International

Dreier Founder Charged in ‘Brazen’ Alleged $100M Investment Fraud Attempt

The founder of the not quite 250-attorney Dreier law firm was charged today by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with securities and wire fraud, in connection with what an Securities and Exchange Commission official describes as an alleged “brazen” attempt to cheat three unnamed hedge funds out of $100 million. Marc…

Dec 8, 2008 8:09 PM CST

5 Blackwater Guards Charged with Manslaughter in Iraqi Deaths

Five security guards from Blackwater Worldwide have surrendered on manslaughter charges in Salt Lake City based on allegations they killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians. The five guards were also charged with attempted manslaughter and weapons violations in the September 2007 shootings that wounded 20 others, according to a Justice Department…

Dec 8, 2008 5:52 PM CST

Big UK Firm Has Partners Hold Funds, Avoids Scary Bank Deposits

Thinking that its money would be safer in the hands of the law firm’s 112 partners, Addleshaw Goddard has paid them 12 million pounds (that’s about $17.8 million in U.S. dollars) but told them they can’t spend it yet. The 779-lawyer United Kingdom firm accelerated payments for 2007-2008 profits to…

Dec 8, 2008 5:04 PM CST

Singapore Welcomes Foreign Lawyers, Grants 6 Law Firm Licenses

Catching up to other Asian markets that have invited foreign lawyers to practice locally, Singapore is opening its doors to the legal profession by issuing licenses to practice to six Western law firms. In the past, law firms could only advise clients on Singapore law via joint ventures. But the…

Dec 5, 2008 2:50 PM CST

Court Strikes Down UK Law Allowing DNA Database of Innocent

Europe’s top human rights court has struck down a British law that allowed police to keep DNA profiles of those who were never convicted of a crime. The European Court of Human Rights ruled the law violates the right to a private life, the Associated Press reports. The decision could…

Dec 5, 2008 11:47 AM CST

Declining Pound, Pay Disputes Spur Lawyer Exits at Clifford Chance

Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance is losing partners and cutting associates as it grapples with the decline of the pound and disputes over lockstep pay. Legal Week reports that four Clifford Chance litigation partners based in New York City are poised to jump to other firms. James Moyle is…

Dec 3, 2008 1:49 PM CST

UK Judge Wins Libel Suit Filed by Mom

A part-time London judge who wrote a memoir about her troubled childhood has won a libel suit filed by her mother. A jury ruled in favor of Judge Constance Briscoe and the company that published her 2006 autobiography, Ugly, report the Associated Press and Times Online. The book contended that…

Dec 2, 2008 2:52 PM CST

Up to 20 UK Lawyers, 20 Staffers at DLA Piper Could Get Axed

DLA Piper is reviewing the jobs of up to 20 associates and 20 staffers in its United Kingdom offices. The lawyers affected by the “redundancy consultation” work in a number of practice groups, but have roles relating to real estate and finance, The Lawyer reports. Joint CEO Nigel Knowles said…

Dec 2, 2008 12:52 PM CST

Thai Court Orders Ouster of Prime Minister Due to Vote Fraud

Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ordered the ouster of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat because of electoral fraud in voting last December. The ruling comes amid protests over voting irregularities that had shut down the country’s airports, the Washington Post reports. The court dissolved Thailand’s top three political parties, including Somchai’s party,…

Dec 2, 2008 11:42 AM CST

Lawyer Trainees at Cadwalader’s London Office Won’t Get Job Offers

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft won’t be making job offers to three trainees at its London office who are due to qualify in March 2009. Cadwalader is one of the city’s first leading law firms to inform trainees that they won’t get a permanent job, Legal Week reports. The law firm…

Dec 1, 2008 11:46 AM CST

Outsourcing Firms Hiring as More Complex Legal Work Goes to India

Three years ago when Ankita Mullick joined the legal outsourcer Pangea3 from a Mumbai firm, she mostly spent time doing research on U.S. laws involving drug labeling. But this year, Mullick and her colleagues are working for banks on auction-rate securities. The Wall Street Journal reports in a careers section…

Nov 26, 2008 6:26 PM CST

Juror Asks Facebook Friends to Weigh in on Defendants’ Guilt

A juror in England was dismissed from a panel hearing a sex abuse case last week because she discussed details of the case on the social networking site Facebook. Court administrator Peter Carr said that the female juror asked her online friends whether they thought the defendants were guilty, the…

Nov 25, 2008 8:27 PM CST

Biggest Litigators: Skadden, Cravath; Only 4 UK Firms in Top 50

Skadden is the top litigation firm, as far as overall revenue is concerned, and Cravath leads in litigation revenue per partner, according to a survey by a U.K. legal publication. Meanwhile, U.S.-based BigLaw firms dominate the field decisively: only four U.K.-based law firms are included in the top 50 litigation…

Nov 24, 2008 6:40 PM CST

Lackluster Growth at Linklaters Despite Lehman Bros. Work

Despite its high-profile role in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the magic circle London-based Linklaters law firm saw only a 3 percent increase in revenue during a six-month period ending Oct. 30. “The firm generated fee income of £653 million for the first six months to October 30, it announced today,…

Nov 24, 2008 5:59 PM CST

Middle East Legal Recruiters Inundated with Résumés from U.S. Lawyers

Legal résumés are pouring into recruiters’ offices from lawyers looking for work in the Middle East and Asia as law firms continue their expansion there. One legal recruiter in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, told the New York Times he has gotten so many applications from top-quality New York lawyers that…

Nov 24, 2008 1:05 PM CST