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1. 美国凯威莱德律师事务所将关闭北京和香港的办公室。总部位于纽约的美国凯威莱德律师事务所正式宣布撤出亚洲，管理合伙人Patrick Quinn已经确认正在准备关闭北京和香港的办公室。凯威莱德13名成员组成的管理团队做出了这一决定，旨在帮助该所在一系列合伙人离开后"适应一个更加集中的战略"。通过离开亚洲，凯威莱德希望重新聚焦于金融机构、大公司和私募股权基金业务。这两地的办公室将在12月底关闭，大约有25名律师将因此被解散。Quinn 表示，这是一个很艰难的决定，这些办公室的律师和员工都非常能干，都是优秀的律师和优秀的人。小编查了下，凯威莱德早在2005年就获批进入中国大陆，已经有十来个年头了，最终却不得不曲尽终散。凯威莱德是过去15个月里第三家撤离中国市场的大律所，去年美国法朗克律师事务所宣布关闭上海和香港的办公室，而美国查德本o派克律师事务所则关闭了在北京的办公室。
Cadwalader to close in Beijing and Hong Kong
Lawyers are to be laid off as New York-headquartered Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft announces its withdrawal from Asia.
Managing partner Patrick Quinn has confirmed that Cadwalader is preparing to shutter its offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. The decision, announced to the firm's partnership yesterday, was made by the firm's 13-member management team to help Cadwalader 'fit a more focused strategy' following a string of partner exits. Both offices will close by the end of December, with around 25 lawyers set to be laid off as a consequence of the retreat. 'It was a very difficult decision,' said Mr Quinn. 'We have very capable attorneys and staff in these offices - great lawyers and great people.'
Cadwalader is the third major firm to pull away from the Chinese market in the last 15 months. Last year, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson announced that it was closing its outposts in Shanghai and Hong Kong, while Chadbourne & Parke shuttered its own office in Beijing. By moving away from Asia, Cadwalader is hoping to refocus its practice on financial institutions, large corporations and private equity funds. '[By] refocusing the firm's resources and investment on practices that are most closely aligned with our strategy, we can grow sustainably with a higher degree of predictable success,' said Mr Quinn. (Sources: BigLaw Business; Legal Week; American Lawyer)
2. 澳洲律所将对另一家律所Slater & Gordon提起第一起股东集团诉讼。位于墨尔本的澳大利亚Maurice Blackburn Lawyers律师事务所将成为第一家行动者，对深陷困境的全球第一家上市律所Slater & Gordon提起股东集团诉讼。该诉讼集中在之前Slater & Gordon对英国Quindell专业服务板块所进行的6.37亿英镑收购，该收购的部分资金来自于向现有股东的融资。Maurice Blackburn称，Slater & Gordon在该收购交易的尽职调查过程存在问题，未向股东提供该收购所涉及风险的准确信息和Quindell资产的真实陈述。Maurice Blackburn表示，在2015年4月至2016年2月期间，股东的投资损失了95%，因此预计所寻求的补偿将是"非常巨大的"。而Slater and Gordon称目前尚未收到Maurice Blackburn的起诉通知。与此同时，位于悉尼的律师事务所ACA Lawyers去年12月也曾宣布可能对Slater and Gordon提起集团诉讼，现在则表示"未来四至六周内"将会提起正式诉讼。
（图片来源：Sydney Morning Herald）
Firm to file first shareholder claim against Slater & Gordon
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers is set to become the first practice to file a shareholder class action against embattled Slater and Gordon.
The action centres on the ?637m acquisition of UK company Quindell's professional services division, which was partly funded by a capital raising from existing Slater and Gordon shareholders.
Melbourne-based Maurice Blackburn says that the deal called into question Slater & Gordon's due diligence process and claims that shareholders were not given accurate information about the risks involved in the acquisition and the true state of Quindell's finances.
The firm says that shareholders saw their investments lose 95 per cent in value between April 2015 and February 2016 and as such the compensation sought is expected to be of 'very significant magnitude'.
In a statement to the stock market, Slater and Gordon said it has yet to be served with the claim from Maurice Blackburn.
