International

EU v US in $100 Billion Landmark WTO Case

The United States reportedly could be required to pay the European Union and other World Trade Organization partners as much as $100 billion in damages, due to federal legislation last year that increased restrictions on Internet gambling. But an unnamed U.S. trade official pooh-poohed this contention, calling the damages being…

Sep 27, 2007 10:24 PM CDT

Tennis Fraud Squad Debated After Claimed Wimbledon Bribes

Tennis officials throughout the world reportedly are reeling—and thinking about pooling their organizations’ resources to develop a new fraud squad—after claims by several professional players that they have been offered bribes to lose games at Wimbledon. Yesterday a Belgian player, Gilles Elseneer, said he had been offered about $70,000 pounds…

Sep 27, 2007 4:27 PM CDT

Why UK Law Firms Are Beating US Rivals

The top five British law firms are benefiting from a robust climate for mergers and acquisitions, but they are also doing a lot of things right. All five recently reported a 20 percent boost in profits per partner, beating many U.S. international law firms, American Lawyer reports. “In the process,…

Sep 27, 2007 12:17 PM CDT

Three UK Lawyers Jump to Mayer Brown

A United Kingdom law firm is losing three commercial litigators, including the department head, to Mayer Brown. Clare Canning and two junior partners are jumping to the U.S. firm from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Legal Week reports. Canning is known for successfully defending Ernst & Young in a suit by…

Sep 27, 2007 10:38 AM CDT

UK’s ex-AG Joins Debevoise

Debevoise & Plimpton has snagged the United Kingdom’s former attorney general. Peter Goldsmith will join the firm’s London office as European chair of litigation, according to a press release. He told the New York Law Journal he knew of Debevoise for its pro bono and public interest work. He said…

Sep 27, 2007 10:29 AM CDT

Court: Lawyer Lied in Firm Fight ... But Which One?

A recent ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal offers a startling view of the hard-hitting office politics at a venerable Toronto law firm. When attorney Benjamin Moss trudged back to Pinkofskys from a criminal trial on May 14, 2004 and reported to his colleagues that the firm’s client had…

Sep 26, 2007 9:35 PM CDT

Linklaters Sends UK Partner to Head US Office

Linklaters is sending a London partner to New York City where he will lead offices there and in Brazil. John Tucker, who oversaw global finance and projects in London, will replace U.S. managing partner Paul Wickes, Legal Week reports. Wickes will become a senior partner. The move is part of…

Sep 26, 2007 1:39 PM CDT

If Getty Returns Art, Italy Drops Suit

As the J. Paul Getty Museum reconfirmed an earlier pledge to return allegedly stolen works of art, the Italian government promised to drop civil claims against a former museum antiquities curator. However, an Italian criminal case continues against Marion True, who is now on trial in Rome on charges that…

Sep 26, 2007 12:37 AM CDT

Money-Making Game: ‘Second Life’ First?

A Canadian law firm claims to be the first to establish an office on Second Life, a 3D virtual community that has attracted millions of participants from all over the world. Davis LLP is staffing its Second Life office with lawyers from the firm’s Video Game law & Interactive Entertainment…

Sep 25, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Judge Makes ‘Bear-Baiting’ Case Against TV Show Producers

A British judge castigated the producers of the nation’s most popular daytime talk show yesterday as he imposed a hefty fine on a participant who reportedly was provoked into a physical attack, in front of a studio audience, on his wife’s lover. The producers of the Jeremy Kyle Show—which, as…

Sep 25, 2007 7:11 PM CDT

Dad Gives Up Losing Custody Battle

John McHugh knows a lot more about Brazilian family law than he used to. His wife and their 7-year-old daughter now live in Brazil, and, unlike their counterparts in the U.S., judges there routinely award sole custody to the mother. Initially, McHugh, now 47, wasn’t too worried, even when his…

Sep 24, 2007 9:45 PM CDT

Lawmaker: Feds Didn’t Spot Cyber-Attack

Saying that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t notice for months that its computer system had been attacked by hackers, a Congressman who works closely with the department is now seeking a new government investigation—and blaming the contractor in charge of the system for lax oversight. Meanwhile, the FBI reportedly…

Sep 24, 2007 7:12 PM CDT

Mexico: Our Soldiers Raped & Tortured

A human rights commission run by the Mexican government has reportedly accused some of the country’s own soldiers of rape and torture and recommended that the Mexican army be removed from ongoing national efforts to control drug-trafficking there. An Associated Press article details four cases of alleged abuse that National…

Sep 21, 2007 10:51 PM CDT

Union: Boss Had Duty to eBay Addicts

A union representing nine United Kingdom office workers reportedly fired due to their addiction to eBay and other Internet sites says their employer should have been more vigilant. Although so-called firewall software had been installed to prevent employees from looking at pornography on their office computers, the union says the…

Sep 21, 2007 5:33 PM CDT

UK Firms Not in a US-Merging Mood

Almost half of U.S. law firms in London would consider merging with a U.K. firm—if they could find a partner willing to get hitched. A survey by Legal Week found 47 percent of U.S. firms are open to a merger, up from 39 percent last year and 29 percent in…

Sep 21, 2007 12:23 PM CDT