Fearless About Jailing Rogue Police, Brazil Judge Was Slain in Hail of Police-Issue Bullets

When a rogue police officer needed to be dealt with, Judge Patricia Acioli was fearless about wielding a heavy hammer. She jailed more than 60, most for murder, reports the Associated Press. Now she has been shot to death, in a hail of 21 police-issue bullets, in front of her…

Sep 17, 2011 12:03 AM CDT

2nd Circuit Is Dubious re Claim That a Federal Judge Can Strike a Foreign Country’s $18B Judgment

It appears that the plaintiffs may be on the path to victory in a hard-fought international legal battle with Chevron Inc. over environmental damage done to the Ecuador rainforest by a predecessor oil company. During a hearing today, three judges of the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of…

Sep 16, 2011 9:23 PM CDT

Onetime Suspect in Unsolved Aruba Disappearance of Natalee Holloway is Charged With Murder in Peru

A Dutch man who was once the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba has now been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of another young woman found dead in his hotel room in Peru. Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison term…

Sep 1, 2011 10:08 PM CDT

With Law Firm’s Aid, Studio Strikes Back by IDing Alleged Culprit in Hacking of ‘Twilight’ Images

Heartbroken to see images on the Internet earlier this year from its latest, as-yet-unreleased film in the Twilight Saga vampire romance series, a movie studio went the extra mile. Summit Entertainment put the Kroll Inc. private investigator and law firm Keats McFarland & Wilson on the case to try to…

Aug 1, 2011 6:20 PM CDT

Couple Wins Damages After Condo Neighbor Complains They Were Having Noisy Sex

Asked by a condominium resident to do something about the “indiscreet and scandalous” noise a neighbor couple allegedly made while having sex in their suburban Rio de Janeiro home, a judge in Brazil has acted. Instead of providing relief to plaintiff Lucas Bohrer Filho, the judge has found merit to…

Jul 12, 2011 11:24 PM CDT

Davis Polk Raids Mayer Brown to Open New Sao Paulo Office, Lures Away 2 of 3 Partners

Corrected: Davis Polk & Wardwell has raided Mayer Brown’s office in Sao Paulo for the lawyers it needs to open a new office in Brazil’s financial center this summer. Joining Davis Polk will be Mayer Brown partners Stephen Hood, the chief of Mayer Brown’s office there, and James Vickers, reports…

Jul 12, 2011 12:06 AM CDT

Milbank Corporate & Securities Leader Takes Team to Dewey, Where He Will Head Latin America Practice

The head of the Latin America practice group at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy is taking a team of lawyers to Dewey & LeBoeuf, where he will serve in a similar leadership role. Michael Fitzgerald, who also chaired the global securities and global corporate groups at his now-former firm, is…

Jun 14, 2011 7:32 PM CDT

Brazil Supreme Court OKs Same-Sex Unions

Same-sex unions must be recognized, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday, finding that gay couples deserve the same rights as heterosexual couples in areas like alimony, benefits and inheritances. According to the Associated Press, the ruling does not legalize same-sex marriage. “This is a historic moment for all Brazilians, not just…

May 6, 2011 5:10 PM CDT

Exxon Mobil’s Dispute with Venezuela Has Global Implications

Apr 1, 2011 7:40 AM CDT

Chevron Fined $8.6B By Ecuador Court in Environmental Case

Chevron Corp. says that there has been an adverse ruling against the oil company today in an environmental case in Ecuador, and a lawyer there who represents the plaintiffs tells Reuters that the amount was $8 billion. That is only a fraction of the $113 billion the plaintiffs reportedly had…

Feb 14, 2011 7:52 PM CST

Harvard Professor Announces Launch of Project to Study Impact of Emerging Economies on Lawyers

David B. Wilkins, one of the nation’s leading thinkers on where the legal profession is headed, received the outstanding scholar award Saturday from the fellows of the American Bar Foundation. But the Harvard Law School professor is hardly about to rest on his laurels. Instead, Wilkins used the occasion of…

Feb 13, 2011 7:57 AM CST

US Judge Grants TRO to Block Enforcement of Potential Ecuador Verdict Against Chevron

In the latest twist in a hard-fought international environmental case that reportedly could win a megabillions verdict for the plaintiffs, a federal judge in New York has granted a temporary restraining order banning enforcement of any judgment that might be awarded in the future by a court in Ecuador. The…

Feb 9, 2011 8:20 PM CST

Patton Firm Seeks to Sue Chevron, Gibson Dunn, Claims Tortious Interference with Client Relationship

Last week, Chevron Corp. filed a federal civil racketeering lawsuit in New York against the plaintiffs in a hard-fought multi-billion-dollar Ecuador environmental case, alleging that they conspired to manufacture and withhold evidence. Among the defendants is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, Steven Donziger. This week, another plaintiffs law…

Feb 8, 2011 4:34 PM CST

Pursuit of Happiness Could Become a Constitutional Right in Brazil

Legislators in Brazil are considering a constitutional amendment to make the “pursuit of happiness” one of the social rights of citizens. The document now lists social rights that include education, health, food, work, housing, leisure and security, the Associated Press reports. The Senate could approve the happiness amendment as soon…

Feb 2, 2011 12:09 PM CST

Lawyer in Megabucks Chevron Enviro Case Must Turn Over Hard Drive Mirror Images, Judge Rules

After persuading a federal judge that a plaintiff’s lawyer waived privilege by operating as a “political operative” in conjunction with the making of a documentary film, a corporate defendant in a megabucks South American environmental case has scored a follow-up victory. Initially, based on the “political operative” finding, a federal…

Jan 27, 2011 9:18 PM CST