How 50 children were saved from Nazi Germany by a Philadelphia lawyer and his wife (podcast)

May 29, 2014 5:00 PM CDT

Why the No. 5 law firm in France is gender-balanced at the top levels

The French law firm TAJ is led by a man who takes gender balance seriously. The law firm has a 50/50 gender balance in equity partnerships, governance committees and all other levels, according to an HBR Blog Network post by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of the gender consulting firm 20-first. TAJ…

May 29, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Partner can sue own law firm as a whistleblower, top UK court rules

Rejecting a law firm’s argument that a partner is not an employee and hence can’t file a whistleblower suit, the United Kingdom’s top civil court Wednesday gave a green light for former partner Krista Bates Van Winkelhof to pursue such a case against Clyde & Co. concerning claimed corruption. “One…

May 21, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Swiss court awards $4.5 billion in divorce; can ex-wife collect?

The ex-wife of a Russian billionaire has been awarded $4.5 billion in a divorce—a record amount for a divorce, according to her lawyer. A Swiss court ordered Dmitry Rybolovlev to pay that amount to his former wife, Elena, in papers delivered to the parties on Monday, the Associated Press reports.…

May 20, 2014 5:11 PM CDT

A right to be forgotten? Top EU court rules for lawyer who wants Google to delete some links

A lawyer who wanted Google to remove links to embarrassing legal notices from 1998 has won in the European Union’s top court. The ruling by the European Court of Justice, based on a 1995 data-protection law, endorses a right to be forgotten, report the New York Times, CNN, the Associated…

May 13, 2014 12:34 PM CDT

Boston College offers to return interviews of Irish paramilitary troops

Members of the Irish Republican Army who gave Boston College historians secret, confidential interviews can claim their recordings if they wish to. The New York Times reported Tuesday that several interview subjects are concerned that their recordings could be used by law enforcement in the United Kingdom to solve old…

May 7, 2014 9:50 PM CDT

Gerry Adams arrested in connection with IRA murder of widow in 1972

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has been arrested in connection with the 1972 kidnapping, murder and secret burial of Jean McConville, a Belfast woman thought to be a spy for the British. The Washington Post reports that Northern Ireland police took Adams into custody on Wednesday, where he’ll be questioned…

May 1, 2014 4:42 PM CDT

This 18th-century British judge helped SCOTUS decide the fate of Guantanamo detainees (podcast)

ABA Journal Podcast Editor Lee Rawles speaks with Prof. Norman S. Poser about his recent biography, "Lord Mansfield: Justice in the Age of Reason," and how this particular British judge managed to have such a continuing influence on Anglo-American laws. We also discuss Mansfield's Somerset decision, which eventually led to the abolition of slavery in Great Britain.

Apr 30, 2014 10:00 PM CDT

George Clooney is engaged to high-profile human rights lawyer

Perennial bachelor George Clooney, 52, is headed to the altar with a high-profile human rights lawyer. Although the Hollywood leading man and his 36-year-old fiance Amal Alamuddin have not commented on widespread reports of their engagement, the London law firm for which Alamuddin works has made an announcement, reports Reuters.…

Apr 28, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Prison inmate who broke out to flee ‘very noisy’ rap music sentenced to 10 extra months

A 58-year-old man serving six-and-a-half years in a minimum security prison in England for robbery says he climbed a wall and escaped because he couldn’t stand listening to rap music on his cell block day and night, the Gloucestershire Gazette reports. Robert Stevens, whose own rap sheet goes back more…

Apr 24, 2014 5:51 PM CDT

Captain who abandoned sinking ferry is arrested; 64 dead, hundreds missing in South Korean waters

Updated: The captain of a ferry that sank Wednesday in South Korean waters, killing at least 64 people, has been arrested. Although specific charges against Lee Jun-seok, 69, haven’t been revealed, reports that he abandoned ship ahead of passengers and crew may have resulted in his arrest, according to CNN…

Apr 18, 2014 7:10 PM CDT

Pets in France get legal status as ‘living beings capable of feelings’

Pets in France are no longer just “movable goods” as a result of a bill passed by the National Assembly. The new bill amends the civil code to describe animals as “living beings capable of feelings,” according to the International Business Times. Lawmakers acted on Tuesday after nearly 700,000 people…

Apr 18, 2014 3:27 PM CDT

Swedish ‘serial killer’ who falsely confessed is freed

A Swedish man who falsely confessed to eight murders has been freed after more than 20 years in a mental institution. Sture Bergwall, once regarded as one of Sweden’s most prolific serial killers, was released by court order last week, Reuters and the Daily Mail report. Bergwall, 63, was convicted…

Mar 24, 2014 9:00 PM CDT

Ad poking fun at Pistorius murder trial sparks protests

An advertisement in Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid The Sunday Sun poking fun at the trial of Oscar Pistorius was so over-the-top and beneath good taste that the U.K’s Advertisement Standards Authority ordered it yanked immediately, The Guardian reports. The ad, created by cheeky Irish bookmakers Paddy Power—one company official’s title…

Mar 21, 2014 9:48 PM CDT

Should napping at work be encouraged? | Federal judge returns to popular blog with an announcement

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf announced in January that he would stop posting at Hercules and the Umpire. But the judge logged back on a week ago and told readers that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Because I made such a fuss about legal realism and transparency while…

Mar 14, 2014 1:45 PM CDT