Asia

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

ABA President Calls Suu Kyi Conviction an ‘Affront to the Just Rule of Law’

ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm is condemning the conviction and sentence of former Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as a violation of international law. Suu Kyi was convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest on Tuesday and sentenced to 18 months of additional house arrest.…

Aug 13, 2009 11:54 AM CDT

Ex-Pakistan President Criminally Charged Over Detention of Judges

Less than two years ago, the former leader of Pakistan disbanded much of the country’s top court in what many saw as a blatant move to solidify his own political position by preventing a ruling that he was ineligible to serve simultaneously as president and head of the country’s military.…

Aug 11, 2009 8:45 PM CDT

Myanmar Democracy Leader Suu Kyi Convicted for a Swimmer’s Visit

Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi has been convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest. Her sentence is 18 months of additional house arrest. The sentence will keep her at home past the date of national elections in Myanmar, scheduled for 2010, the Los Angeles Times reports.…

Aug 11, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

Supporters of Slain Russian Journalist to Seek Justice Elsewhere

Supporters of slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya plan to ask the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to pursue those responsible for her murder, after a Moscow court refused Friday to halt a controversial retrial of three relatively minor figures and order a new investigation that was also requested…

Aug 7, 2009 11:19 PM CDT

As Rio Tinto Saves Millions, Other Corps. Will Outsource, Too, Counsel Says

By outsourcing document production in one Federal Trade Commission matter to a team of Indian attorneys, an international mining company saved $1.5 million over what it would have paid to have its usual BigLaw antitrust firm in Washington, D.C., contract out the same work. And that’s just the beginning of…

Jul 28, 2009 12:12 AM CDT

Accused Mumbai Gunman Confesses at Trial, Shocking Own Lawyer

Ajmal Amir Kasab, now in his early 20s, was the sole surviving suspect among 10 gunmen accused of killing some 170 people in India’s financial capital during a three-day siege in November. Although he initially asserted his innocence in a trial that began in April, he stunned a Mumbai courtroom…

Jul 20, 2009 10:38 PM CDT

Even Routine Law Practice is Difficult and Dangerous in Russia

The courtroom gallery brimmed with lawyers during the trial in January of four men accused of murdering Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta who was gunned down in 2006 at the elevator of her Moscow apartment. The newspaper had paid a high price for its investigations…

Jul 5, 2009 3:00 PM CDT

Clifford Chance Expands in Singapore, But Plans to Close Hungarian Office

As Clifford Chance expands its practice in Asia, it is also eliminating one of its offices in Europe. Arbitration specialist Nish Shetty of the Wong Partnership will be establishing a southeast Asian disputes practice in Singapore for the London-based megafirm, reports the Law Central blog of the London Times. At…

Jun 30, 2009 3:37 PM CDT

How N.Y. Times Pretty Much Kept Reporter’s Kidnapping Off Wikipedia

For seven months, the New York Times managed to keep news that one of the paper’s reporters had been kidnapped by the Taliban out of the headlines. But by far more difficult was keeping the information out of Wikipedia, the newspaper reports in a lengthy article that provides a fascinating…

Jun 29, 2009 9:43 PM CDT

China ‘Disbars’ Human Rights Lawyers by Letting Licenses Lapse

Yitong Law Firm, which has become one of China’s fiercest and most vocal advocates for human rights, may find it has lost its voice. Since the beginning of this year, authorities in China have quietly been forcing firms, including Yitong, to shut down, the Washington Post reports. Yitong is well-known…

Jun 26, 2009 10:35 AM CDT

Russian High Court Overturns Acquittals in Politically Charged Case of Slain Journalist

Russia’s Supreme Court today ordered a new trial for two Chechen brothers and a former police officer who were acquitted on charges they helped in the assassination of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The Los Angeles Times notes that the court’s order and retrial will “open a fresh chapter in a…

Jun 25, 2009 1:36 PM CDT

Norton Rose to Wed Major Australian Firm

A major international firm that is considered one of the top legal shops in London is acquiring a 146-partner Australian counterpart, setting the stage for greater dominance by Norton Rose Group in the Asia-Pacific region. The merger with Deacons was approved by a partnership vote last night and will take…

Jun 24, 2009 12:18 AM CDT

BigLaw Firms Shudder as Rio Tinto Retains Legal Team in India

In a move that is sending shudders through the global BigLaw community, Rio Tinto has hired a team of Indian attorneys in an effort to cut by 20 percent its annual legal budget of about $100 million. The international mining company is represented by firms such as Linklaters and Baker…

Jun 18, 2009 7:10 PM CDT