Herbert Smith Freehills lawyer wins prestigious award for community work…
DLA Piper loses three more partners from Asia-Pacific offices… and Kim Dotcom case racks up almost $400,000 in private practice fees…
HSF lawyer wins prestigious award
Jane Sanders, Herbert Smith Freehills Special Counsel and Principal Solicitor at the Shopfront Youth Legal Centre, has been awarded the prestigious 2014 Terry Keaney Memorial Award. The award recognises Sanders’ dedication to the profession, excellence as a criminal lawyer, commitment to clients and her concern for social justice. This year The Shopfront, a service provided by Herbert Smith Freehills in association with Mission Australia and The Salvation Army, celebrates 21 years of offering pro bono assistance to homeless and disadvantaged young people in Sydney. Annette Bain, Head of Pro Bono and Community at Herbert Smith Freehills said: “All of us at Herbert Smith Freehills congratulate Jane on receiving this honour. That Jane was nominated by her peers for this award demonstrates how highly regarded she is within the pro bono and criminal law community.”
DLA Piper departures
Three partners have left the Asia Pacific offices of DLA Piper, the latest in a line of recent departures from the firm. Jolyon Ellwood-Russell has left the Hong Kong office to join Simmons and Simmons, Giovanni Marino has left for the US and Ben Sandstad has left the Singapore office to join an in-house law team. Recent changes to the management at the firm means that the Australian managing partner and one of the two global CEOs oversee the Asia-Pacific region.
Kim Dotcom case costs courts $387,000 in private practice fees
The cost of the Kim Dotcom case has been revealed in figures obtained by
Radio New Zealand in an Official Information Act request. The figures show that from Dotcom’s 2012 arrest to now, private practice law firms have billed $387,000 for work done on behalf of the Crown, while the Crown’s in-house staff have done work that would be worth $6 million if done by private firms. The defendant’s fight against extradition to the US has resulted in over 20,000 hours of work by lawyers for the Crown. The case has been delayed four times and is now scheduled to take place in February.