Meanwhile, Sydney-based ACA Lawyers, which announced a potential class action against Slater and Gordon last December, says it should be in a position to commence formal 'over the next four to six weeks'. (Source: Law Society Gazette)
3. 第一起律师起诉West和律商联讯抄袭律师作品案件。美国俄克拉荷马市的知识产权律师Edward White和纽约的商事诉讼律师Kenneth Elan正在起诉法律出版巨头West Publishing（汤森路透旗下）和律商联讯，称其收集和出售受版权保护的诉讼案情摘要和备忘录，这应该是美国首起此类案例。根据纽约法律期刊报道，这些律师称这两家法律出版商"厚颜无耻地大规模拷贝律师和律所所创作和拥有的成千上万有版权的作品"，主张损害赔偿金。这一案件的争议焦点在于，出版律师创作的内容是否属于合理使用。
Lawyers to sue publishers in groundbreaking case
Oklahoma City intellectual property lawyer Edward White and New York commercial litigator Kenneth Elan are suing the blackletter law publishing giants West Publishing and LexisNexis over the collection and sale of copyright-protected legal briefs and memoranda, in what appears to be the first case of its kind in the US.
According to the New York Law Journal, the lawyers are seeking damages for the 'unabashed wholesale copying of thousands of copyrighted works created by, and owned by, the attorney and law firms'.
New York-based lawyer Gregory Blue represents the claimants along with Raymond Bragar of Eastside Manhattan firm Bragar Wexler Eagel & Squire.
The case rests on the issue of whether publishing the content produced by the attorneys constitutes fair use. (Global Legal Post)
4. 美国总法律顾问所畏惧的律所。BTI Consulting Group以自由问卷的方式调查了300名美国总法律顾问，询问他们最不愿哪些律所成为诉讼对手的法律顾问。结果显示，今年的"恐惧四强"按英文字母顺序分别是大成（Dentons）律师事务所、美国众达律师事务所、美国凯易国际律师事务所和美国世达律师事务所。其中大成是今年新上榜，取代了此前的诉讼强所美国昆毅律师事务所，这也令小编颇为吃惊。其他上榜的律所还包括：美国艾金·岗波律师事务所、美国凯威莱德律师事务所（就是将撤出中国的那家）、Cravath, Swaine & Moore、美国达维律师事务所、Fish & Richardson、美国吉布森律师事务所、美国高盖茨律师事务所、美国瑞生律师事务所、美国摩根路易斯律师事务所、美国普盈律师事务所和美国伟凯律师事务所。
US general counsel name scary firms
A new survey from BTI Consulting Group asked 300 GCs in a free form question which law firms they would least like to see as opposing counsel. This year's top four are, in alphabetical order: Dentons; Jones Day; Kirkland & Ellis; and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
Jones Day, Kirkland, and Skadden have all made the list in previous years, but the appearance of Dentons means Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has lost its seat on this high-powered train.
Other firms feared by GCs included Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Fish & Richardson; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; K&L Gates; Latham & Watkins; Morgan Lewis; Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman; and White & Case. (Global Legal Post)
5. 律所革新：Howard Kennedy律师事务所将强制关闭本所律师的电脑。英国Howard Kennedy律师事务所开展了一项不平常的"破坏性"革新计划：如果律师未能完成工作小时数，他们的电脑将会被关闭。不动产业务主席Julian Hindmarsh告诉The Lawyer杂志，该所的计费律师每天需要记录7个工作小时，其中5.6个工作小时必须能够向客户收费。到周末的时候，任何未能完成该要求的律师将会收到一封提醒邮件，而如果在一个月后仍然未能完成，那么该律师的电脑将被强制关闭。不过Howard Kennedy不是第一家采取这种极端措施来迫使律师完成小时记录目标的律所。最近，Nabarro律师事务所要求该所律师即便上厕所也要计入对客户的收费时间，据说解释理由是律师们在上厕所时也在思考客户业务。
Innovation update: Howard Kennedy blocks computers of its own lawyers
In a demonstration of how law firms are adopting disruptive business practices, Howard Kennedy has unveiled an innovative new scheme. And in an unusual twist, the firm intends to disrupt its own business - by shutting its lawyers' computers down if they fail to complete their timesheets.
Real estate chairman Julian Hindmarsh told The Lawyer magazine that fee-earners at the firm are required to record seven hours work every day, of which 5.6 hours must be chargeable. At the end of the week, any individual who has failed to achieve that target is sent a reminder by email, and if the target is still not reached after a month then the fee-earner is locked out of their computer.
