Category: News Feeds

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/51272489978/sizes/m/

ARC says Mnangagwa has ‘substantive stakes in at least four national banks, several gold mines and equity interests in transport and agri-business companies’. It observes that his wealth contrasts grotesquely with the annual per capita income in Zimbabwe of about US$1,400 (see: https://www.newzimbabwe.com/report-exposes-harares-corrupt-elites-and-south-african-connections/).

The World Bank estimated this week that almost half of Zimbabweans are living in extreme poverty. It says good harvests offer some hope, with the biggest maize crop in almost four decades (see: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/21/half-of-zimbabweans-fell-into-extreme-poverty-during-covid).

However agricultural experts say the actual yield in Zimbabwe will be ‘dismal’, with 1.4 tonnes per hectare compared with the 5.9 tonnes achieved in South Africa (see: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-06-21-zimbabwe-forecast-to-reap-biggest-maize-crop-in-almost-four-decades-but-yields-remain-dismal/).

The ARC report lists Vice President Chiwenga second on its list of the rich political elite. So it was interesting to hear him calling for a corruption-free Africa, saying that the cancerous scourge was depleting resources meant to benefit the public.

General Chiwenga was delivering a ‘virtual’ address to delegates at Victoria Falls marking Continental Africa Public Service Day. He said: ‘Corruption has become endemic in our culture and needs to be weeded out in our public systems. Zimbabwe has adopted a zero tolerance to corruption approach and has instituted arrests of perpetrators, some of whom have already been convicted and are currently serving their sentences.’ (See: https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/06/corruption-is-endemic-in-africa-chiwenga/.)

The Vigil would point out to the wealthy general/politician Chiwenga the sad case of Stanley Kazhanje, former chair of the Zimbabwe Power Company, sentenced to imprisonment for corruption but refused admission to jail – no doubt because they are cluttered up with opposition people.

Short of breaking into jail, Mr Kazhanje has done all that he possibly can to be admitted – but to no avail. The police are simply not interested. At one stage a High Court judge ordered that he should surrender himself to the Registrar of the High Court, which he did. But the Registrar refused to accept him, saying he had no warrant for his committal. He was referred to the police officers at the court, who didn’t know what to do without a warranted committal (see: https://www.herald.co.zw/ex-zpc-boss-fails-to-find-way-to-jail/).

The Vigil asks how come, when opposition activists are bundled into jail, there is not the same problem? Perhaps Vice President wealthy General Chiwenga could make a ‘virtual’ jail for the convicted elite? About a third of Zimbabwe’s annual gold production was lost to smuggling last year according to Fidelity Printing and Refiners, an arm of the central bank. It amounts to about US$1.5 billion. The head of Zimbabwe’s miners’ federation Henrietta Rushwaya, who is close to the President, was arrested last October on her way to Dubai with six kilograms of gold. Unfortunately, because of the backlog, she is yet to face justice (see: https://www.barrons.com/news/zimbabwe-says-lost-third-of-gold-output-to-smugglers-01624385108?tesla=y).

Other Points:

• A ‘Celebration of Life’ ceremony was held yesterday for seven-year-old Jesse who sadly passed away last month. His mother, Isabell Gwatidzo, asked us to pass on her gratitude to all those who contributed to the costs and to those who, despite Covid restrictions, attended the event. They were: Alice Majola, Chipo Parirenyatwa, Daizy Fabian, David Mukaro, Dumi,Tutani, Ephraim Tapa, Etines Kapiya, Grace Munyanyi, Jonathan Kariwo, Lucia Mudzimu, Patricia Masamba, Peter Sidindi, Sharon Moyo and Tarisai Murwira. For photos, check:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/albums/72157719463396201
• Because of the coronavirus we can no longer physically meet outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London, so we have a virtual Vigil while the restrictions continue. We ask our activists to put on Vigil / ROHR / Zimbabwe regalia and take a photo of themselves holding an appropriate poster reflecting our protest against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. The photos are uploaded on our Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/albums/72157719514123740. Our virtual Vigil activists today were Grace Munyanyi, Jane Kaphuwa, Garikai Mananje and Margaret Munenge who all kindly contributed to Vigil funds.
• For Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website.

