Latest legal news

Controversy is being stirred in Australia by the closure of the International Legal Services Advisory Council by the government - after claims were made that it has helped bring business to the country. | 12yrs

The Chief Justice of South Africa has said that the Legal Practice Bill might end up being challenged in court. | 12yrs

Peter McDonald is jumping ship, after a decade at Herbert Smith Freehills, to become a partner in Allen & Overy in early 2014. | 12yrs

A third of law firms (63%) are intending to invest in CRM (client relationship management systems) over the next 12 months, according to a survey by LexisNexis. | 12yrs

General counsel discussing investment in Africa have emphasised the importance of picking the right advisers and getting the due diligence right. | 12yrs

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith has promised to stand out against any possible US government attempts to seize or spy on the data of its clients. | 12yrs

Beau Deleuil, global chief of disputes, is joining the Sydney office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. | 12yrs

Legal sector guru Ashley Balls is predicting that profit margins are likely to fall from their present level of 30 to 40% and could well end up at half that mark or even less. | 12yrs

A record €1.7b in fines from the European Commission, the EU's top competition authority, has been handed out to some European banks. | 12yrs

A new book looks into the reasons why female lawyers exit law firms and prefer to work for corporate legal departments. | 12yrs

The lawyers have kept away from the courts as part of a three-day protest over the physical allocation of criminal court cases in Surat. | 12yrs

The US Department of Justice is understood to be investigating matters related to store openings in Mexico - and the probe may also reach India, China and Brazil. | 12yrs

Slaughter and May's best friend in Germany, Hengeler Mueller, is to open an office in Shanghai in 2014. | 12yrs

Alexei Navalny, lawyer and anti-corruption blogger, has had his licence to practice law revoked by the Moscow Bar Association. | 12yrs

The unified license has revamped the regulatory framework governing the provision of telecom services in India. But will it provide the clarity it so desperately requires, asks Rahul Matthan of Trilegal? | 12yrs

The state of Illinois is to offer a year-long amnesty to thousands of in-house lawyers who appear to be operating without the necessary licence. | 12yrs

A law firm which abandoned the billable hour a year ago has given advice on which kinds of organisation are best suited to using fixed fees. | 12yrs

As banks rush to sign up to a voluntary code of conduct in the UK, City of London lawyers have warned that there is 'great concern' over new powers to name and shame those that do not sign up. | 12yrs

A weekly round-up on in-house moves from around the globe | 12yrs