al-Adha with her Muslim extended family.

May 16, 2024 9:32 AM CDT

Dentons and Boies Schiller face $300M racketeering suit after client loses international arbitration

A Massachusetts businessman has filed a $300 million racketeering lawsuit against Dentons and Boies Schiller Flexner alleging that the law firms failed to inform him that his contract to develop a power plant in Senegal, a country in West Africa, was invalid.

May 2, 2024 2:12 PM CDT

New US citizens sworn in 100 feet underground

Twenty-nine immigrants from 12 countries were sworn in as U.S. citizens Thursday in an underground ceremony at the Mammoth Cave National Park.

Apr 30, 2024 8:55 AM CDT

Minnesota group ships law books to Africa

A law book can change a life. Donations from 117 law libraries to 24 African countries have changed millions of lives and helped to establish the rule of law across the continent, says Lane Ayres, director of the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative of Books for Africa.

Oct 4, 2022 8:51 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Lawyer censured over false time sheets; California law allows ‘stealthing’ suits

Lawyer censured for seeking no-show pay Lawyer Laura Cail, of Rensselaer County, New York, has been censured for filing false time sheets to collect more than $12,000 for work that she didn’t perform at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Cail had previously resolved criminal charges…

Oct 15, 2021 1:44 PM CDT

Guilty verdict in terrorism trial for hotelier of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ fame is unfair, ABA center says

“This was a show trial rather than a fair judicial inquiry,” Geoffrey Robertson of the the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch said in a press release. Robinson wrote a report on the trial with the ABA Center for Human Rights staff in June.

Sep 20, 2021 2:30 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Self-driving car crash leads to charge; ABA center will monitor trial of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero

Backup driver for self-driving car is charged after crash death A backup driver for an Uber self-driving test vehicle has been charged with negligent homicide for a March 2018 crash that killed a homeless woman. Rafael Vasquez, 46, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Maricopa County, Arizona. Police in Tempe, Arizona,…

Sep 18, 2020 3:01 PM CDT

Clooney Foundation and ABA group raise concerns about human rights violations in mass trial

A mass trial in Equatorial Guinea that produced 112 convictions was marred by “egregious procedural irregularities,” according to a preliminary report by a former United Nations official. The report was prepared for the ABA Center for Human Rights as part of the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch project, according to…

Jun 11, 2019 1:31 PM CDT

Oregon may finally join 49 other states that require unanimous jury decisions in criminal cases

In 49 U.S. states and the federal court system, a 10-2 vote would not have been enough to convict. Oregon is currently the only state that permits convictions (for felonies other than murder) on a 10-2 or 11-1 vote of the jury. That practice has come under criticism in recent years by people who say it was enacted for racist reasons; it denies minority viewpoints on the jury a voice and removes an important safeguard against wrongful convictions.

May 1, 2019 2:30 AM CDT

Congolese warlord convicted of war crimes with the help of ABA ROLI

Last month, after years of efforts, the warlord Marcel Habarugira Rangira, lieutenant colonel of the Congolese armed forces, was convicted of war crimes before a military tribunal in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mireille Kahatwa Amani was one of the chief attorneys from the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative who worked to convict him.

Mar 28, 2019 2:47 PM CDT