Singapore launches programme to help local law firms expand abroad

35 lawyers will be sent to at least eight trips for global training.

The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) together with the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore launched Lawyers Go Global programme to help local law firms and lawyers venture abroad.

The programme is composed of three key initiatives, which include overseas mission trips, training, and branding and marketing.

LawSoc, with the support of MinLaw and IE Singapore, will organise at least eight overseas mission trips over the next three years to China, India, and other ASEAN countries. This is to help Singapore lawyers better understand the legal needs and business opportunities in these markets.

Each trip will be joined by 35 lawyers. The first trip is scheduled on April 2018 in Guangzhou, China.

Besides that, LawSoc will organise a series of training to equip the lawyers with skills to help them seize global opportunities. The training will tackle legal regimes, business norms and economic opportunities of specific countries which the lawyers are interested, networking skills for lawyers, and branding strategies for law firms abroad.

The last component of the programme will focus on improving the branding and profile of Singapore lawyers.

LawSoc said they will hire a consultant to conduct a survey to find out the perception of Singapore lawyers in the country and to five identified overseas markets.

The results will then be used to launch a marketing campaign, in different languages, targeting different overseas markets. LawSoc hopes to launch the campaign by the end of 2018.
 

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SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of Invitation Homes Inc. – INVH

Feb 02, 2018 (ACCESSWIRE via COMTEX) — NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2018 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Invitation Homes Inc. (“Invitation Homes” or the “Company”)

INVH, +0.09%

Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether Invitation Homes and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On September 19, 2017, post-market, Invitation Homes disclosed receipt of a letter from the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “stating that it is conducting an investigation captioned ‘In the Matter of Certain Single Family Rental Securitizations.’ The letter enclosed a subpoena that requests the production of certain documents and communications related to [Invitation Homes’] (and its predecessor’s) Securitizations, including, without limitation, those related to [broker price opinions] provided on properties included in the Securitizations.”

Following this disclosure, Invitation Homes’ share price fell $0.53, or 2.3%, to close at $22.47 on September 20, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP

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Copyright 2018 ACCESSWIRE

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Cloud tech firms, lawyers, policy advisors voice concerns over regulations

In India, a data protection bill is currently being considered by the ministry of electronics and information technology which broadly looks at ensuring privacy of individuals and how personal data is stored and retrieved. Photo: iStock

In India, a data protection bill is currently being considered by the ministry of electronics and information technology which broadly looks at ensuring privacy of individuals and how personal data is stored and retrieved. Photo: iStock

Bengaluru: Policy advisors, lawyers and cloud service providers (CSPs) voiced concern over the regulations being enforced on CSPs by regulators like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and bigger governing bodies like the European Council.

With multiple regulations from different sectors and governments, CSPs feel that some amount of self-regulation is required to ease the cost of compliance.

At the 14th annual international conference held by ITechLaw, Microsoft’s director and legal counsel (corporate and external affairs) Aditi Chopra said that CSPs are increasingly dealing with regulations from multiple sectoral regulators and governments leading to complications.

For example, regulations enforced on the banking sector will also be enforced on CSPs when they work with clients in the banking sector, in addition to other IT laws enforced on CSPs by central governing authorities.

Regulations enforced on CPSs broadly cover three key important areas including data protection laws, data and storage standards, and regulations that allow law enforcement authorities to access user data stored by CSPs.

In India, a data protection bill is currently being considered by the ministry of electronics and information technology which broadly looks at ensuring privacy of individuals and how personal data is stored and retrieved. The ministry had put out a consultation paper on this topic last November.

In addition to this, telecom regulator Trai and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are also consulting on data protection regulations for their respective sectors. Trai also put out recommendations under a different consultation paper involving CSPs which also touched upon data protection.

Regulations also affect contractual agreements between CSPs and customers purchasing the cloud service.

