International

Firm Hit Over Partner’s Hiring Question: How Can We Identify New Mom’s Commitment?

A former partner says the U.K. law firm Eversheds was neither swift nor decisive after a colleague questioned the commitment of a job candidate, a new mother. In fact, says former partner Stewart Shackleton, Eversheds went so far as to make inquiries with the woman’s present employer without her consent—while…

Feb 16, 2010 3:05 PM CST

Lawyer for Mumbai Terror Suspect Shot Dead

A lawyer who was representing a man accused of aiding terrorists who killed 164 people in Mumbai, India, was fatally shot by several attackers. Killed was Shahid Azmi, who represented Fahim Ansari, who is accused of helping to plan the 2008 terrorist attacks on the Taj Mahal Palace, Tower and…

Feb 12, 2010 1:21 PM CST

Can Plagiarism Be the New Authenticity? Best-Selling Author, 17, Seems to Think So

Once upon a time, authors were expected to craft their own fiction, word-for-word. But a best-sellling German novel is casting doubt on that standard, winning selection as a finalist for a $20,000 Leipzig Book Fair prize even though the judges reportedly were aware of a charge of plagiarism against the…

Feb 11, 2010 11:59 PM CST

Frank Sinatra Song Blamed for Lethal Karaoke Bar Violence

Booze and karaoke has proven to be a lethal combination, in the United States and elsewhere, when a singer belts out an unpopular tune. But one Frank Sinatra song is viewed as so dangerous in karaoke bars in the Philippines that the rules of etiquette prohibit its performance, for fear…

Feb 10, 2010 11:51 PM CST

UK Court-Ordered Release of CIA Docs Summary Supports Torture Claim

An appeals court in the United Kingdom has required the British government to release an unredacted version of a seven-paragraph document summarizing U.S. intelligence information about the 2002 interrogation of a terrorism suspect subsequently detained by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay and released last year. The release of the…

Feb 10, 2010 11:15 PM CST

Owner Is Threatened with Cruelty Case After Taking Injured Puppy from Vet

It didn’t look good initially either for a New Zealand man or his injured puppy. Bronson Stewart and his family couldn’t afford to treat their 5-month-old dog, Buck, whose leg was broken when he was hit by a car two weeks ago. And when a veterinarian refused to return the…

Feb 10, 2010 7:38 PM CST

Hong Kong Lawyer Known for Lavish Lifestyle and Golden Toilet Has Died

Chau Kai-bong, a lawyer and flamboyant Hong Kong socialite known for owning a golden toilet and who was often seen traveling with his wife Brenda in their pink Rolls Royce has died of cancer. He was 75. Chau, who earned his law degree at Cambridge before starting his law practice…

Feb 10, 2010 3:35 PM CST

London Firm Snaps Up Group of New Jersey Lawyers

London-based Clyde & Co. has poached five lawyers from the insurance coverage group at Roseland, N.J.-based Connell Foley to open an office in the Garden State. The lawyers—led by Daren McNally—are especially well-versed in policies written by offshore insurers, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. “Joining Clyde & Co gives…

Feb 8, 2010 4:01 PM CST

Allen & Overy Plants Office in Australia, Snags 14 Partners From Local Firm

Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy has announced it will open offices in Sydney and Perth next month, with 17 new partners who will focus on mining and natural resources merger work. “Our decision to launch in Australia underlines the increasing importance of Australia in the global and Asia-Pacific economies,”…

Feb 8, 2010 12:24 PM CST

Haitian Lawyer for US Missionaries Fired, Bribery Alleged

Edwin Coq, the Haitian lawyer hired to help win the release of 10 U.S. missionaries arrested on kidnapping charges, has been fired for reportedly trying to buy their way out of jail. Coq, however, has denied the allegations and instead insists that the $60,000 he requested from the missionaries’ families…

Feb 8, 2010 11:30 AM CST

ISP Not Liable for Customers’ Illegally Downloaded Movies, Court Rules

In a movie-downloading case that observers say could help set global industry policy, an Internet service provider in Australia has been held not liable for the activities of its customers even though the court found there was illegal file-sharing on a “large scale.” Top Hollywood studios had sought to win…

Feb 4, 2010 9:17 PM CST

Court Says ‘Down Under’ Hit from 1980s Copied ‘Kookaburra’

An Australian judge has ruled the 1980s song “Down Under” by the band Men at Work copies a song written more than 70 years ago, “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.” Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson said the flute melody in the Men at Work song “replicates in material…

Feb 4, 2010 2:56 PM CST

Wife of Missing Human Rights Lawyer Pens Plea: ‘Help My Husband’

Geng He says her family’s first reaction was joy when a Chinese official commented last month that her missing lawyer husband was “where he should be” following a judicial proceeding. The pronouncement indicated her husband was alive, Geng concluded. “Then we started thinking about what ‘alive’ meant,” Geng writes in…

Feb 4, 2010 2:25 PM CST

Top-Paid Partner at Freshfields Made About $5.27M Last Year, Filing Shows

Despite a dip in average profit per equity partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the firm’s top-earning lawyer made about $5.27 million last year, a filing by the London-based firm’s limited liability partnership shows. That compares to earnings of about $4.31 million for the firm’s highest-paid partner the previous year, according…

Feb 2, 2010 7:39 PM CST

Eight More White & Case Partners Jump to Latham

Eight more partners at White & Case are moving to Latham & Watkins offices in New York City; London; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Two of the lawyers who are going to Latham’s London office will join four others who already made the move there from…

Feb 1, 2010 4:00 PM CST