South America

Jones Day opens new office in Miami, its first in Florida

Jones Day has opened a new office in Miami, its first in Florida, in a move that is expected to expand its Latin American practice. Bankruptcy partner Pedro A. Jimenez, who is a native of the city. will head the office, which the the 16th in the U.S. and the…

May 9, 2013 4:05 PM CDT

With $1B fee unpaid, plaintiff lawyer who won $18B enviro case is now pro se against Chevron

Attorney Steven Donziger could earn $1 billion, his opposing counsel says, if an $18 billion foreign judgment against Chevron Corp. concerning environmental damage in Ecuador is upheld. Meanwhile, Donziger is unable to afford to pay his own counsel as Chevron continues with a bruising U.S. district court counterattack against the…

May 6, 2013 8:15 PM CDT

Doc charged in 7 murders may have slain 300 to free up hospital beds, Brazilian investigator says

A doctor has been charged in what authorities are calling seven murders of terminally ill patients at a hospital in Brazil and could be responsible for as many as 300 deaths, an investigator says. Dr. Virginia Soares de Souza is charged with seven counts of aggravated first-degree murder. She is…

Mar 28, 2013 6:40 PM CDT

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

Baker & McKenzie 1st BigLaw Firm to Open Peru Office, Acquires 100-Lawyer Lima-Based Partnership

Baker & McKenzie has announced that the megafirm has become the first global law practice to open an office in Peru; a Reuters article calls it the first major United States-based law firm to do so. The 4,000-attorney international megafirm has acquired a 100-attorney South American practice based in Lima,…

Oct 9, 2012 4:00 PM CDT

Holland & Knight Plans to Open Bogota Office, Only the Second Colombian Outpost for a Major US Firm

In what a press release says is only the second such move by a major United States law firm, Florida-based Holland & Knight plans to open an office in Colombia in April. The Bogota foothold will serve as a hub for the law firm’s growing practice both in Colombia and…

Mar 1, 2012 11:16 PM CST

Brazil Sues Twitter in Bid to Ban Speed Trap and Roadblock Warnings

The attorney general of Brazil has filed a lawsuit against Twitter in a bid to block accounts that warn drivers of police speed traps and roadblocks. The government argues the tweets interfere with police efforts to fight drunk driving, reduce accidents and uncover evidence of crime, report CNN, PC Magazine,…

Feb 8, 2012 12:34 PM CST

Van der Sloot Pleads Guilty in Death of Peruvian Woman; Lawyer Blames Holloway Arrest Trauma

Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the murder of a Peruvian woman, as his lawyer blamed the crime on his client’s prior unjustified arrest for the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to “qualified murder” and told the court he was sorry…

Jan 11, 2012 5:23 PM CST

K&L Gates Plants Flag in South America, Is Opening Office in Sao Paulo, Brazil

K&L Gates has established its first office in South America, opening its doors yesterday in Sao Paulo, the financial capital of Brazil. The office, which is the firm’s 39th worldwide, will operate as a foreign legal consultancy, as provided for under the rules of the Brazilian Bar Association. It will…

Nov 8, 2011 8:37 PM CST

Despite Globalization, Lawyers Find New Barriers to Practicing Abroad

Lisa A. Alfaro joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 1995 after receiving her JD from Stanford Law School. Now she is partner in charge of the firm’s São Paulo office in Brazil, and she co-chairs the Latin America practice group. She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, and she is…

Nov 1, 2011 10:19 AM CDT

Colombian Lawyer Gets Max, Up to 9 Years, in Unlicensed Las Vegas Plastic Surgery Death

A Colombian prosecutor and her husband apologized and pleaded for leniency from a Nevada judge today, saying they hadn’t intended to harm a woman who died from an allergic reaction to anesthesia in an unlicensed plastic surgery procedure they reportedly performed in a Las Vegas tile store during a vacation.…

Oct 21, 2011 1:16 AM CDT

$18B Enviro Case a ‘Donnybrook’ for Parties’ Law Firms; ‘Both Sides Hate Each Other,’ Law Prof Says

It’s not unusual to see opposing attorneys become friends again the moment a hard-fought case or courtroom argument is over. But unlike many counsel for whom the war of words is something of an act, corporate attorneys at two prominent United States law firms engaged in pitched battle over an…

Oct 7, 2011 12:15 AM CDT

Brazilian Law Prof Drives to Police Station with Student’s Body and Turns Himself In

A Brazilian law professor shot and killed one of his students in the capital of Brasilia on Friday and then drove her body to a police station, a police officer alleges. The professor, Rendrik Vieira Rodrigues, apparently killed 24-year-old Suenia Souza Farias because she wanted to end their relationship, according…

Oct 3, 2011 3:04 PM CDT

Police Chief in City in Which Murdered Brazil Judge Worked Is Arrested, Along with 7 Officers

The head of the police department in Sao Goncalo, Brazil, has been arrested along with seven officers in connection with the murder last month of a judge, the Associated Press reports. Patricia Acioli, who worked as a judge in Sao Goncalo, was shot to death in front of her home…

Sep 27, 2011 9:01 PM CDT

11th Circuit Nixes ‘Finders Keepers,’ Says Massive Treasure Trove from 1804 Shipwreck Goes to Spain

Some 17 tons of silver coins from the 1804 wartime shipwreck of a Spanish galleon must be returned to the government of Spain, which owns the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a federal court has ruled. Affirming a trial court’s decision, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held…

Sep 21, 2011 9:22 PM CDT