Law Firms

Last Wednesday, W. Mark Lanier preached to a jury in Angleton, Tex., telling seven men and five women to remember the story of David and Goliath and smite the drug maker Merck with a verdict that would be heard around the world. On Friday, the jury fulfilled Mr. Lanier’s wishes, finding Merck liable for the […]

Shell has been forced to pay out $9.2m in legal fees and make changes to its corporate governance structure as part of a settlement with disgruntled shareholders. The case pending in New York and New Jersey courts followed the January 2004 statement from Shell that it had overstated its oil and gas reserves in filings

KPMG LLP, the fourth-largest U.S. accounting firm, and lawyers Sidley Austin Brown & Wood have agreed to pay $225 million to settle a suit claiming they fraudulently sold customers abusive tax shelters, court papers show. KPMG and Sidley Austin Brown & Wood will pay $195 million to a group of former clients who bought four

The lawyer for Saddam Hussein said Tuesday he will ask a tribunal for a three-month adjournment of the former Iraqi dictator’s trial for a 1982 massacre. Saddam and seven senior members of his 23-year regime go on trial Wednesday to face charges they ordered the killings of nearly 150 people from the mainly Shiite town

When Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. accepted his nomination to the Supreme Court with President Bush standing over his shoulder like a proud father, Alito dropped an unsubtle hint that he will be tough to mess with. “I argued my first case before the Supreme Court in 1982, and I still vividly recall that day,”

Almost four years after a 10,000-pound scaffolding tumbled from the John Hancock Center — crushing cars and people below — the companies being sued for negligence have agreed to pay out almost $77 million. Nearly all of that — $75 million — will go to the families of four people who were killed and to

A landmark legal battle is looming over the use of the word “spam” by companies offering junk email blocking services. Hormel Foods, the makers of the luncheon meat made famous by a Monty Python sketch, is challenging a Seattle-based technology firm that wants to trademark “Spam Arrest” – the name of its software for email

Much of the general public’s experience with law firm advertising stems from TV and phone book ads for personal injury, workers’ compensation and immigration attorneys. But what Bay Area corporate firms are doing involves slick brochures that are delivered to clients or potential clients. Or, the pieces appear in legal newspapers and magazines that circulate

The firm’s board decided last Friday to proceed with the radical plan following the successful completion of a pilot scheme earlier this month. Around half of the firm’s 85 document processing staff will be retained in London following the completion of an imminent redundancy programme. A&O has signed an agreement with US company Office Tiger

“My name is Marc Dutroux,” the accused said calmly from inside the purpose-built bullet-proof glass dock when asked his identity by presiding judge Stephane Goux on Monday. Branded Public Enemy Number One, Dutroux and three suspected accomplices, including his ex-wife, were driven in an armoured vehicle to the courthouse in this southeastern town to stand