International Law

Chinese Officials Steal & Sell Babies for Adoption for $3K Each, L.A. Times Says

There are strict laws in China about how many children married couples can have. Officials have the power to order abortions and sterilizations and, once a baby is born, heavy fines can be levied if a family’s quota of one to two children is exceeded. However, government officials don’t have…

Sep 21, 2009 7:42 PM CDT

‘Blade Runner’ Lawyers to Represent Semenya in Gender Dispute

Having helped a double-amputee win the right to compete with able-bodied runners in track-and-field events on prosthetic legs, Dewey & LeBoeuf is now representing another South African athlete in a controversial dispute about whether she is qualified to compete as a woman. Caster Semenya, who has higher-than-normal levels of testerone,…

Sep 21, 2009 5:49 PM CDT

US Tax Probe ‘May Spread Like Wildfire’ After UBS Settlement

As a Sept. 23 deadline looms for tax-evaders to obtain lesser penalties by disclosing offshore accounts to the Internal Revenue Service, one observer predicts that a federal probe of foreign banks may expand exponentially following a $780 million settlement by UBS AG. After the Swiss bank’s agreement to disclose information…

Sep 18, 2009 5:23 PM CDT

Judge Strikes DuPont Defenses in $60M Benlate Litigation Due to Discovery Fraud

Saying that DuPont engaged in “a deliberate scheme to interfere” with the court’s rulings during more than a decade of litigation over damage allegedly done to Ecuadorian shrimp beds by the company’s Benlate fungicide, a Florida judge has struck the chemical manufacturer’s defenses in two companion cases. Attorney Robert McKee…

Sep 17, 2009 10:13 PM CDT

Australian Teen Criminally Charged Over Alleged Self-Induced Abortion

In the first such prosecution in over 50 years, a 19-year-old Australian woman has been criminally charged for allegedly using a Chinese version of the RU486 morning-after drug to perform a home abortion on herself. If convicted, Tegan Leach could be sentenced to as much as seven years in prison.…

Sep 16, 2009 11:03 PM CDT

Harvard Law Donor Faced $100M Tax Probe at Time of Suicide, Source Says

Some 800 people attended the funeral of Finn Caspersen in Morristown, N.J., yesterday, alternately laughing and crying as the 67-year-old philanthropist and heir to the Beneficial Corp. fortune was remembered for his many good works. Among them, the Harvard Law School graduate pledged $30 million to his alma mater last…

Sep 16, 2009 7:13 PM CDT

In Latest Russian Raid, Chadbourne Lures Former Partner Back from Dechert

Only four months ago, Dechert was proclaiming victory in a stunning raid that reportedly stole all five partners from Chadbourne & Parke’s office in Moscow. But the New York City-based international law firm fought back, and managed to retain two of the five partners. And today, in the latest skirmish…

Sep 14, 2009 7:51 PM CDT

No Lawyers in US Plan Allowing Afghan Detainees to Challenge Detentions

Detainees at the American-run Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan will be allowed to challenge their detention under new Pentagon guidelines, but they won’t be represented by assigned lawyers. Instead, each detainee will be assigned a U.S. military official who can gather evidence and challenge the detention before a military-appointed review…

Sep 14, 2009 11:37 AM CDT

Dad of Murdered Journalist Says New Legal Model is Needed for War on Terror

Just as the global community worked together to eliminate piracy on the high seas in the 19th century and created the Geneva Conventions in response to World War II, countries need to cooperate to create a new legal structure for dealing with terrorism, says the father of a murdered journalist.…

Sep 12, 2009 12:01 AM CDT

BigLaw Firm Mulls Up to 117 Layoffs, Plans to Outsource Secretarial Work

One of the top 10 law firms based in the United Kingdom is mulling a fourth round of layoffs that could result in 22 attorneys and 95 secretaries getting the ax. Eversheds plans to replace the secretaries it lets go by outsourcing their work to Exigent, a South African-based company,…

Sep 10, 2009 6:52 PM CDT

7 Doctors and Nurses Suspended for Playing Facebook Photo Game at Work

Seven doctors and nurses who apparently didn’t have enough to do while working overnight in a hospital emergency department last month reportedly decided to play a popular Facebook game. Now officials say their participation in the “lying down game,” in which participants post photos of themselves lying down flat, with…

Sep 10, 2009 6:05 PM CDT

Parties in $27B Environmental Case Fight Video With Video

A 16-year-old class action against Chevron Corp. over some $27 billion of claimed environmental contamination in Ecuador hasn’t been decided yet. But it’s already generating headlines because of the company’s unusual litigation tactics. Now, as a documentary about the claimed damage to Ecuador’s Amazon region is about to debut in…

Sep 9, 2009 7:55 PM CDT

Mexican President Replaces AG Who Fought Drug Cartels

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has replaced his attorney general who fought the drug cartels and replaced him with a little-known lawyer who has worked as a state and federal prosecutor. Calderon accepted the resignation of Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora without giving a reason for the change, Reuters reports. However…

Sep 8, 2009 11:34 AM CDT

After Chevron Posts YouTube Video, Ecuador Judge Steps Down in $27B Case

Saying that he did nothing wrong but doesn’t want to impede an ongoing investigation, a judge in Ecuador has recused himself in a $27 billion environmental case following a claim by Chevron Corp. that he discussed his planned upcoming ruling in the ongoing litigation with two businessmen. In a highly…

Sep 4, 2009 8:58 PM CDT

Partner Promotions at Top UK Firms Fell 33% Over Past Year

A number of British law firms have recently added up the numbers for fiscal years that run from 2008 to 2009 and, after a year of economic turmoil that has hit the legal industry particularly hard, the picture isn’t pretty. Partner promotions plunged among the United Kingdom’s 50 largest firms…

Sep 3, 2009 5:06 PM CDT