Law firms pursue growth by poaching
Law-firm partner defections rose last year, and legal experts predict the trend will continue this year as firms compete for established books of business amid sagging demand for legal services. One reason: Stealing talent—and clients—is a speedy path to growth, while investing in business development could take years to bear fruit. The fastest way to increase volume is to buy it! You have to assume about three-quarters of lateral acquisitions are because you've got business to bring. So-called lateral hiring, which was popular before the 2008 downturn, bounced back last year. Lateral acquisitions can carry risks. An expensive new hire can fail to deliver promised business or might not mesh well with the new firm's culture. Still, it is quicker for firms to steal partners with a track record in hot practice areas—such as energy, health care or intellectual property—than to build them from within.
A debt market's slow recovery is burdened by new regulation
Collateralized loan obligations, an important source of capital for many businesses, have made a modest comeback since the financial crisis. Now their revival is under threat from well-intentioned regulators. Many C.L.O.'s are approaching their legal maturity dates while others are running up against purchase limits set by their organizational documents. New C.L.O.'s are crucial to support the corporate loan market. Without them, banks will be hampered from originating credit since they will be unable to sell these loans off their balance sheet. The primary problem stems from the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires that originators retain skin in the game for asset-backed securities by retaining a portion of them for their own accounts. By forcing the originator to retain an interest in the securitization, it has an incentive to ensure that the instrument is made up of high-quality assets. In the case of C.L.O.'s, most managers do not actually originate the loans underlying these financial instruments. Instead, the manager buys these loans from originating banks. These managers are not banks but rather lightly capitalized asset managers. This arguably provides a secondary-market check that may be lacking with other structured products. The danger is that C.L.O. managers who lack the capital to retain the risk could be driven out of the market.
Kodak employee sues company directors over stock
An Eastman Kodak employee filed a civil lawsuit against Kodak's board members and other fiduciaries of the photography companies' retirement plans, saying they breached their duties as the company was spiraling toward bankruptcy. Mark Gedek said in the lawsuit that he is a participant in the Kodak Employees Savings and Investment Plan as well as the Kodak Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The board members and directors of those plans continued to sell shares to employees and invest in them ahead of the bankruptcy, he said. Kodak believes the suit is without merit, and we will vigorously defend against it.
EU probes Samsung patent 'abuse'
Samsung's patent deals are being looked into by the European Commission. Competition regulators are investigating whether the firm used some of its intellectual property rights to "distort competition in European mobile device markets". The commission says it wants to know if Samsung has failed to live up to a commitment to license key technologies to rivals. The action comes as the company is involved in patent battles with Apple.
Assange case at Supreme Court
Seven justices at the UK Supreme Court are to hear arguments by lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against his extradition to Sweden. The High Court previously approved his extradition, a decision that Assange argues was unlawful. A Supreme Court spokesman said its justices had agreed to hear the case "given the great public importance of the issue raised, which is whether a prosecutor is a judicial authority".
Impasse at UN Syria crisis debate
A day of debate at the UN Security Council on violence in Syria ends without agreement as Russia and China continue to oppose a draft resolution. The council was discussing whether to adopt an Arab League plan calling for an end to violence and for Bashar al-Assad to stand down. The draft resolution strongly condemns human rights abuses by the Syrian government and calls on all sides to cease the use of violence. It calls on countries to stop the flow of arms to Syria, but does not impose an arms embargo.
Legal help offered to Megaupload users
Users affected by the closure of Megaupload have been offered legal help to retrieve their data. A website has been set up to assist former members of the site to contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation in order to start co-ordinated action. The EFF has criticised the US government for acting "without warning" when it closed the site this month. Carpathis, the hosting provider, wants to assist lawful users of the Megaupload service by promoting EFF and its non-profit legal services.
Lawmakers reach deal on $63bn FAA bill
Lawmakers say they've reached an agreement on a $63bn, four-year bill to extend the Federal Aviation Administration's operating authority and the agency's air traffic modernization effort. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said in a statement that the bill provides the long-term stable funding the FAA needs as it transitions from an air traffic control system that's based on World War II-era technology to one based on GPS technology. FAA's operating authority expired in 2007. It has continued to limp along under a series of 23 short-term extensions. The most recent extension expires Feb. 17.