Howard Kennedy is not the first firm to resort to desperate measures to get people to record their time. Nabarro told its lawyers recently to continue billing clients even when they're having a loo break. (Rollonfriday)
6. 法律服务商和职业妈妈平台合作，利用寻求重返职场的女性律师资源。在线法律市场Crowd & Co是最新一家和ProfessionalMums.net合作的法律服务提供商，通过双方合作来利用那些寻求重返职场的女性律师资源。ProfessionalMums是为有技能的女性提供职业机会的网上平台，这些女性寻求重返工作或寻找一个更加灵活的工作机会。首席执行官Kate Mills称，其目标是为那些已近离开职业而又希望重返职业、但发现通过传统方式难以重返的女性提供一个解决方案。
Firm partners with professional mothers' network to break new ground
Online legal marketplace Crowd & Co is the latest legal business to partner with ProfessionalMums.net in a bid to capitalise on the many female lawyers looking to move back into the job market after time out.
ProfessionalMums is a platform for skilled women looking to return to the workforce, or seeking a more flexible working opportunity. CEO Kate Mills told Australasian Lawyer it aims to provide 'a solution for those women who have left the profession and are looking to get back in but find it hard to get back in in a traditional way.'
Ms Mills added that while there are many gap-bridging strategies, sourcing contract work can be a very useful method as it gives both sides a chance to 'try before you buy.' (Global Legal Post)
7. 律商联讯关于价值的领导者报告：律师和客户之间价值观念的差异和固定费用等。在对价值的看法上，律师和客户之间仍然有重大差异。律商联讯英国的领导者报告（The Bellwether Report）调查了122名律师和108名客户，发现30%的律师认为他们提供的服务"极其物有所值"，而只有8%的客户对此认同。该调查还发现，43%的律师将固定收费看做是一个机会，但在过去一年转向这种收费模式的律所却只有23%。在识别客户最重视哪一项时，大多数律师认为是"清晰确定的法律成本/固定费用"；而根据客户反馈，最关注的则是"对我的特定需求的清晰理解"。
LexisNexis Bellwether report on value: The client-lawyer disconnect and fixed fees
There is still a significant disconnect between lawyers and their clients when it comes to their perception of value, a survey out today (10 October) reveals, with only a minority of law firms also having shifted away from the billable hour despite seeing great opportunity in fixed fees.
LexisNexis UK's The Bellwether Report: A Question of Value survey, which canvassed the opinion of 122 lawyers and 108 clients from across the sector, finds that 30% of lawyers think they offer "excellent value for money" but only 8% of clients agree.
The survey also finds that 43% of lawyers see fixed fees as an opportunity but only 23% of firms have shifted towards that billing model in the past year.
In terms of recognising what their clients value most, the majority of lawyers said "a clear indication of costs/fixed fees." However, asked the same question, clients' number one priority was "a clear understanding of my particular needs." (legaltechnology.com)
8. 亨德森集团和骏利资产60亿美元合并交易，富而德和世达担任牵头法律顾问。亨德森集团和骏利资产将进行合并，将在2017年第2季度形成价值60亿美元的新资产管理公司骏利亨德森全球投资公司，所管理的资产将超过3200亿美元。在该笔交易中，英国富而德律师事务所和美国世达律师事务所担任牵头法律顾问。其中富而德代表伦敦上市的亨德森集团，而世达代表纽约上市的骏利资产。
Freshfields and Skadden lead on $6bn asset manager tie-up
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have won top roles on the creation of new asset manager Janus Henderson Global Investors.
The company, valued at $6bn (?4.7bn), will be formed in the second quarter of 2017 following the merger of Henderson Group and Janus Capital.
London-listed Henderson turned to Freshfields for advice, with a team led by corporate head Simon Marchant and partner Oliver Lazenby.
Skadden London head Michael Hatchard and M&A partner Scott Hopkins led for New York-listed Janus, alongside New York partners Ralph Arditi and David Hepp.
