International

British Court Blames US Threat for Decision to Keep Torture Evidence Secret

Two British High Court judges say they have refused to release evidence of alleged torture because of a U.S. threat to stop sharing intelligence evidence with the country. Justices John Thomas and David Lloyd Jones ruled in the case of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who says he was secretly…

Feb 5, 2009 3:05 PM CST

Fired Over Personal Website, Ex-Associate of Major UK Firm Mulls Options

Fired on Friday from her plum position as an associate in the Moscow office of a major London-based law firm, Deidre Dare spent the weekend recuperating. But now the 40-something former Allen & Overy associate is already exploring other options, including but not limited to writing a “Sexpat” column for…

Feb 4, 2009 4:23 AM CST

‘Limited Turnover’ at Paul Hastings in Atlanta Office

Some lawyers have been let go at the Atlanta office of Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker, but the layoffs are nothing unusual, the firm says. In a one-sentence response to a request for information from Above the Law concerning tips that a substantial number of associates have been given their…

Feb 4, 2009 1:27 AM CST

Same-Sex Spouse Inherits Estate, NY Judge Rules

A New York man who married his longtime same-sex partner in Canada last year is entitled to inherit his estate as his spouse, a New York probate judge has held in what a law professor says is a historic ruling likely to have significant impact. Because the marriage was valid…

Feb 3, 2009 7:24 PM CST

German Town to Test Dog DNA to Enforce Pooper-Scooper Law

A small town in Germany is planning to perform a DNA test on every licensed dog to make it easier to enforce a pooper-scooper law. Owners who don’t pick up after pets can then be matched to the evidence that scofflaws leave behind, which a dog warden will collect, reports…

Feb 2, 2009 5:32 PM CST

UK Snowstorm Closes Courts, Keeps Law Firm Employees at Home

A heavy snowstorm has shuttered London courts and produced “near gridlock” at law firms. London’s central criminal court, known as Old Bailey, was closed as a result of the region’s heaviest snowstorm in 20 years, Times Online reports. Buses and all but one line on London’s Tube were shut down…

Feb 2, 2009 4:59 PM CST

Linklaters’ New World Has Up to 270 Fewer Associates and Staffers

Up to 120 associates and 150 support staffers in Linklaters’ London office are facing the prospect of lost jobs in a program reportedly dubbed Linklaters New World. The law firm announced today it would begin a 90-day redundancy consultation, report the Associated Press and Bloomberg. The consultation is expected to…

Jan 29, 2009 1:23 PM CST

Former CIA Chief in Algeria Investigated in Claimed Rapes There

An unidentified former CIA station chief in Algeria is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Justice in at least two potential rape cases. The investigation, which was initially based on complaints by two Algerian women that they had been raped by the official, began last…

Jan 29, 2009 1:40 AM CST

China Plaintiffs in Milk Case Turn Backs on Custom, Look to US-Style Civil Litigation

As Chinese judges condemned two people to death and three others to life in prison last week in one of the worst food safety scandals in China in decades, more than 200 families of children sickened by tainted milk last August are still waiting to hear if Chinese courts will…

Jan 28, 2009 10:58 PM CST

Accounting Firm Can Be Liable for Foreign Affiliate’s Work, Federal Judge Rules

In a U.S. District Court decision trumpeted by a press release (PDF) for the winning law firm as “a seismic ruling for the accounting profession,” a federal judge has held the Deloitte financial firm potentially liable for alleged malfeasance by an Italian affiliate concerning the collapse of Parmalat Finanziaria SpA…

Jan 28, 2009 8:40 PM CST

New Protests Planned in Pakistan Over Appellate Judges’ Ouster in 2007

About half of the approximately 60 appellate judges removed from office in Pakistan more than a year ago by former President Pervez Musharraf have been restored to the bench. Among those who have not: the former chief justice of the country’s supreme court, Iftikhar Chaudhry. And, in a reprise of…

Jan 28, 2009 7:23 PM CST

Murder Suspect Hid Wife’s Body But Didn’t Destroy Notes, Prosecution Says

After allegedly murdering his wife, a wealthy British businessman successfully disposed of her body, prosecutors contend. But Martin Hale reportedly didn’t complete another relatively easy task, providing another basis for the government eventually to charge him with murder in his wife’s 1999 disappearance despite the difficulty of having no body.…

Jan 27, 2009 8:01 PM CST

UBS Probe Puts 300 Americans, Maybe Many More, in IRS Sights

As a major Swiss bank is squeezed between the secrecy law of its own country and a threatened U.S. prosecution for helping American citizens hide their assets, the government reportedly is getting ready to launch criminal tax evasion cases against 300 American clients of UBS. But the roster of tax…

Jan 27, 2009 6:35 PM CST

Two Chinese Dairy Producers Get Death Penalty for Selling Tainted Milk

Two Chinese milk producers have received death sentences for selling dairy products laced with melamine, a toxic compound that led to the deaths of at least six children. Dairy middleman Zhang Yujun and dairy producer Geng Jinpin were sentenced to death by China’s Intermediate People’s Court, the New York Times…

Jan 22, 2009 3:54 PM CST

White Powder Mailed to Dershowitz and Newspaper Wasn’t Anthrax

Initial tests indicate nothing hazardous in white powder mailed to Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and the Wall Street Journal. The material was probably flour or another type of food substance, the Wall Street Journal reports. Fearing the powder could be anthrax, authorities on Wednesday evacuated the floor in Hauser…

Jan 22, 2009 12:07 PM CST