Morning Briefing: Global firm to close Asia-Pac offices

Fried Frank to close Asia-Pac offices
After almost a decade in the region Fried Frank Shriver & Jacobson has decided to close its Shanghai and Hong Kong offices, affecting 33 members of its team in the region. It’s understood that the firm will continue to hold licences to practice in both jurisdictions and will be opening a service centre in Hong Kong. Fried Frank entered the Asian market in 2006.
 
Clifford Chance trainee says Muslims should not be apologetic
A trainee lawyer has spoken out against Muslims who have adopted an apologetic tone following the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. Aysh Chaudhry, a trainee at Clifford Chance, says in a video on YouTube that Islam is superior to Western ideologies and that if Muslims are not confident in Islam then they will become “colonised” by the west. Clifford Chance told The Telegraph that the comments were “personal and not those of Clifford Chance” and that it urges its staff to consider their personal conduct. However, an interfaith group that highlights extremism says the firm’s response is “deplorable.”
 
Hogan Lovells launches business and social enterprise training
Hogan Lovells has launched a global new business skills training course for lawyers at the start of their careers, aimed at educating them on the fundamentals of business and the importance of social impact. The course will be available initially to lawyers in its London office and will give a grounding in the principals of non-legal business topics together with an understanding of the social impact of business.
 
Call for Sri Lanka’s chief justice to resign
The Sri Lankan Bar Association is calling for the resignation of the country’s chief justice claiming that he was involved in a plot to keep the country’s president in power despite him being voted out. The Bar Association says it is vital that the judiciary is not involved in the political process and says that Mohan Peiris should resign.