South America

Law International Style: Steptoe to Ramp Up in Beijing, DLA in Brazil, K&L Gates in Warsaw

Announcing a new step forward in its strategic plan for Latin America, DLA Piper says it has formed an alliance with Campos Mello Advogados in Brazil. The firm currently has 60 professionals and is expected to expand in Sao Paulo soon. “This arrangement is a great beginning for us in…

Mar 1, 2010 9:47 PM CST

Brazil Chief Judge Rules Boy Should Be Returned to US Dad

The chief judge of Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled a 9-year-old boy in an international custody battle should be returned to his father in the United States. The ruling by Judge Gilmar Mendes appears to bring the case of the boy in accord with the Hague Convention, the Associated Press…

Dec 23, 2009 1:03 PM CST

Man Who Gave Judge Video to Chevron in $27B Ecuador Case a Convicted Felon

One of two men who made a secret videotape seemingly showing an Ecuador judge in a $27 billion environmental case discussing his upcoming ruling is a convicted drug felon, the New York Times reports. Wayne Hansen, an American, was convicted of conspiring to traffic 275,000 pounds of marijuana from Colombia…

Oct 29, 2009 11:55 PM CDT

After Chevron Posts YouTube Video, Ecuador Judge Steps Down in $27B Case

Saying that he did nothing wrong but doesn’t want to impede an ongoing investigation, a judge in Ecuador has recused himself in a $27 billion environmental case following a claim by Chevron Corp. that he discussed his planned upcoming ruling in the ongoing litigation with two businessmen. In a highly…

Sep 4, 2009 8:58 PM CDT

Chevron Video Posted on YouTube Was Doctored, Accused Judge Says

Videotape of an Ecuador judge posted on YouTube and a company website by Chevron Corp. was doctored, the judge, who is accused of discussing an upcoming ruling in an ongoing environmental case, tells the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). “There was total manipulation in the video,” says Judge Juan Núñez,…

Sep 2, 2009 6:47 PM CDT

Chevron Takes Pollution Case Bias Issue to Feds, Ecuador Officials—and YouTube

Accused by an indigenous group of contaminating the environment in the Amazon region decades ago, Chevron Corp. is fighting back with videotape allegedly showing the judge in the ongoing Ecuador case discussing his planned upcoming ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in October or November of this year. In addition…

Aug 31, 2009 11:04 PM CDT

Gibson Dunn Opens an Office in Brazil

Lisa Alfaro, a corporate partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, says the Brazilian market holds a lot of potential for her law firm. Clients in the United States as well as Europe and Asia are interested in opportunities in Brazil because it’s “one of the few places where you can…

Jun 17, 2009 2:48 PM CDT

As Traffic Movie Predicted, Cocaine is Now a Popular Molding Material

Remember the scene in Traffic in which Catherine Zeta-Jones, playing the wife of an imprisoned dealer, negotiates an exclusive deal to provide a Mexican druglord with seeming toys manufactured from cocaine? As the druglord watches, she dissolves a toy and sets up a line of coke, but refuses to partake…

Mar 21, 2009 2:37 AM CDT

Senator Requests Asylum for Gay Man in Same-Sex Marriage

Sen. John Kerry has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to grant asylum to a gay man married in Massachusetts who was deported despite his rape in Brazil. Oliveira had sought asylum because he was raped as a teenager and feared additional attacks if he returned to the country, the Associated…

Mar 20, 2009 6:13 PM CDT

Failed US-Led Drug War Harms Foreign Judicial Systems, Report Says

Escalating violence in Mexico and Latin America from a failed U.S.-led war on drugs is putting democratic governments and their judicial systems and police forces at risk, says a report by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy. Headed by three former Latin American heads of state, the group…

Feb 13, 2009 12:42 AM CST

‘Stolen Lives’: Mom’s Search for Abducted Adult Daughter

For more than six years, Susana Trimarco has been searching for her daughter, Marita Veron, in a saga that has taken her to seamy areas amidst potentially dangerous people. Then 23, the young woman left home on April 3, 2002 for a doctor’s appointment, telling her mother she would be…

Sep 22, 2008 7:58 PM CDT

Ecuador Indicts Two Chevron Lawyers Over Environmental Certification

Ecuador has charged two lawyers for Chevron with a conspiracy to fraudulently certify an environmental cleanup of mines by its predecessor Texaco. The accused lawyers are in-house lawyer Ricardo Reis Veiga and outside counsel Rodrigo Perez Pallares, the American Lawyer reports. Chevron issued a statement saying the indictments are related…

Sep 15, 2008 2:21 PM CDT

Colombia’s 2,800 Kidnap Victims Spark Talk Radio Program

Despite the recent high-profile Colombian army rescue last week of politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 others held captive by kidnappers for years, some 2,800 others are still being held by Colombian kidnappers, most for ransom. The number of victims, which is the most in any country in the world, has…

Jul 7, 2008 5:34 PM CDT

Latin Launch for DLA Piper? Firm Mulls Possible Brazil, Miami Offices

Although it already has an active Latin American practice, DLA Piper doesn’t have any offices in South America. That may soon change, predicts the Lawyer, now that the firm has added former McDermott Will & Emery tax partner Stuart Berkson to its attorney roster. With 28 years of experience in…

Jun 10, 2008 5:21 PM CDT

Special Prosecutor Named in Case Stemming from Improperly Named Defendants

A special prosecutor has been appointed to pursue a sanctions case against two plaintiffs lawyers in connection with misstatements made in a toxic-tort case. A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appointed the prosecutor to pursue the case against Thomas Girardi and Walter Lack, the…

Jun 10, 2008 2:44 PM CDT