Notices

• The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.
• The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil. All proceeds go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe’s work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.
• Facebook pages:

         Vigil: https://www.facebook.com/zimbabwevigil

         ROHR: https://www.facebook.com/Restoration-of-Human-Rights-ROHR-Zimbabwe-International-370825706588551/

         ZAF: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zimbabwe-Action-Forum-ZAF/490257051027515

Post published in: Featured

* Antitrust litigation against Facebook has been dismissed. Maybe the court thought that MySpace was a viable competitor… [Wall Street Journal]

* Be sure to check out the Anti-Defamation League’s annual Supreme Court review. [ADL]

* A South Carolina lawyer has been suspended from practice for incendiary Facebook posts he made about George Floyd. [New York Post]

* A Trump attorney claimed yesterday that the Manhattan DA is investigating the Trump Organization for charges relating to company perks. [Hill]

* E-cigarette company Juul has paid $40 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it improperly advertised its products to teens. That’s a lot of money that went up in smoke… [CNN]

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Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

Welcome To The Team: Above the Law welcomes Chris Williams.

A Day May Come When The Courage Of Men Fails: And it’s today. The Gondor lawsuit is no more.

Comic Sans: Complaint includes comic rendering of facts.

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From Above The Law and DocuSign

Raises: Oh, these are still happening. We got Torys, Glenn Agre, and Reed Smith. Some bigger money at Reid Collins & Tsai. And a little bit off the carbon copy scale for Arent Fox.

Rudy Rage: Giuliani is mad, though frankly the rest of the profession should be madder at him.

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Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day!

According to data collected by the National Law Journal 500, by what percentage is associate headcount down in 2020?

Hint: Head count, across all positions, was up in 2019, but it’s a different story in 2020. We keep saying the associate lateral market is FIRE.

See the answer on the next page.

Alma Asay, the former litigator who founded the litigation management platform Allegory Law, has joined the law firm Crowell & Moring as senior director of practice innovation and client value.

In partnership with the firm’s clients, Asay will focus on driving efficiency, delivering measurable value, and creating customized innovative service solutions, the firm said in announcing Asay’s hire.

Asay was a lawyer for more than six years at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher before launching Allegory in 2012 as one of the first cloud-based litigation management platforms.

When Allegory was purchased by Integreon Discovery Solutions in 2017, Asay became its chief innovation officer. In March 2020, Asay moved to Litera Microsystems, where she was a domain expert and advisor to clients on litigation.

After Asay moved to Litera, it acquired Allegory from Integreon.

“Alma brings a holistic approach to our client-facing efforts, drawing on her unique breadth of experience and valuable perspective recognizing the different legal and corporate roles she has held,” said Ellen Dwyer, chair of Crowell & Moring’s executive committee.

“She has a keen understanding of what clients need and some of the challenges they face, having been on the business side as a founder and CEO of her own company.”

In her new role, Asay will work with lawyers at the firm, as well as with the firm’s client development, pricing, legal project management, and information technology teams.

She will focus on delivering high-value, customized solutions to the firm’s clients in areas including matter management, process improvement, knowledge management, and technology applications.

She will also work with clients’ legal departments and legal operations teams to understand their priorities and challenges and deliver cost-effective and valued solutions, the firm said.

“I’ve learned a lot as an entrepreneur that I’m excited to apply to my new role, including the power of listening and what it means to deliver actual, sustainable innovation,” Asay said in a statement.

“Something that I’ve come to realize from my 10 years in legal technology is that we need to focus less on technology as the solution to fix all things and more on the specific challenges that clients are facing in real time,” Asay said.