As a result of the merger, the new company will hold assets under management of over $320bn (?249bn). (The Lawyer)
9. 美国国会议员呼吁对万达集团的好莱坞收购进行审查。美国国会议员、众议院拨款委员会下属商业、法律、科学和相关部门委员会主席John Culberson，要求司法部审查大连万达集团在美国娱乐行业的收购，这给近期中国在好莱坞的大笔收购带来了更大的阻力。在上周四的一封信中，来自德克萨斯州的Culberson特别提及了万达集团董事长王健林，称其最近对美国娱乐公司的收购有可能鼓励"美国媒体上的外国宣传影响"。眼下对万达狂热收购进行政府审查的呼声日益高涨，而该信函是最新一个例子。万达已经收购了美国连锁院线AMC娱乐控股公司、电影制片公司传奇娱乐，并正在洽谈收购Dick Clark Productions和Carmike Cinemas Inc.。王健林是中国首富，他已经明确表示希望最终将拥有好莱坞六大电影公司中的一家。
（图片来源： www.soundofhope.org）
Congressman Calls for Review of Wanda Group's Hollywood Ambitions
Turning up the heat on China's recent buying spree in Hollywood, a House subcommittee chairman has asked the Justice Department to review entertainment industry acquisitions by Dalian Wanda Group Co.
In a letter on Thursday, Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) singled out Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Chinese conglomerate, saying his recent takeovers of U.S. entertainment companies have the potential to encourage "foreign propaganda influence over American media."
The letter is the latest example of growing calls for government scrutiny of Wanda's acquisition fever, which so far has led to the purchases of exhibitor AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., production company Legendary Entertainment and pending deals to buy Dick Clark Productions and Carmike Cinemas Inc. Mr. Wang is China's richest man, and he has made clear that he wants to eventually own one of Hollywood's six major studios. (WSJ)
10. 国际律所并购：一个新的十亿美元级强所诞生。CMS是欧洲最大、全球十大律所之一，而Nabarro则专注于不动产，Olswang的TMT和IP业务名声在外。现在，CMS英国、Nabarro和Olswang的合伙人压倒性地通过一项提议，将这三家律所合并，从而诞生一家新的伦敦金融城强所，按照律师人数将成为全球第六大律所，按收入则将成为英国第六大律所。这一合并预计于2017年5月1日完成，将成为英国法律服务市场有史以来最大的一笔并购。合并后，Nabarro和Olswang将加入到CMS UK LLP中，新的律所将以CMS的名字来开展业务，而英国区域则为CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP。该所将集中在六块法律领域：能源、金融服务、基础设施和工程项目、生命科学和医疗保健、不动产以及TMT，并将在36个国家拥有65个办公室，在英国有将近2500名律师，全球有超过4500名律师。而在Nabarro和Olswang加入之后，CMS总共将拥有超过1000名的合伙人和超过7500名的雇员，在英国的合并收入大约4.5亿英镑，而全球收入超过12亿欧元。
（图片来源：The Lawyer）
New billion dollar city law firm powerhouse is born
The partners of CMS UK, Nabarro and Olswang have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a proposal to combine their firms and create a new City powerhouse that will become the world's sixth largest law firm by lawyer headcount and sixth largest in the UK by revenue. The merger, which is due to complete on 1 May 2017, will be the largest merger ever in the UK legal services market. Nabarro and Olswang will join the CMS UK LLP partnership.
The new firm will trade as CMS and the name of the UK LLP will be CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP. The firm will focus on six sectors- Energy, Financial Services, Infrastructure & Projects, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Real Estate and Technology, Media & Telecommunications. It will have 65 offices across 36 countries and nearly 2,500 lawyers in the UK within a global team of over 4,500 lawyers. With the addition of Nabarro and Olswang, CMS will have over 1,000 partners and over 7,500 employees - with combined revenues of circa ?450 million in the UK and revenues well in excess of €1.2 billion globally.
