Dentons Investigates Its Saudi Office, Big Four's China Bid, Weinstein's Week: The Morning Minute
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February 10, 2020 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
CLASHES - Law firm behemoth Dentons says it's investigating its Saudi Arabia office. The firm's disclosure of the investigation comes after an anonymous source claiming to work in the law firm's Middle East practice complained to the firm of gender bias in the office where partners engage in polygamy (not illegal in Saudi Arabia). The person also said one partner in particular has demonstrated Islamic extremism. As The Careerist Vivia Chen writes, the situation highlights the difficulty that far-flung law firms have when imposing a global code of conduct with distinct local cultures involved.
BIGGER FOUR – Law firms affiliated with the Big Four accounting firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers—hired 17 partners across Asia in 2019. As John Kang reports, that's up from 11 in 2018, when the Big Four accelerated their expansion into the region's legal market. Deloitte led the hiring spree with seven partner hires.
MOVING ALONG – Testimony in the Harvey Weinstein criminal trial in Manhattan is expected to wrap up this week, with defense lawyers representing the former Hollywood producer set to continue presenting their own witnesses today. An expert witness for the defense last week testified about "false memories" in an attempt to challenge the accounts of six women who told the jury that Weinstein sexually assaulted them over two decades. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to predatory sexual assault, rape and criminal sex act.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
Wiley Strikes Back at Client That Claimed It Got Used as a 'Milk Cow for Legal Fees'
Appeals Court Holds Daily Fantasy Sports Contests Illegal Gambling in NY
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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
REDUNDANCIES – U.K.-based Taylor Wessing has cut 28 business jobs from its London office, as the firm has moved much of its business functions from London to Liverpool. Simon Taylor reports that the firm's Liverpool office launched in November 2018 and now has 17 lawyers and paralegals, and more than 60 business service professionals.
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WHAT YOU SAID
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— Yusuf Mohamed, deputy general counsel at Tesla, on how he spreads litigation matters across several law firms.➤➤ Sign up here to receive the Morning Minute straight to your inbox.
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