A team of five lawyers has been hired by Norton Rose Fulbright from Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson in Hong Kong… International network announces 39 promotions… PayPal appoints new GC for eBay split… US law firms paying more for first year lawyers… Bogus lawsuit against Facebook thrown out by court…
Norton Rose Fulbright hires Fried Frank team
A team of five lawyers from Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson in Hong Kong has been hired by Norton Rose Fulbright. Fried Frank announced in January that it was pulling out of the market. The newly hired disputes team have joined existing NRF partner Camille Jojo. The team comprises partner Alfred Wu and associates Muriel Cheng, Anita Fong and Kevin Hong. Philip Nunn has also joined as senior consultant.
International network announces 39 promotions
International law network CMS has announced its 2015 promotions with 39 lawyers joining the partnership, 46 per cent of them women. The promotions are across multiple practices and offices in Europe and the Middle East.
PayPal appoints new GC for eBay split
Louise Pentland is to join PayPal as its general counsel as it prepares to split from eBay. Pentland is the former chief legal officer at technology firm Nokia and starts her new job next Monday. At Nokia she was a key part of the deal that sold the firm’s mobile phone business to Microsoft last year for U$7.2 billion. PayPal will become a separate company from eBay in the second half of this year.
US law firms paying more for first year lawyers
Associates are getting more money in the first year at a law firm according to a new survey from the NALP (formerly National Association for Law Placement). The poll of 556 law firms across America received responses from an almost even split of smaller firms (fewer than 50 lawyers) and those with more than 500 lawyers. As of the start of this year a first year associate could expect to earn in the region of U$160,000 in 39 per cent of large law firms, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. The median salary across firms of all sizes was up U$10,000 on a year ago at U$145,000. The survey shows that more firms have moved to paying compensation based on skills achieved at each level that an associate moves up to.
Bogus lawsuit against Facebook thrown out by court
A US court has rejected claims by a fugitive that he owns half of Facebook. Paul Ceglia started his legal action 5 years ago claiming that he had paid Mark Zuckerberg to build him a website similar to what is now Facebook. He said that the deal was a 50/50 split in the company. CNN reports that a court found that he had forged what he claimed was the contract and he was convicted of fraud in 2012. Ceglia has since gone on the run having removed his electronic tag but was trying to revive his case against Facebook and its CEO despite being a fugitive. The case will not be reopened.
