International Law

Reward Offered for 24 Alleged Mexican Drug Lords: Up to $7M Each

As escalating violence related to cross-border drug trafficking causes increasing concern in both Mexico and the United States, the government there is offering a record-breaking bounty of $2 million each for 24 alleged drug lords. With an additional $5 million offered by the U.S. concerning some of the drug-trafficking suspects,…

Mar 24, 2009 4:04 PM CDT

BigLaw Firms Converge on Dubai: Jones Day Launches, CC Amps Up

Adding to an ongoing trend of looking to the Middle East for new legal business, two major international law firms are establishing a bigger foothold in Dubai. Jones Day has just announced that it will be opening an office there with six lawyers, reports Legal Week. They are: project finance…

Mar 24, 2009 1:00 AM CDT

McGuireWoods to Wed London-Based Law Firm With 36 Attorneys

In the latest chapter in an ongoing growth saga that has clearly put McGuireWoods into the BigLaw ranks, the firm is now significantly expanding its international footprint. The 900-attorney firm has just announced the planned acquisition of a 36-lawyer London-based international partnership, Grundberg Mocatta Rakison, reports the Charlotte Business Journal.…

Mar 24, 2009 12:15 AM CDT

As Traffic Movie Predicted, Cocaine is Now a Popular Molding Material

Remember the scene in Traffic in which Catherine Zeta-Jones, playing the wife of an imprisoned dealer, negotiates an exclusive deal to provide a Mexican druglord with seeming toys manufactured from cocaine? As the druglord watches, she dissolves a toy and sets up a line of coke, but refuses to partake…

Mar 21, 2009 2:37 AM CDT

CIA Station Chief Accused of 2 Rapes is Being Dismissed

The Central Intelligence Agency apparently didn’t fuss when Andrew Warren racked up hefty expense tabs at strip clubs and brothels, while wooing potential espionage recruits. But this permissive work culture may have helped promote questionable behavior by Warren and at least a small number of other CIA agents, suggests a…

Mar 20, 2009 8:19 PM CDT

China Closes Yitong Law Firm Known for Legal Activism

A Beijing law firm known for its activist approach to human rights issues and official corruption was closed down by the Chinese government this week. Although the asserted reason for shutting down the Yitong Law Firm for six months was that it had allowed a lawyer to practice without a…

Mar 19, 2009 5:58 PM CDT

Secret Red Cross Report Says CIA Detainees Were Tortured

A secret report by the International Committee of the Red Cross concludes some al-Qaida detainees were tortured by the CIA and subjected to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” The Washington Post obtained a copy of the report from Mark Danner, a journalism professor and author. The story says the report…

Mar 16, 2009 11:51 AM CDT

Obama Eliminates ‘Enemy Combatant’ from DOJ Legal Lexicon

In a U-turn from the language of the Bush administration, the White House has eliminated the use of the term “enemy combatant” concerning terrorism suspects being held at the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At the same time, the White House may also have strengthened the legal…

Mar 13, 2009 9:41 PM CDT

Swiss Law Protects Goldfish, Guinea Pigs—But Not Popular Baby Hippo

Under Swiss animal-rights provisions, guinea pigs must be kept in pairs to prevent loneliness and unwanted goldfish must be rendered unconscious before being flushed down the toilet. But there is no protection under Swiss law for a superstar baby hippopotamus at the Basel Zoo facing a likely death sentence. Four-month-old…

Mar 13, 2009 7:16 PM CDT

New Lawyer Arrests in Pakistan Amidst National Protest Over Deposed Judges

In the latest chapter of a high-profile lawyer-led Pakistan protest saga that has been ongoing for two years, a government crackdown on a “long march” into Islamabad scheduled to begin today reportedly has already resulted in mass arrests and sent many into hiding. Ignoring a government ban on public protests,…

Mar 12, 2009 8:29 PM CDT

Firm’s Radical Layoff Alternative: Reduced Schedule for All, Including Partners

As other major law partnerships reluctantly make layoffs, a BigLaw firm headquartered in the United Kingdom has come up with an unusual recession alternative. Instead of asking anyone to leave, Norton Rose plans to put everyone at the international firm, including partners, on a reduced schedule for one year, reports…

Mar 12, 2009 6:52 PM CDT

Anger over DLA Piper Layoff Pay: Only 1 Extra Month for UK Volunteers

Lawyers in the London office of DLA Piper who volunteered to walk away from their jobs in exchange for a sweeter severance package are getting only one month’s extra pay. And they and their friends still working at the megafirm aren’t happy about the “voluntary redundancy” package, reports Legal Week.…

Mar 11, 2009 6:40 PM CDT

Madoff Aides Talk to Feds, as Some Call for International Financial Court

As a plea deal in the federal criminal case against Bernard Madoff appears imminent, several people who worked for him reportedly are talking with prosecutors about how he allegedly operated a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Under proffer agreements protecting them from prosecution if they tell the truth, two assistants told…

Mar 10, 2009 12:03 AM CDT

Law Profs Shocked By DOJ Memos About Bush Presidential Powers

Law professors with differing political perspectives agree on one thing after seeing the recently released U.S. Department of Justice legal memos outlining the scope of presidential power during the Bush administration: They went too far. Written over a several-year period after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the since-countermanded memos…

Mar 4, 2009 9:52 PM CST

Clifford Chance to Cut Up to 115 Staff

Megafirm Clifford Chance has announced that it will eliminate between 105 and 115 support staff positions at its London headquarters. The latest layoffs follow an announcement last month that the firm would reduce its partner ranks; about 80 junior London lawyers have been cut under the earlier restructuring program, and…

Mar 4, 2009 8:40 PM CST