Namita Viswanath, principal associate at IndusLaw, said that contracts between a CSP and a company are usually finalized on the basis of the governing law that the company operates under. In any case, the company buying the cloud product has very little bargaining power, since most contract papers are prepared by the CSP. This is because cloud providers have to deal with multiple regulations and compliance laws leave little room for contract negotiations.

For example, a company may argue that it is more feasible for it to store data on servers abroad, but certain laws prevent it from doing so.

In April last year, the ministry of electronics and information technology issued guidelines which said that all government-related data stored on the cloud should be located in servers in India and not in foreign countries.

Additionally, the ministry’s paper on data protection also looks at the need for storing cloud data locally in India. If the final regulation mandates that certain kinds of data be stored locally, then the consequence will be reflected in contractual agreements between CSPs and the company purchasing the service.

Sonia Baldia, partner at Baker McKenzie said during the conference that heavy regulations also elevate the complexity of the contract. “When we helped close a contract between a cloud provider and a client company, the transaction involved 5 different stakeholders, resulting in 5 different contracts. There was a contract involving the re-seller, there was a contract involving the CSP itself, there was a contract with the implementer, and there was a contract with the hosting company,” Baldi said.

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Besotted bar owner falls foul of the law with alcohol advert

The beer bar posted on its Facebook a picture of a BNK48 singer “Pun” and offered three different prizes:

If anyone turned up carrying a photo of Pun they’d get a 10 per cent discount on their drinks;

If they could dance like Pun to the popular song “Cookie Siang Tai” (“Koisuru Fortune Cookie”), they and all the guests at their table would get free beer throughout the night;

And, best of all: “If any girl looks like Pun BNK48, she can enjoy free draft beer at my place for life,” the advert continued. 

An ongoing investigation by the Public Health Ministry has found that the singer was not paid for her appearance in the adverts and that she had only been singled out by the bar owner because she was his favourite. 

“The bar owner has admitted that he posted the ads and does not personally know the singer,” Disease Control Department’s director-general Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said on Friday. 

Dr Nipon Chinanonwait, director of the Alcohol Control Committee Office, said he had already alerted police to the bar’s apparent violation of the ban on alcohol advertisements. 

“If convicted, offenders face a jail term of up to one year and/or a maximum fine of Bt500,000,” he said. 

 The bar owner has since removed the advert after being warned by the authorities. 

Last year, several entertainment figures were summonsed for allegedly helping to advertise alcohol firms. In Thailand, alcohol advertising is illegal. 

After the bar’s advert gained media attention the agency responsible for BNK48 has quickly moved to distance the band from any involvement. 

“Neither have we allowed it to use Pun’s picture,” the company announced.

It added that it would under no circumstances accept any alcohol advert to include the band and would allow any of the band’s singers to take part in any alcohol-related performances. 

BNK48 has 28 girl members and its name is a short-form of Bangkok Forty Eight. 

The Disease Control Department has already talked to the agency and expressed its appreciation for its stance against promoting alcohol consumption.

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Attorney Allen Jacobi, An Entertainment Law Expert in Miami, FL

/EIN News/ — MIAMI, Feb. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Law Office of Allen Jacobi is an Entertainment law firm located in Miami, Florida, home to Music, Film, and Television artists and companies from all over the globe. Entertainment attorney, Allen Jacobi, has been practicing for over 35 years, representing some of the largest entertainment law transactions in the history of the State of Florida. The firm itself specializes in Publishing, Trademarks, Copyrights and Licensing, which includes Contract Negotiation, Digital Rights Acquisition and Artist, Producer & Songwriter Representation.

Mr. Jacobi helped his firm first take-off by successfully combing music, motion picture, and television into a single career. Since then, he has earned a platinum reputation among companies, musicians, and industry insiders, working as a film attorney collaborating with major studios and independent film makers, and a television industry attorney representing superstar actors, television programs and newscasters.

