Asia

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

Law Firm Founder Flees Russia, Says He Feared Suffering Same Fate as Dead Colleague

A New York attorney who co-founded a Russian law firm in 1993 has fled the country, saying he fears he will suffer the same fate as a dead colleague if he continues practicing there. Jamison Firestone, who went to the United Kingdom for a seeming Christmas vacation and never returned,…

Feb 18, 2010 1:19 AM 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

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

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

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

Chinese Official Says Missing Human Rights Lawyer Is ‘Where He Should Be’

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry says a missing human rights lawyer “is where he should be” following a judicial proceeding. The missing lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, has taken on cases advocating reform and involving the banned Falun Gong spiritual group, the Associated Press reports. A memoir describes his past torture…

Jan 22, 2010 3:56 PM CST

The Job Market Is Tough for Law Grads in China, Too

A new study supports the tales of woe told by recent law graduates in China. It is more difficult to find a job in law than any other profession studied, the China Daily reports. The story cites a June 2009 study by China’s Academy of Social Science and the Mycos…

Jan 5, 2010 12:42 PM CST

Winston & Strawn Opens Two More China Offices

Winston & Strawn is planning to open offices in Beijing and Shanghai after getting approval for the expansion by the country’s Ministry of Justice. The law firm opened an office in Hong Kong at the end of 2008. The new offices represent “the next step in a remarkable period of…

Nov 17, 2009 7:11 PM CST

Russian Lawyer, 37, Dies in Prison After Pursuing Claimed Kremlin Fraud

A Russian lawyer who helped a London-based hedge fund pursue a claimed massive fraud in which Kremlin officials allegedly participated has died in prison, where he was awaiting trial for conspiracy in a related case. Sergei Magnitsky died yesterday at the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center, reports the London Times. The…

Nov 17, 2009 6:47 PM CST

No More ‘My Lord,’ Court in India Says

Ending a longtime practice that harks back to the British colonization of India, a court in Madras yesterday began enforcing a rule that lawyers are not supposed to address the judge as “my lord” or “your lordship.” Your honor, honorable court, and, in subordinate courts, sir or “any equivalent phrase…

Oct 16, 2009 10:13 PM CDT

Chinese Officials Steal & Sell Babies for Adoption for $3K Each, L.A. Times Says

There are strict laws in China about how many children married couples can have. Officials have the power to order abortions and sterilizations and, once a baby is born, heavy fines can be levied if a family’s quota of one to two children is exceeded. However, government officials don’t have…

Sep 21, 2009 7:42 PM CDT

Top Russian Court Orders Broader Probe of Journalist’s 2006 Slaying

In an unexpected move that may enhance the chance of bringing to justice those responsible for the high-profile slaying of a Russian journalist in 2006, the country’s top court has reversed a lower court ruling and ordered the broader investigation of the crime sought by the family of Anna Politkovskaya.…

Sep 3, 2009 4:50 PM CDT

Kirkland & Ellis to Open 2nd Office in Asia

Kirkland & Ellis plans to open a second China office—which will also be its second office in Asia—in November. The new Shanghai outpost will complement the Chicago-based law firm’s existing Hong Kong office, which opened in 2006, and will be headed by Xiaoyang “XY” Li. Now a Hong Kong private…

Sep 1, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

Civil Practice Puts Russian Lawyers at Risk of Violence and Criminal Charges

Three highly regarded Russian lawyers thought they were representing Hermitage Capital investment fund in a routine tax case. Now one of the attorneys is jailed and two others are in exile, after uncovering what appears to be a breathtaking fraud involving government officials who allegedly colluded to wrest control of…

Aug 13, 2009 7:08 PM CDT