International Law

Hells Angels, Juggalos claim they are being unfairly singled out by law enforcement

The Hells Angels are itching for a fight. The group, which says it is a club for motorcycle enthusiasts, is ready to take on the U.S. government in a courtroom brawl. The problem? The U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have classified it as a “known criminal…

Feb 1, 2013 10:29 AM CST

Space law is taking off

Space is no legal vacuum: As extraterrestrial adventure changes from government goal to private enterprise, new opportunities in space law are emerging for the interplanetarily inclined. “We are at the very beginning of a completely new, very sexy and incredibly challenging industry that will push the limits of human ingenuity,” says…

Feb 1, 2013 8:59 AM CST

Report: Secret plans in place to ax or demote 20 to 50 of 189 partners at Ashurst Australia

Relying on unidentified sources, an Australian business publication says the Australian arm of Ashurst is secretly planning to cull between 20 and 50 of its 189 partners in order to meet financial projections and complete its planned merger with the United Kingdom-based law firm of the same name. Doing business…

Jan 31, 2013 10:39 PM CST

Orrick raids Bingham, 3-partner energy team includes practice group co-chair

A three-partner team led by the co-chair of Bingham McCutchen’s energy and project finance practice group has exited the law firm’s New York office for Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Tara Higgins will co-chair the U.S. energy practice group at her new law firm, Reuters reports. She said she made the…

Jan 29, 2013 6:39 PM CST

Nightclub fire kills more than 230 people; 4 individuals held for questioning

Authorities investigating a Sunday nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people in southern Brazil have detained four individuals for questioning—two owners, a member of the Gurizada Fandangueira band and the group’s security chief, officials say. Approximately another 100 people were injured in the fire, at the Kiss nightclub in…

Jan 28, 2013 7:15 PM CST

Ex-clients pursue class action against PI lawyer who allegedly charged excessive fees

Three former clients are pursuing a class action against a personal injury lawyer, contending that he charged them excessive legal fees. Spearheading the case was Cassie Hodge, who contends that she got only $8,000 of a $150,000 accident settlement after paying Gary Neinstein and Neinstein & Associates of Toronto their…

Jan 22, 2013 5:21 PM CST

Three dead, one wounded in courthouse shooting

A retired Canadian journalist shot and killed the pediatric surgeon who had pursued a malicious mischief case against him and the doctor’s lawyer on Tuesday before dying himself in a courthouse in the Philippines, authorities said. There are conflicting accounts about whether the shooting suspect, John Pope, 63, was killed…

Jan 22, 2013 4:27 PM CST

Romantic-rival poisoning case returns to SCOTUS; Congress’ treaty powers at issue

The case of a woman accused of trying to poison her romantic rival is returning to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled in 2011 that Carol Anne Bond had standing to challenge Congress’ power to enact the chemical terrorism law used to prosecute her. The law was passed to…

Jan 22, 2013 3:26 PM CST

Longtime Canada-based legal shops are top-listed for M&A work, survey says

International mergers among law firms are a hot trend right now. But, at least among Canada-based legal shops, when it comes to bringing in the most global M&A business, the traditional top-drawer firms that have grown more conservatively and are perhaps still best known for their work in Canada are…

Jan 16, 2013 10:33 PM CST

Taking 14-Year-Old to Canada for Child-Porn Filming Earns Lawyer a Minimum of 25 Years

Urged by a defense lawyer to consider whether a New Hampshire attorney decided only after crossing the border into Canada to make a pornographic film featuring a 14-year-old girl, thus negating a key element of the charged crime, a federal jury in Concord lost little time in reaching a guilty…

Jan 10, 2013 8:43 PM CST

Hacker Steals ‘Large 6-Figure’ Sum from Law Firm Trust Account Using Trojan Banker Virus

An unidentified Canadian law firm reportedly lost “a large six-figure” sum over the holidays last month when its bookkeeper was tricked into providing an online password to its trust account to Internet fraudsters. LawPRO, an entity associated with an insurance company that provides malpractice coverage to attorneys, says the hackers…

Jan 7, 2013 4:50 PM CST

Beirne Maynard & Parsons Acquires Lemle & Kelleher, Expects ‘Significant’ Further Growth

One of the oldest law firms in Louisiana has been acquired by Beirne Maynard & Parsons, a Houston-based law firm that focuses on civil litigation. Beirne Maynard & Parsons announced the merger with Lemle & Kelleher in a Jan. 1 press release in which it also said that continued growth…

Jan 3, 2013 6:15 PM CST

Top Chicago Litigators to Retry 2,400-Year-Old Socrates Case Before 7th Circuit’s Judge Posner

Star litigators in Chicago are preparing to retry a controversial 2,400-year-old free speech case that famously resulted in the death of Socrates, now considered the father of Greek philosophy, when he drank a cup of poisonous hemlock. Dan Webb of Winston and Strawn and plaintiffs lawyer Robert A. Clifford, a…

Jan 2, 2013 7:12 PM CST

3 Arrested re ‘Maple Syrup Gang’ Accused of Stealing 6M Gallons From OPEC-Like Canadian Cartel

In an $18 million international theft case that a representative of the victims compares to stealing oil reserves from OPEC, authorities say they have brought at least some members of the “maple syrup gang” to justice. Three men were arrested Tuesday and five others are being sought in what is…

Dec 20, 2012 11:12 PM CST

Nixon Peabody to Close 11-Partner Paris Office Created in 2008 By Taylor Wessing Defection

Less than five years after a dozen senior lawyers from the French branch of Taylor Wessing defected to Nixon Peabody and created its Paris office, that Paris office is closing. Nixon Peabody plans to focus on its U.S. operations, and it’s not clear where the 11 partners, seven associates and…

Dec 20, 2012 8:31 PM CST