U.S. opponents to Arms Trade Treaty aren’t swayed by an ABA center’s white paper

Aug 1, 2013 6:40 AM CDT

‘Harry Potter’ author JK Rowling settles suit against lawyer who disclosed she authored new novel

Famous as the author of the Harry Potter children’s book series, J.K. Rowling had hoped to fly under the radar when she wrote a new book, The Cuckoo’s Calling, by doing so under a pseudonym. However, that plan failed when Chris Gossage, a partner at Russells, the London law firm…

Jul 31, 2013 7:15 PM CDT

7-figure divorce legal bill is ‘financial suicide’ for BigLaw partner and his wife, judge says

A BigLaw partner and his wife are committing “financial suicide” by racking up a seven-figure divorce bill, a judge says. Aloke Ray, who works for White & Case, and his wife, a physician, have each spent some 430,000 British pounds on their divorce case, so far, according to the Guardian…

Jul 31, 2013 4:45 PM CDT

Man swims from Canada to Detroit, is found in water on way home and cited for public intoxication

Fueled by eight beers, a Canadian man admits, he didn’t use the best judgment when he swam from Windsor to Detroit on Monday night. But, since John Morillo has to face the music anyway, he wants it on the record that he did make it all the way to the…

Jul 24, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

Top Mexican drug cartel chief’s capture may not quell violence, authorities say

The head of one of the two most powerful drug cartels in Mexico has been captured in the countryside outside Nuevo Laredo, along with a bodyguard and an accountant, authorities say. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, 40, the claimed chief of Los Zetas, is charged with kidnapping, torture, murder and other…

Jul 16, 2013 5:35 PM CDT

Egypt’s military suspends constitution, installs top judge as temporary president

In an effort to resolve a political crisis, the Egyptian military on Wednesday suspended the country’s constitution, ousted President Mohamed Morsi and put a top judge in his place as the country’s temporary leader. In a televised speech after a meeting with civilian and religious leaders, the head of Egypt’s…

Jul 3, 2013 8:23 PM CDT

EU court ruling allows American brewer to pursue European trademarks

Jul 1, 2013 9:20 AM CDT

As Eric Holder promises justice, Snowden may have more US secrets stored on thumb drive

As the world waits to see where former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden will surface after exposing a sweeping U.S. phone-surveillance program, it appears that he may have further secret files to reveal, at least some of which were transferred to a forbidden thumb drive. In addition to collecting…

Jun 14, 2013 3:45 PM CDT

Ex-judge faces case over speeding-ticket switch that put lawmaker and wife in jail

A 10-year-old speeding ticket continues to make trouble for high-profile individuals in the United Kingdom. The latest target of criminal charges is a former judge, Constance Briscoe. The well-known barrister is facing two counts of intending to pervert the course of public justice. She is accused of providing inaccurate information…

Jun 14, 2013 11:45 AM CDT

Car bomb kills 17, injures 39 outside Afghanistan’s top court; Taliban says judges were targets

A car bomb detonated Tuesday outside the Afghanistan Supreme Court killed at least 17 people and injured 39. Most of the victims are believed to be civilian court workers getting ready to board buses outside the court’s entrance and head home. However, in written statements emailed to news organizations, the…

Jun 11, 2013 6:50 PM CDT

Defendant said he shot lawyer to death ‘because he made our lives a misery,’ prosecutor tells jury

A failed businessman who blamed a country lawyer for the loss of his home and his girlfriend is being tried for the murder in the slaying of attorney James Ward, 58, who was fatally shot at his MGW Law office last year. He died three weeks later of head injuries.…

Jun 6, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Onetime Natalee Holloway suspect may wed from Peruvian jail to avoid extortion extradition

Corrected: Convicted murderer Joran van der Sloot is now jailed in Peru, where he was found guilty of slaying college student Stephany Flores. His crime there was high-profile because of extensive publicity over the still-unsolved disappearance of another young woman, U.S. citizen Natalee Holloway, who vanished in Aruba while on…

Jun 3, 2013 2:46 PM CDT

Lawyer is among 33 people arrested over Hollywood-style $50M diamond heist at Brussels airport

Updated: A lawyer is reportedly among 33 suspects, aged 30 to 50, arrested in three countries within the past day or so over their alleged conduct related to a daring 3-minute raid at a Belgian airport earlier this year. Diamonds worth some $50 million were stolen. Eight suspects were detained…

May 8, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

With $1B fee unpaid, plaintiff lawyer who won $18B enviro case is now pro se against Chevron

Attorney Steven Donziger could earn $1 billion, his opposing counsel says, if an $18 billion foreign judgment against Chevron Corp. concerning environmental damage in Ecuador is upheld. Meanwhile, Donziger is unable to afford to pay his own counsel as Chevron continues with a bruising U.S. district court counterattack against the…

May 6, 2013 8:15 PM CDT

Guilty plea ends record $38M fraud case that doubled assessments for British Columbia lawyers

After nearly five years of legal battle, a former real estate developer pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in a Vancouver, B.C., court Friday, putting an end to a record $38.4 million Canadian lawyer-fraud case that doubled the client-compensation assessment payments for attorneys in the Law Society of British…

May 6, 2013 6:35 PM CDT