Mr. Jacobi has spoken as an expert in the entertainment industry and courts of law, appeared on national media outlets, such as, television shows NBC, CNN, MTV, VH-1, and quoted in print publications like, Rolling Stone Magazine, Billboard Magazine, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, and The London Times. On behalf of his clients, Mr. Jacobi has been awarded gold and platinum records from such internationally acclaimed artists as The Eric Clapton Band, Trick Daddy, Gloria Estefan, Marilyn Manson, and 2 Live Crew – his most reputable work as an entertainment attorney being his representation of 2 Live Crew. Miami’s proximity has helped him acquire Jamaican legends, Jimmy Cliff, The Bob Marley Foundation, Yellowman, and others.

Mr. Jacobi’s interest in the music business was so keen, he became involved in other aspects of the record business, such as marketing, promotion, A&R and sales. After he was offered a Record Label in 1990, Pyramid Records/Sony came to life. As record label President, he first signed Eagles guitarist and vocalist, Joe Walsh, and represented international superstars, Asia, Earth Wind & Fire, Robert Palmer, The Doobie Brothers, as well as Earthwise – The Rainforest Album featuring: U2, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, etc.

Mr. Jacobi led his firm into the modern age by bridging traditional entertainment with our most recent developments in cutting edge technology. The firms practice has now grown to include the acquisition and distribution of digital rights, and the representation of corporate entities from China, Israel, France, Indonesia, and even Australia. The rise in mobile applications geared the firm’s attention towards global licensing, helping to expand relations with major publishing companies like Sony/ATV, Warner/Chappell, Universal, and BMG, as well as many indie publishers. The sum of Mr. Jacobi’s experience has earned him an astounding reputation within the industry as a successful, well-known, and proficient Miami Entertainment Attorney – making him number one in entertainment law in all of South Florida. 

Author: Allen Jacobi
Organization: The Law Office of Allen Jacobi
Address: 11077 Biscayne Blvd #200 Miami, FL 33161 
Phone: (305) 893-5644
http://AllenJacobiLaw.com 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f48789e-49c9-43e5-8857-c2538d119638

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A tale of two firms

With David Beavers, Garrett Ross and Daniel Lippman

A TALE OF TWO FIRMS: “The indictment of Paul Manafort last year on charges that included breaking foreign-lobbying law thrust two prominent Washington lobbying firms into the spotlight,” POLITICO’s Theodoric Meyer reports. “One of them, the Podesta Group, collapsed within weeks of Manafort’s indictment. The other, Mercury, just had its best year ever, according to the firm. While neither firm has been charged with wrongdoing, top lobbyists at both firms have come under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chief, arranged the hiring of both firms to work on behalf of a nonprofit that was ostensibly independent but which prosecutors say was ‘under the ultimate direction’ of the Ukrainian president.”

Story Continued Below

— “Tony Podesta responded by stepping down as chairman of his firm the same day the Manafort indictment came out. But former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), a partner at Mercury whose signature is on the contract for the Ukraine work, has continued to lobby for clients foreign and domestic, though he’s representing fewer clients than he did a year ago and several big clients have left.” Full story.

Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. Today marks one year since Theo started writing PI, and nearly two weeks since Marianne joined the team. What are we getting right? What are we screwing up? What else should we be covering? Give us a holler: mlevine@politico.com and tmeyer@politico.com.

— You can also follow us on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer and @marianne_levine.

BOEING NAMES ART CAMERON AS VP FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Art Cameron is now vice president for federal legislative affairs for Boeing’s government operations, the company announced today. He most recently was the company’s vice president of appropriations for government operations. Prior to joining Boeing in 2011, he was staff director for the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on commerce, justice and science.

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT HELD UP CASINO AFTER MGM LOBBYING: “Two casino-owning American Indian tribes are accusing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of illegally blocking their plans to expand operations in Connecticut — a delay that stands to benefit politically connected gambling giant MGM Resorts International,” POLITICO’s Nick Juliano reports. “The Interior Department’s refusal to sign off on the tribes’ plans for a third Connecticut casino came after Zinke and other senior department officials held numerous meetings and phone calls with MGM lobbyists and the company’s Republican supporters in Congress, according to a POLITICO review of Zinke’s schedule, lobbying registrations and other documents. The documents don’t indicate whether they discussed the tribes’ casino project.” Full story.