Asay has been a frequent author and speaker on innovation in the legal industry and has appeared on podcasts (including one I formerly hosted), at conferences, and hosted her own series on Litera TV.

I featured her in an essay I wrote, 2017: The Year of Women in Legal Tech.

I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. [I think he] feels an institutional loyalty to the Supreme Court, he believes that he’s still at the top of his game, is very effective and can still do some good.

— Mediation lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, a longtime friend of Justice Stephen Breyer, commenting on whether he thinks his pal will be retiring from the high court any time soon. Breyer’s longtime friend. “The opinions of the court over the last three decades would look very, very different if Justice Breyer wasn’t there,” he added. “[No one will] right away be as effective as him.”

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

We’re not quite done with associate salary increases quite yet! The latest firm to announce raises is none other than the No. 26 Biglaw firm (according to Am Law) — Reed Smith. The firm took in $1,310,596,000 in gross revenue last year, and looks like they’re happy to share the wealth!

Reed Smith announced today they’re moving to the much ballyhooed $205,000 standard for first-year associate compensation. The move is part of a broader salary restructuring that will see the end of regional differences in compensation, which the firm says reflects how matters at the firm are staffed.

Why, you say? It’s all about recruitment, stupid.

“Our culture and core values are central to who we are as lawyers and as a firm,” said Sandy Thomas, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner. “Our 2024 business strategy is focused on excellence and impact, and recruiting the best talent available is critical to meeting our promise of providing our clients with first-in-class legal services.”

A message that was reinforced by Casey Ryan, Global Head of Legal Personnel:

“We are in the talent business, pure and simple. We are committed to recruiting the best talent and helping our people build their careers at Reed Smith. We know that’s how we keep our competitive edge in the market. We also know that quality of life for our associates goes beyond pay. Through Associate Life, we are taking a holistic approach to life at Reed Smith and creating an overall experience that works for our associates.”

Congrats to all the associates on their big raises!

Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Raises”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we’ll also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

“What’s good?” – Socrates, right?

Hello to you, too. My name is Chris Williams. I’ll be serving as Above the Law’s new Social Media Manager and Assistant Editor. What follows are a few things about me that are likely to color my writing. I claim New Jersey, unapologetically. I spend most of my time in Camden. I recently attended a festival called Mini Beard and tried to read Aristotle’s Rhetoric in my tent. I was too distracted by my surroundings to continue on, but the attempt was made.

I graduated from Rutgers – Newark with a degree in Philosophy and a degree in African and African American studies. That experience taught me that theory must be grounded in practice. Oddly enough, I went to law school with no intention of ever being a practicing lawyer. I decided that I wanted to teach Jurisprudence, which is philosophy of law, and I figured learning what lawyers learn made the most sense to do. That did have the effect of me seeing my classes less as a place for me to outline and more of a place to teach others. For context, I was the student that would draw attention to discrepancies in 2^nd Amendment jurisprudence whenever possible. I intend on continuing that practice at Above the Law. This is an introduction as much as it is a paper trail, so I invite you to call my attention to this intro if at any point I don’t make the most of a teachable moment. Accessibility is something big to me. Is Above the Law addressing the needs of recent grads? Black folks? People who have problems seeing? If not, and if it is possible to change that, how can we make things right? I like memes, I post them, and I need them to be accessible so that as many people as possible can see how brilliant and modest my original content is.

When I’m not making memes or penning articles, I am a Youth Instructor at The Center for Environmental Transformation where I teach kids how to grow food and resolve conflicts. I seem to have a never-ending pile of laundry. I ride my bike enough to consider myself a cyclist, but actual cyclists have a problem discerning between myself and the average couch. I firmly believe Alan Lightman wrote one of the best books ever written and baked macaroni and cheese is my love language.

Questions, comments, concerns? Send me those and more at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com.

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. Before that, he wrote columns for an online magazine named The Muse Collaborative under the pen name Knehmo. He endured the great state of Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com.