Asia

Japan Court Orders Comp for Worker Who Died From Overwork

A Japanese court has ordered the government to pay benefits to the widow of a Toyota employee because he died from overwork. The court found that Kenichi Uchino had worked about 106 hours of overtime in the month before he died, the Economic Times reports. Uchino’s wife, Hiroku, had argued…

Nov 30, 2007 6:57 PM CST

Outsourcing Firms Bring in the Engineers to Advise, Write Patents

Much like American law firms have beefed up their IP practices by hiring lawyers with engineering and scientific backgrounds, so too are legal process outsourcing companies in India. The Hindu Business Line reports that outsourcing firms are hiring experienced engineers to analyze new technologies and to write patents. One company…

Nov 26, 2007 9:17 PM CST

Chinese Company Wins Rare Overseas Trademark Ruling

In an unusual example of Chinese company resorting to litigation to enforce its intellectual property abroad, a Beijing curd maker has won a trademark infringement suit against a German company. The win came Nov. 14 when a Munich court ordered the German supermarket Okai to stop using Wangzhihe’s trademark, reports…

Nov 26, 2007 7:19 PM CST

U.K. Lawyers Long for Offices in India

Attorneys at major law firms in the United Kingdom are notably unhappy about their inability to open offices in India, and will continue to press for permission to establish a presence there, a London newspaper says. Eager to work on cross-border deals, London lawyers at big firms long for offices…

Nov 21, 2007 8:39 PM CST

Missing Movie Sex Scenes Prompt Suit

Steamy sex scenes cut from the Chinese version of a World War II-era spy thriller set in Shanghai have prompted both warnings (for the many who have searched the Web or traveled to neighboring Hong Kong to view the full, uncensored film) not to imitate those scenes at home—and at…

Nov 20, 2007 6:45 PM CST

Another Lawyer Steps Forward to Accuse Samsung of Bribery

A former legal adviser to South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said in a statement released yesterday that he was once offered a bribe by Samsung. He is the second lawyer to accuse the company of bribery. Lee Yong-chul said a Samsung executive gave him 5 million won—worth $5,445—as a holiday…

Nov 20, 2007 5:12 PM CST

Khmer Rouge Official Seeks Bail

Spectators laughed today when the lawyer for the first Khmer Rouge defendant to face charges for Cambodia’s killing fields said his client’s eight-year detention violated human rights. The defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, was seeking bail, the New York Times reports. He is accused of crimes against…

Nov 20, 2007 3:08 PM CST

Lovells Hires Eight Bengoshi Lawyers for Tokyo Office

U.K. law firm Lovells is expanding its Tokyo office with eight intellectual property lawyers from a Japanese firm. The bengoshi lawyers are from the Kubota Law & Patent Office, Legal Week reports. It calls the hires “a remarkable turnaround for the office, which was saved from closure last summer” after…

Nov 20, 2007 2:09 PM CST

India Says Yes to Foreign Legal Work, But No to Foreign Lawyers

A charm offensive by the British bar has failed to win immediate permission from the Indian government for foreign lawyers to practice in what many consider the world capital of legal outsourcing work. “The Bar Council of India (BCI) has released a joint resolution with the country’s state Bar councils…

Nov 19, 2007 6:50 PM CST

BBC: No Judges in Many Pakistan Courts

As hundreds of lawyers in cities throughout the U.S. joined in peaceful protests today to support fellow attorneys in Pakistan, the legal system there continues in a chaotic state, particularly at the appellate level. “More than half the courtrooms have no judges. Most lawyers who are still free are refusing…

Nov 14, 2007 10:27 PM CST

March on Washington Nov. 14 to Support Pakistan Lawyers

Updated: In a highly unusual move, the American Bar Association is spearheading a lawyers’ march on Washington, D.C., tomorrow that is also being promoted by state and local bar associations throughout the country. It is intended to support protesting lawyers in Pakistan, who have been at the forefront of efforts…

Nov 13, 2007 9:42 PM CST

5,000 Pakistan Lawyers Reported Arrested

Thousands of lawyers in Pakistan have been jailed during the past 10 days, after the country’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, declared a state of emergency Nov. 3. One of them is Aitzaz Ahsan, a 63-year-old Cambridge University graduate and the president of the country’s Supreme Court Bar. His crime, reports…

Nov 13, 2007 12:50 AM CST

Hollywood Outsourcing Higher-End Legal Work to India

Even with the millions that a successful movie can make, Hollywood producers are watching their legal costs. So, instead of having high-priced U.S. law firms handle all of their entertainment matters, some reportedly are starting to send some relatively high-end legal work to attorneys in India. While outsourcing “back office”…

Nov 12, 2007 9:15 PM CST

New Pakistan Court Coup: Military Trials

As an individual lawyer reportedly challenged, in the country’s highest court, the suspension of Pakistan’s constitutional system of government a little over a week ago, Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, appeared to be a step or two ahead of him. Yesterday he amended the 1952 Army Act, to allow the…

Nov 12, 2007 3:48 PM CST

US, UK Lawyers to Pakistan: Reinstate Rule of Law

Following Pakistan’s suspension of the constitution, firing of numerous appellate judges and arrest of as many as 3,000 lawyers during the past week, bar associations throughout the United States and the United Kingdom have called upon the country’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to reinstate the rule of law. In a…

Nov 9, 2007 5:40 PM CST