International

Ex-Partner Drops Freshfields Age Bias Claim

A former partner with London-based Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has dropped her age bias case following a ruling for the law firm on similar claim. Lois Moore had alleged that changes to the firm’s pension plan discriminated against older partners. Now she is unconditionally dropping all of her claims, Legal Week…

Nov 9, 2007 1:09 PM CST

Shock, Security Concerns After Finland School Shootings

As Finland observed a national day of mourning today for the eight victims of yesterday’s high school shooting, the country’s legislature met in emergency session to consider imposing stepped-up school security measures. Although the country has the third-highest amount of per-capita gun ownership in the world, violent crime is rare…

Nov 8, 2007 5:24 PM CST

4 Pakistan Activists Charged With Treason; Will Lawyers Be Next?

Four Pakistani men were charged today with treason for making anti-government speeches in the city of Karachi. If convicted, the three politicians and a union leader potentially face the death penalty, reports the London Times. Although these are the first reported treason charges amidst ongoing attorney-led demonstrations focused on the…

Nov 8, 2007 4:47 PM CST

Pakistani Leader Says He’ll Hold Elections

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has told his national security council that he will hold parliamentary elections before Feb. 15 and give up his role as military leader. The general’s comments, shown on national television, indicated that he believed the supreme court he filled with new appointees would uphold his re-election…

Nov 8, 2007 2:58 PM CST

U.S. Concludes a Blackwater Shooting Is Justified

The U.S. government has concluded that a Blackwater security guard who shot and killed three employees of the Iraqi Media Network last Feb. 7 was justified in taking action. A diplomatic security official told the Washington Post that the U.S. Embassy interviewed personnel involved in the shooting and in a…

Nov 8, 2007 12:43 PM CST

UK Law Firm Announces Special NY Associate Bonuses

A Britain-based law firm has joined the bonus bonanza. Clifford Chance will give its New York associates special bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, Legal Week reports. The cash comes on top of regular associate bonuses of $30,000 to $65,000. Cravath, Swaine & Moore was the first law firm to…

Nov 8, 2007 11:20 AM CST

Ex-Legal Chief Claims Samsung Had Bribe Fund for Prosecutors

The former chief lawyer for Samsung Group has filed a legal complaint with South Korean prosecutors that alleges a bribery scheme and cover-up by chairman Lee Kun Hee. Kim Yong Chul, who worked for Samsung for seven years, claims the company kept a secret slush fund to bribe prosecutors and…

Nov 7, 2007 6:45 PM CST

Waning Hunt for Nazi-Era War Criminals

Although it has been more than 60 years since World War II ended and Nazi-era atrocities came to light, the case against the perpetrators still hasn’t been completely closed. Still being sought, for instance, is Aribert Heim, who became infamous for the bizarre—and, often, deadly—medical “experiments” he allegedly carried out…

Nov 7, 2007 4:31 PM CST

Pakistani Lawyers Explain Their Outrage

Pakistani lawyers told the New York Times they took to the streets to protest martial law because of their outrage over a military president who first promised reform but then retreated when the Supreme Court displayed judicial independence. “How do you function as a lawyer when the law is what…

Nov 7, 2007 2:39 PM CST

Court Refuses Gitmo Trial Delay Following Lawyer Feud

A federal appeals court has refused to delay the first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay in the case of a 21-year-old Canadian. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit turned down the request on behalf of Omar Khadr in a brief order, SCOTUSblog reports. Khadr “had not…

Nov 7, 2007 1:01 PM CST

Law Firm Plans Real-Life Practice at Virtual ‘Second Life’ Office

Bridging the gap between a fictional 3D world on the Internet known as “Second Life” and real life, a United Kingdom law firm reportedly has opened an office there not simply to play at law practice or recruit clients but to perform real-life legal functions. “Many of our clients have…

Nov 6, 2007 11:37 PM CST

Law Firm Launches Web ‘Chat Service’ for Potential PI Clients

For potential clients who need a personal injury lawyer, setting an appointment and going to an attorney’s office for an initial consultation can be a daunting process. But a British firm hopes to encourage the solicitor-shy to come to them by offering an Internet “chat service” that gives potential clients…

Nov 6, 2007 10:35 PM CST

In Battle of Bad Laws, Will US or UK Prevail?

A newspaper in the U.K. has thrown down the glove in an international challenge over the relative ridiculousness of specific British and American laws. Topping the list in the U.K., the Telegraph contends, is a law forbidding deaths in the Houses of Parliament, closely following by a legal prohibition against…

Nov 6, 2007 8:46 PM CST

Interpol Plans Increased Use of Internet as Investigatory Tool

After a swiftly successful unprecedented Internet appeal for public help last month in identifying a child sex abuse suspect, an international law enforcement agency says it will use the technique again—and not just in child abuse cases. “This affair opened another dimension to investigations in coming years, new prospects and…

Nov 6, 2007 5:38 PM CST

25 Percent of Pakistan’s Lawyers Arrested; Fired Top Judge Urges Defiance

Under house arrest but having somehow gained access to a cell phone, the ousted chief judge of the Pakistan supreme court urged the country’s lawyers today to continue to defy a state of emergency imposed by Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday. “The lawyers should convey my message to…

Nov 6, 2007 4:28 PM CST