International Law

ISIS embraces sex slavery, using contracts and courts to govern the practice

ISIS—also known as the Islamic State group—has embraced sex slavery and is regulating the practice with sales contracts notarized by ISIS-run courts, according to a newspaper investigation. The girls and women who are taken as sex slaves belong to the Yazidi religious minority, the New York Times reports. ISIS not…

Aug 13, 2015 9:09 AM CDT

Prostitution law violates my client’s right to sexual privacy, lawyer says; group takes stand

A lawyer representing a spa manager charged with promoting prostitution is arguing that Ohio’s prostitution law violates his client’s right to sexual privacy. Lawyer Blake Somers says in a motion that Ohio’s law is “denying consenting adults the right to make decisions about sexuality in the commercial market place,” the…

Aug 13, 2015 8:19 AM CDT

‘Gossip Girl’ actress in custody battle can’t keep kids in US, New York judge rules

A New York judge on Tuesday ordered actress Kelly Rutherford to return her children to Monaco, where their father has been living after his U.S. visa was revoked. Judge Ellen Frances Gesmer ruled after scolding the Gossip Girl star for failing to bring the children, ages 8 and 6, to…

Aug 12, 2015 9:12 AM CDT

In potential job threat to associates, ‘artificially intelligent attorney’ gets BigLaw gig

First came the outsourcing of legal work once done by U.S. lawyers to cheaper foreign counterparts. Now, it appears, would-be BigLaw associates may also have to compete with artificial intelligence applications in the foreseeable future. Megafirm Dentons and some major U.S. law firms have agreed to train Ross, a so-called…

Aug 11, 2015 10:10 AM CDT

Lawyer says US suit is planned over crash of German plane in French Alps

Rejecting offered compensation of approximately $83,000, families of at least some of the 150 people killed earlier this year when their Germanwings flight crashed in the French Alps are planning to file suit in the U.S. Attorney Elmar Giemulla, who represents potential plaintiffs in the case, told Bild am Sonntag…

Aug 10, 2015 1:35 PM CDT

Citing twin law firm websites (1 real, 1 fake), bar group urges public to beware

Add another law firm to the growing list of those whose partners have been horrified to discover that they have an Internet twin. For anyone who might happen to see both the Hughes Dowdall website for an actual Scottish law firm and the purported London-based Damian Alden Law Chambers site,…

Aug 7, 2015 11:45 AM CDT

Powerhouse labor boutique Littler opens first office in Canada

A growing international labor and employment boutique based in the U.S. has opened its first office in Canada. Littler Mendelson announced the new Toronto office Tuesday, saying that it will initially be staffed with seven lawyers from two Canadian firms. The office will be the 67th for the 1,000-attorney law…

Aug 5, 2015 4:40 PM CDT

If US were to prosecute over Cecil the lion’s slaying in Africa, what would legal basis be?

Following news that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service was seeking to question a Minnesota dentist who has been linked to a high-profile lion-poaching case in Zimbabwe, Africa, observers wondered what the legal basis might be. There is speculation that American officials may be looking for possible violations of the…

Aug 5, 2015 11:15 AM CDT

Traveling to dangerous areas can leave lawyers vulnerable

With law firms now doing business in all corners of the globe—sometimes potentially dangerous destinations—some question whether their firms are doing enough to keep them safe.

Aug 1, 2015 7:00 AM CDT

Royalty joins the ABA in marking the 800th birthday of the Magna Carta

With much honor and ceremonial display, the Magna Carta celebrated its 800th birthday on June 15 on the same hallowed ground where King John originally sealed it. Dignitaries from around the world met at historic Runnymede, England, to celebrate the Magna Carta’s worldwide impact while promising to rededicate themselves to…

Aug 1, 2015 1:30 AM CDT

Political powers blunt good law, human rights lawyer says

The inspirational, and aspirational, template of the Magna Carta for the constitutions and legal documents that succeeded it was a recurring theme at the ABA London Sessions. But words and phrases are only as good as the intentions of government institutions tasked with upholding and enforcing them. That was hammered…

Aug 1, 2015 1:20 AM CDT

Speakers consider the grand sweep of the Great Charter

As with most historical occasions, the Magna Carta’s birthday was a time for looking back at what could have been and forward at what may be in the future. At an early program of the 2015 ABA London Sessions, the question pondered was: What if King John had decided to…

Aug 1, 2015 1:10 AM CDT

UK trade envoy: ‘I’d give anything’ for the ABA to work with the Iraqi judiciary

The rule of law as embodied in the Magna Carta needs to be brought to the people who need it most, said Baroness Emma Nicholson during her luncheon speech at the ABA London Sessions. “People want freedom. People want the rule of law,” Nicholson said. “They want these two things,…

Aug 1, 2015 1:00 AM CDT

What can US, UK lawyers learn from each other?

American and British lawyers can learn from each other and borrow examples of good practice to improve litigation and arbitration overall, attorneys said at a panel discussion at the ABA London Sessions. In recent years, international arbitration has borrowed good practices from both the U.S. and the U.K. legal systems,…

Aug 1, 2015 12:50 AM CDT

Laws need to catch up to high-speed trading

Insider trading and the laws needed to prosecute those illegal trades continue to evolve as new issues and technologies emerge, attorneys said during a panel discussion at the ABA London Sessions. The fast-changing landscape is best illustrated by the recent case of Navinder Singh Sarao, the British man who is…

Aug 1, 2015 12:45 AM CDT