International

As U.S. Deals Dry Up, Law Firms Go Abroad; $150K Moving Bonuses

Although the number of corporate deals has plummeted in the U.S., starting midway through last year, overseas mergers and acquisitions are a booming business. So American law firms are going where the work is, revving up their foreign offices at the same time that some are downsizing at home, reports…

Apr 11, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Spanish Judge Fined $162K for Jailing of Innocent Man

A Spanish judge who failed to release an acquitted man from jail because of an oversight has been fined $162,000 and suspended for a year. Judge Adelina Entrena was found guilty of grave negligence by the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia, the Associated Press reports. She failed to notify…

Apr 11, 2008 12:53 PM CDT

Lawyer Protests Spark Pakistan Violence; At Least 7 Killed

Lawyer protests in a major Pakistan city yesterday sparked widespread rioting there in which at least seven people were reportedly killed, offices were set ablaze and a bar association office was gutted. “Trouble broke out when attorneys—some supportive of the new government and others critical—clashed near the main courts complex…

Apr 10, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

Former U.S. Detainees Convicted in One-Hour Trials in Afghanistan

Afghan detainees formerly held by the United States are being tried in Afghanistan in secretive trials that last one hour or less, human rights investigators told the New York Times. The detainees were housed at Guantanamo Bay and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan before being handed over to their home…

Apr 10, 2008 3:07 PM CDT

Is Orrick in Merger Talks with German Law Firm?

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe wants to open an office in Germany is reportedly talking with Holters & Elsing there. But the managing partner of the 22-partner German firm refused to comment on whether the two firms are talking about a possible combination, Legal Week wrote. It says Orrick also is…

Apr 9, 2008 4:32 PM CDT

Clifford Chance Launches New Women’s Network

In the midst of calls for more diversity at major London law firms and a lawsuit by a former female attorney claiming that she was merely window-dressing, a United Kingdom-based behemoth has launched a women’s network. Headed by corporate partner Kathy Honeywood and litigation partner Elizabeth Morony, the new Clifford…

Apr 9, 2008 3:31 PM CDT

Lawyers Attack Former Pakistan Official, Bar President Resigns in Protest

In the latest development in a series of extraordinary, lawyer-led protests in Pakistan over the past year, attorneys clad in black business suits were reportedly involved in a physical attack on a former cabinet minister. Although the victim, former parliamentary affairs minister Sher Afgan Niazi, was not seriously injured, Aitzaz…

Apr 8, 2008 11:27 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets 10 Years for Stealing $2.5M from Paralyzed Client

A lawyer who funded a lavish lifestyle by stealing most of the $3.5 million intended to fund a lifetime of care for a paralyzed client has been sentenced to a 10-year prison term by a United Kingdom judge. Covering his tracks with dummy bills, solicitor Thomas McGoldrick, 59, stole not…

Apr 8, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Top Associate Pay Skyrockets 50% at Law Firms in India

Associate attorneys at major law firms in India are still paid far less than their American and British counterparts. But competition among international firms for top talent has sent their salaries shooting up by more than 50 percent in the past year. “Indian law school graduates can now earn around…

Apr 8, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Coroner’s Jury Blames Driver, Paparazzi in Death of Princess Di

A coroner’s jury has ruled that paparazzi and the driver of a car that tried to escape them share the blame for the car crash that caused the death of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. The driver, Henri Paul, also died in the 1997 crash. The jury heard evidence that…

Apr 7, 2008 4:06 PM CDT

Nicolas Cage Wins Libel Action Against Kathleen Turner

Actor Nicolas Cage, who was dogged by false allegations in Kathleen Turner’s memoir, has won a libel action against the actress and the Daily Mail in England. In her book, Send Yourself Roses, Turner alleged that Cage had twice been arrested for drunken driving and that he had stolen a…

Apr 4, 2008 7:07 PM CDT

Coroner Rejects Princess Di Conspiracy Theory

A UK coroner finally on Monday rejected the conspiracy theory fueled for more than a decade by questions from Mohamed Al Fayed that Princess Diana was murdered in a plot by Britain’s royal family. Lord Justice Scott Baker, who is leading the inquest into the traffic deaths of Diana and…

Mar 31, 2008 4:40 PM CDT

How a Law Firm Chopped Wordy E-Mails Down to Size

Like many law firms, Berwin Leighton Paisner used to have a lot of lengthy internal e-mail being sent to all hands about office issues. But unlike most competitors, the U.K. partnership has taken stern measures to chop it down to size. Among them: The firm has limited the number and…

Mar 27, 2008 8:38 PM CDT

Canada’s Top Court Considers Controversial Khadr Case

A controversial case concerning an al-Qaida terrorism suspect who has been held in U.S. custody since he was 15 years old is being argued in Canada’s highest court today, where counsel for Omar Khadr is contending that the defense should be given access to documents concerning an interview of him…

Mar 26, 2008 7:01 PM CDT

First Female Judge Named in United Arab Emirates

The president of the United Arab Emirates has appointed the federation’s first female judge. Acting in his role as the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest of the seven member-states of the UAE, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan yesterday named Kholoud Ahmad Jouan al-Dhaheri as a new member of…

Mar 26, 2008 4:50 PM CDT