Latest legal news

Californian technology group Hewlett-Packard has said it will take an $8.8 billion write-down following its acquisition of British e-discovery specialists Autonomy, amid allegations that the software maker's executives committed accounting fraud. | 13yrs

The European Parliament yesterday backed changes to do away with 27 national rules for recognising judgments in cross-border court cases, in a move expected to help businesses and consumers resolve disputes more easily. | 13yrs

The introduction of the China international payments system (CIPS) will have a 'revolutionary impact' in pushing the renminbi as a major world currency, according to a report released today by London magic circle law firm Linklaters. | 13yrs

Ireland would be an ideal place to set up a US style 'Delaware', says Chris Mallon | 13yrs

General counsel and compliance officers are benefiting from swelling pay packets to match growing responsibilities, according to a survey released this week. | 13yrs

As regulations tighten around the globe, corporate general counsel are having an increasing influence over strategic planning at an earlier stage, according to a survey by professional services company KPMG. | 13yrs

Leading British companies aggressively cut down their legal costs so far this year in response to the uncertain economy, a client satisfaction research project reveals. | 13yrs

Lawyers at two global entertainment giants are in this week's spotlight, while a Swiss driller and a leading US university inject fresh blood | 13yrs

A weekly round-up of who's moving up, down or out in global private practice | 13yrs

Pretoria-based law firm Ramulifho is being investigated for allegedly defrauding the Pan South African Language Board by inflating invoices. | 13yrs

Former CIA Director General David Petraeus has hired a renowned Washington DC lawyer to defend him in the multiple investigations of an alleged extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. | 13yrs

Corruption and ethical failings are hampering the Nigerian Bar, according to the nation's attorney general and minister of justice, who said that standards have dropped lower than in past decades. | 13yrs

Lawyers for Lord McAlpine have identified some 1,000 Twitter comments - re-posted by a further 9,000 users - they intend to take legal action against for wrongly linking the Tory peer with child abuse. | 13yrs

Defence lawyers in Scotland launched a one-day strike yesterday in protest at proposed changes to the jurisdiction's legal aid system that they claim could spawn a rash of miscarrages of justice. | 13yrs

The pace of global law firm expansion in Australia is set to slow next year, a report on the country's legal market has revealed. | 13yrs

A judge has ordered a woman caught driving on a pavement to overtake a Cleveland school bus to stand at the same spot and wear a sign inscribed with the word 'idiot'. | 13yrs

Students at India's leading law school are reluctant to practise in courts and would much prefer corporate work, according to research by one of the country's leading think-tanks. | 13yrs

Former Mayer Brown partner Joseph Collins has been convicted of assisting executives at financial services company Refco to conceal a $2.4 billion fraud. | 13yrs

Top UK law firms are increasingly moving towards outsourcing key services such as litigation support and document drafting, research released today shows. | 13yrs