International

UK Bomb Plot Jury Deadlocked

A jury has failed to reach a verdict against two remaining defendants in a failed plot to bomb London’s subways. The jury convicted four of the six defendants of conspiracy to murder on Monday, but remained deadlocked on the other two after deliberating two more hours today, the Associated Press…

Jul 10, 2007 4:38 PM CDT

China Executes Ex-Drug Chief

China has executed the former director of its Food and Drug Administration for taking bribes to approve medicines. Zheng Xiaoyu was convicted of taking cash and gifts worth more than $800,000 to approve untested medicine, according to the Associated Press. He oversaw the food and drug agency from 1998 to…

Jul 10, 2007 1:22 PM CDT

Shearman Expands in China

Shearman & Sterling has opened a third office in China. The new location in Shanghai is the firm’s 20th office worldwide, the New York Law Journal reports. The firm already has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. “The Shanghai office allows us to better serve clients in central and southern…

Jul 10, 2007 1:10 PM CDT

Report: Afghanistan Women = Currency

Despite some significant civil rights improvements, women in Afghanistan are still a form of currency under tribal law, and are commonly used to settle bad debts and, at least until recently, shield their families from the consequences of crimes committed by men. Two of five Afghan marriages are forced, the…

Jul 9, 2007 9:45 PM CDT

UK Big-Firm Partner Argues Age Claim

A hearing has begun in an age discrimination case brought against one of London’s most prominent law firms by a now-former partner, in a cutting-edge case could potentially threaten the British legal profession’s traditional “lockstep” compensation system. It could also be a sign of more litigation to come, as law…

Jul 9, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

First Banana Workers Get US Court Trial

It has been some 30 years since thousands of banana workers in Central America claim to have been exposed to carcinogenic pesticides on plantations there. Intended to kill worms infesting the roots of banana trees, the pesticides dripped from the leaves onto unprotected workers and leached into the water supply…

Jul 9, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Linklaters’ Revenues Top $2 Billion

Linklaters’ revenues have increased by almost 20 percent, bringing the London law firm’s annual earnings to about $2.2 billion. Profits per partner increased at a similarly impressive rate of 21.8 percent, bringing the number to $2.56 million, the American Lawyer reports. Managing partner Tony Angel attributed much of the firm’s…

Jul 9, 2007 12:24 PM CDT

Tort Suit to be Filed Against TB Attorney

It almost had to happen–Atlanta trial attorney Andrew Speaker, now notorious as the lawyer who traveled internationally against doctor’s orders while infected with tuberculosis, is reportedly about to be sued by fellow travelers. But, contrary to stereotype, it isn’t an American plaintiff lawyer who’s going to file the case. A…

Jul 6, 2007 7:26 PM CDT

China Drug Official Gets Death

A second Chinese food and drug official has been sentenced to death for accepting bribes from medical companies seeking approval for their products. The sentence against Cao Wenzhuang, a department director at the State Food and Drug Administration, may not be carried out, the Associated Press reports. Cao was given…

Jul 6, 2007 3:19 PM CDT

London Firms Earn #1 Billing in World

Record profits for the biggest London law firms reportedly make them the dominant players in the world legal market. Three London firms, headed by Clifford Chance, are at the top of the earnings list, with annual billings close to or exceeding $2 billion. For each, that represents an increase of…

Jul 5, 2007 7:25 PM CDT

American Lawyer Media Sold

Updated: American Lawyer Media has been sold to London-based Incisive Media for about $630 million, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog reports. Investment banker and lawyer Bruce Wasserstein bought the company for $200 million in 1997, the blog says. It is formally owned by U.S. Equity Partners, controlled by Wasserstein’s…

Jul 5, 2007 5:34 PM CDT

Report: Rape Used as Weapon in Sudan

A government-backed militia is systematically using rape as a method of so-called ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region of western Sudan, a report by a humanitarian group says. The Janjaweed militia can do so with impunity due to hostility to rape claims by local police and the difficulty of providing…

Jul 4, 2007 1:18 AM CDT

6 Docs, 1 Med Student in UK Bomb Case

Updated: It’s now official: a total of six doctors, plus a medical student, plus a spouse who worked as a medical assistant are being held as suspects in the United Kingdom car bombing case. As ABAJournal.com reported yesterday, it’s unusual for highly educated professionals to be suspected in such a…

Jul 3, 2007 9:25 PM CDT

Khadr, 20, Starts 6th Year at Gitmo Jail

Although he scored a big legal victory June 4, when the U.S. government–at least for now–was told by a military court that its terrorism charges against him are invalid, Omar Khadr’s day-to-day situation is still the same. Held since he was 15 years old at the U.S. military prison at…

Jul 3, 2007 5:37 PM CDT

5 or 6 Doctors in UK Car Bomb Case?

Defying the stereotype that those involved in terrorist acts are often uneducated, at least five doctors may be among the eight suspects now being held in an alleged plot to blow up cars in London and Glasgow, Scotland. Only two of the suspects have been identified by authorities as physicians,…

Jul 3, 2007 1:47 AM CDT