CMS is Europe's largest law firm and a top 10 global firm with a long-standing heritage in the City and 60 offices around the world. Nabarro specialises in the Real Estate sector whilst Olswang is best known for its Technology, Media and Telecommunications and IP practice. (Global Legal Post)
11. 美国联邦上诉法院判决美国消费者金融保护局的结构违宪。被美国监管机构处罚后，不仅推翻了处罚，还导致该机构违宪？来看看美国PHH公司的案例。美国哥伦比亚特区联邦巡回上诉法院周二做出判决，美国消费者金融保护局（Consumer Financial Protection Bureau，CFPB）的组织架构违宪，认为赋予了局长Richard Cordray过多的权力。消费者金融保护局是根据《多德-弗兰克法案》（华尔街改革和消费者保护法案）而设立，该法案是2008年金融危机的产物，由美国总统奥巴马于2010年7月签署，建立了旨在加强对金融行业监管和保护消费者的新规则。2015年，美国PHH公司（一家提供抵押服务的金融公司）提起诉讼，要求撤销消费者金融保护局对其处以1.09亿美元罚金的命令。现在法院不仅宣告该处罚无效，而且认为消费者金融保护局的单一局长独立机构状态是违宪的，只有在局长可以被美国总统任意撤换的情况下，法院才会允许该机构继续运转。而在此判决之前，总统只有在有理由时才能撤换该机构的局长。法院还认为，消费者金融保护局强加了相关规定，使其对PHH违规行为执法没有时效限制，这违反了正当程序。不过这一判令不会导致消费者金融保护局此前的行为无效：上个月，该机构宣布就非法销售行为对银行巨头富国银行处以1亿美元罚金；2016年7月，该机构要求花旗向900万信用卡用户退还7亿美元，并处以7000万美元的罚金；2014年4月，就非法信用卡业务要求美国银行支付7.27亿美元罚金。
Federal appeals court rules structure of consumer protection agency unconstitutional
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional, holding that too much power is vested in its director, Richard Cordray. The ruling came in a suit brought by the PHH Corporation (PHH) in 2015, seeking to vacate a $109 million order imposed upon it by CFPB. The court invalidated the penalty and held that the CFPB's status as a single-director independent agency was unconstitutional. The court will allow the agency to continue operation as long as the director is removable by the president without cause. Prior to this ruling the bureau's director was only removable by the president with cause. The court also held that CFPB violated due process by imposing a provision that allowed no statute of limitations for enforcement against violations on PHH.
The decision against CFPB will not void any of its prior actions. Last month CFPB announced a $100 million fine against banking giant Wells Fargo for widespread illegal sales practices. In July the bureau ordered Citigroup to refund $700 million to nine million credit card customers, along with a $70 million fine for illegal and deceptive practices. In April 2014 the CFPB ordered Bank of America to pay $727 million for its illegal credit card practices. The CFPB was established under the Dodd-Frank Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in July 2010 in response to the 2008 financial collapse and created new regulations designed to strengthen oversight of the financial industry and protect consumers. (Jurist)
12. 艾森克美孚在乍得被判740亿美元罚金，超过乍得GDP的五倍。根据一份法院文件，艾森克美孚在乍得因未缴纳足额税费而被判令支付创纪录的740亿美元罚金。艾森克美孚在乍得开采石油已经有15年时间。该案中，乍得财政部诉称，艾森克美孚牵头的一个联合体未能履行其纳税义务。10月5日，乍得最高法院在乍得首都恩贾梅纳宣布了该案判决，艾森克美孚须交纳罚金740亿美元，外加8.19亿美元的未付税款。这一罚金约超过乍得GDP的五倍，而根据世界银行的估计，乍得的GDP为130亿美元。该罚金也超过了BP因2010年墨西哥湾的深水地平线灾难而支付的616亿美元，更比艾森克在1989年阿拉斯加瓦尔迪兹溢油事件中支付的9.775亿美元要高出70倍。不过按照洛杉矶洛约拉法学院国际法教师Jeffery Atik的说法，乍得不太可能收取这么多的罚金。
Exxon Is Hit With Fine From Chad Five Times Country's GDP
Exxon Mobil Corp. was ordered to pay a record $74 billion fine in Chad for underpaying royalties in the central African nation where the company has been drilling for 15 years, according to a court document.
The fine is about five times more than Chad's gross domestic product, which the World Bank estimates at $13 billion. The High Court in the capital, N'Djamena, announced its ruling Oct. 5 in response to a complaint from the Finance Ministry that a consortium led by Exxon hadn't met its tax obligations. The court also demanded the Texas-based oil explorer pay $819 million in overdue royalties, according to the document.
The penalty exceeds the $61.6 billion financial blow BP Plc incurred after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 killed 11 rig workers and fouled the Gulf of Mexico with crude for months, and is more than 70 times larger than the $977.5 million Exxon was ordered to pay fishermen and other victims of the 1989 Valdez oil spill in Alaska. Chad is unlikely to collect most of the fine, said Jeffery Atik, who teaches international law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. (Bloomberg)
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