Congress to oppose EU law on aircraft emissions
The Congress will formally express its opposition to a European law aimed at reducing pollution from jetliners, a thorny diplomatic issue that has threatened to escalate transatlantic trade tensions.
Spanish court upholds Garzon case
The supreme court in Spain refuses a request to throw out a case against its most famous judge, Baltasar Garzon, accused of overstepping his authority.
Appeals court adopts discovery standard, faults EchoStar's email deletion
A New York appeals court on Tuesday adopted a standard for electronic document preservation, declaring that a party must take steps to preserve relevant documents once it "reasonably anticipates litigation." In doing so, the Appellate Division, First Department, upheld sanctions against EchoStar Satellite, the former parent company of the Dish satellite-television network, for destroying relevant emails even after Cablevision had filed a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against it.
Halliburton wins ruling vs BP over Gulf oil spill
A U.S. judge ruled Halliburton is not liable for third-party claims arising from the 2010 disaster, a setback to BP's efforts to contain its own liability.
France lawmakers seek ruling on genocide denial ban
A French genocide denial ban passed last week stalled on Tuesday after two groups of French politicians challenged the law's constitutionality. The opposition groups, which include members in both the Senate and the National Assembly, gathered the necessary signatures to require the Constitutional council of the French Republic to determine if the law is constitutional. While France has already recognized the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide, the new law would punish anyone who denies that the killings constituted a genocide with up to a year in jail and a USD $59,000 fine.
Haiti ex-president Duvalier will not face trial for rights violations
Haiti's Investigative Magistrate Carves Jean ruled Monday that former president Jean-Claude Duvalier will not stand trial for crimes against humanity, including torture, false imprisonment, rape and murder during his reign between 1971 and 1986. Jean dismissed the charges reasoning that there are not sufficient legal grounds and that the statute of limitations has expired. Based on this ruling, Duvalier will go on trial before a special court facing charges of corruption and misappropriation of public funds with at most 5-year imprisonment.
NATO report says Pakistan backing Taliban
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar
Free Syrian Army Ready for the battle for Damascus
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England
Syria clashes kill 13 civilians, 6 troops
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt
U.S. bipartisan group urges upping military threat against Iran
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel
Khamenei criticizes US 'interference' in Syria
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel
Criticism over Goodwin 'hysteria'
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Romney builds momentum after Florida win
CNN International, London, England
Hague plea to UN over Syria unrest
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England
Thousands of 'Mickey Mouse' courses will no longer count towards GCSE league tables
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England
Frankie Essex tries out a hot new trend in a peplum top... but fails miserably
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England
Britain sends warship to Falkland Islands
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France
US ELECTIONS: Romney triumphs over Gingrich in Florida
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Mubarak shouldn't be executed
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey
Hague plea to UN over Syria unrest
Independent The, London, England
Proceedings initiated against Lanta-Tour Voyazh
Moscow News The, Independent, Moscow, Russia
Fred Goodwin is shredded: former RBS boss stripped of knighthood
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England
Stephen Hester got it wrong, says Anthea Turner
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England
B3.5bln 'super max' prison planned
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand
High-level offensive launched on Syria at UN
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan
Can Politicians Make Us Happy?
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea
Putin declines to host China's future premier : report
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India
Sealing drive to begin in Noida today
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India
Experts meet on Fukushima health
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan
Romney to get US Secret Service protection
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand
Senior U.S. diplomat urges improved inter-Korean relations
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China
Aussie bus boss gives $20m bonus to staff
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore
What Rudd said to Crean
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia
Taiwan, China, Japan and western US to see annular solar eclipse in May
Taiwan News, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan
Honda cuts 2011/12 sales forecast to 3.150 mln
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India
Romney routs Gingrich in Florida
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario
No culture experts required for honour crimes
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada
RBI's Reference Rate for Dollar Today
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S
Guatemala Heeds the Cries of Femicide Victims
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy
Shares firmer, euro steady ahead of factory data
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S
Taliban 'poised to retake Afghanistan' after NATO pullout
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S
Mitt Romney romps to victory in Florida Republican race
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario
Chinese workers in Egypt 'freed'
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
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