International

Mom’s in Cold Storage, But That’s Legal

Two British sisters who have kept their mother’s body in cold storage at a London funeral home for a decade as they visited her there almost weekly have broken no laws. But family friends are now trying to end the two 50-something sisters’ practice of regularly sitting with their 84-year-old…

Sep 6, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

German Police Seek Conspirators

German police are searching for 10 more suspects believed to have helped three men arrested yesterday for plotting to bomb U.S. targets in Germany. The 10 people are linked to the Islamic Jihad Union, a Sunni Muslim group influenced by al-Quaida, the Associated Press reports. A State Department official told…

Sep 6, 2007 1:04 PM CDT

Judge: Put Entire UK in DNA Database?

A senior judge in Great Britain has ignited a national DNA debate by suggesting that all citizens—and all visitors to the United Kingdom—should be included in a database of DNA profiles. However, the country’s prime minister says no such plan is now on the drawing board. Including everyone in the…

Sep 5, 2007 7:31 PM CDT

Philippines Abortions: Illegal, Yet Done

Abortions are illegal in the Philippines, but that doesn’t prevent women from having an estimated 500,000 annually. Some 80,000 reportedly are treated in hospitals each year for complications from induced abortions, and another 800 die. Methods commonly used include a “massage” by a midwife or ingesting a concoction of drugs,…

Sep 5, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

Arrests Foil Attacks on U.S. Targets, Germany Says

Three suspected terrorists have been arrested and accused of plotting bomb attacks on U.S. targets in Germany. German Federal Prosecutor Monika Harms said the men were targeting bars and other establishments frequented by Americans, the Associated Press reports. German media reported the targets included the Frankfurt International Airport and U.S.…

Sep 5, 2007 2:04 PM CDT

Lovells’ China Alliance a ‘Genuine First’

London-based Lovells has formed an alliance with nine Chinese law firms to provide joint legal services. The new Sino-Global Legal Alliance is “a genuine first,” Lovells’ Asia regional managing partner, Crispin Rapinet, said in a press release. Lawyers will work together in cross-alliance legal teams based on practice areas. Lovells…

Sep 5, 2007 1:04 PM CDT

LeBoeuf Opens in Hong Kong

The law firm soon to be known as Dewey & LeBoeuf is opening a Hong Kong office. LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae had planned to open the office before it began merger talks with Dewey Ballantine, Legal Week reports. Dewey closed its Hong Kong office in 2003. The new office…

Sep 5, 2007 11:20 AM CDT

DLA Piper Expands in Persian Gulf

DLA Piper is planning an expansion in the Persian Gulf region. The law firm already has offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and will open another office in the capital, Abu Dhabi, the National Law Journal reports. It is also considering offices in Qatar and Mumbai, India. Lee Miller, one…

Sep 4, 2007 11:58 AM CDT

Alston & Bird Plans: TX, Maybe CA, London

A major Atlanta-based law firm has announced plans to open an office in Dallas and is thinking about expanding into California and London as well. Alston & Bird will start small in Dallas, with an eight-lawyer office, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Dallas office will be staffed by five attorneys…

Sep 1, 2007 12:27 AM CDT

Jones Day Snares Hong Kong IP Lawyers

Jones Day has hired four intellectual property lawyers for its Hong Kong office from Baker & McKenzie’s office in the same city. They are Peggy Cheung, Anita Leung, Chiang Ling Li and Helen Tang, the National Law Journal reports. Tang will have of-counsel status, and the others will be partners.…

Aug 31, 2007 10:21 AM CDT

Proskauer to Enter UK

Proskauer Rose is planning to open a London office, and its new leader may be the former managing partner of O’Melveny & Myers’ U.K. branch. Matthew Hudson is in negotiations to make the leap to Proskauer, Legal Week reports. He led O’Melveny’s London office from 2004 until earlier this year.…

Aug 30, 2007 10:59 AM CDT

New Legal Frontier: Facebook Suits?

Employers in the United Kingdom need to have clear-cut policies about employees logging onto Facebook and other social networking sites at work. Otherwise, it’s just a question of time until some they get sued, experts warn. But a total ban on Facebook use, tempting though it seems to certain employers,…

Aug 29, 2007 11:54 PM CDT

Canadian Cleared in 1959 Murder

Concluding a case that has fascinated Canadians for decades, an Ontario appeals court yesterday acquitted Steven Truscott of a 48-year-old crime that originally resulted in a death sentence for him as a teenager. Sentenced at age 14 in 1959 to death by hanging for the rape and murder of a…

Aug 29, 2007 10:56 PM CDT

India to Open Door to Foreign Law Firms?

The government of India and attorneys throughout the country reportedly are considering a proposal to make it easier for foreign law firms to establish a presence there. Under possible legislation being discussed by bar groups throughout India, foreign law firms could establish a limited liability partnership in the country so…

Aug 29, 2007 12:09 AM CDT

Weapons Fraud Investigated

The government is conducting 73 criminal investigations of contract fraud and bribery in the delivery of weapons and supplies to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. “Investigations span the gamut from low-level officials submitting false claims for amounts less than $2,500 to more serious cases involving conspiracy,…

Aug 28, 2007 1:41 PM CDT