WHO’S RAISING MONEY FOR MENENDEZ: The DOJ’s decision on Wednesday to drop its corruption case against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is a relief for the senator — as well as the lobbyists and other K Street types who are holding fundraisers for him in the coming months. Upcoming events include a fundraising breakfast on Feb. 8 hosted by Manny Ortiz of VantageKnight; an evening fundraiser on Feb. 13 hosted by Sam Brown of Amalgamated Bank, Ankit Desai of Tellurian, David Jones of Capitol Counsel and Jonathan Mantz of BGR Group; a breakfast on March 20 hosted by Paul Weiss of Prime Policy Group and Ivan Zapien of Hogan Lovells; an evening fundraiser on March 20 hosted by Michael Hutton and Danny O’Brien, who are both former Menendez chiefs of staff; and a fundraiser the following night hosted by Jeff Forbes of Forbes Tate Partners, according to a schedule obtained by PI. Menendez is holding his annual retreat in Miami the weekend of March 23, too.

MORE TAX FILINGS: We are still tracking who lobbied on tax reform, as final registrations trickle in. US Policy Strategies’ Mike Solon registered to lobby on international tax matters for GE, Oracle and Procter & Gamble in early December.

STATE OF THE UNION ANALYSIS CONTINUES: Lobbying shops continued to analyze Trump’s State of the Union address Wednesday. Trump’s remarks on trade were top of mind for many. In its analysis, Signal Group noted that “in a reversal of the overarching and lingering sentiment from the president’s more globally-focused Davos address, his trade comments were very much aligned with the America First mentality.” Prime Policy Group’s Rich Meade noted that there was “some relief about what the President did not say, especially in reference to specific trade agreements such as NAFTA and KORUS. President Trump only said he wants to fix trade deals and negotiate new ones, without mention of pulling out of these two trade agreements.”

TRUMP ENTERS 2018 WITH $22M ON HAND: “President Donald Trump raised $12.2 million for his reelection in the fourth quarter of 2017 and has $22 million in cash on hand, according to a new FEC report,” POLITICO’s Maggie Severns reports. “The $12.2 million haul, which includes fundraising for the president’s reelection committee and two joint fundraising committees, is slightly larger than the $11.6 million raised by the campaign during the previous three-month period.” Full story.

WHO DONATED TO PENCE’S LEADERSHIP PAC: Vice President Mike Pence’s political action committee received $1.26 million in donations in the second half of 2017, Fredreka Schouten, Christopher Schnaars and Maureen Groppe report in USA Today. “Roughly 30% of the money that went to the Great America Committee since July 1 came from political action committees, including PACs tied to big drug makers, such as Novo Nordisk, Merck, Eli Lilly, Sunovion Pharmaceutical and Johnson and Johnson. … Other corporate PACs supporting Pence include telecom giant AT&T and Nashville-based CoreCivic, which operates private prisons. The private-prison industry stands to make big gains with the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement.” Full story.

THE BIZARRE AMERICAN LOBBYING WAR OVER TURKISH-RUN SCHOOLS: “A law firm hired by the government of Turkey is lobbying state officials across the U.S. about what it alleges is a suspicious network of American charter schools run by a dangerous Turkish opposition leader,” Liz Essley Whyte reports in POLITICO Magazine. “It’s the latest move in a curious propaganda war playing out in America’s state capitals between Turkey’s ruling party and a secretive religious movement that the Center for Public Integrity previously revealed has funded scores of international trips for state lawmakers from places such as Texas and Tennessee. Nonprofits associated with what is commonly called the Gulen movement — named for the elderly Turkish cleric Fetullah Gulen — sponsored subsidized trips to Turkey for at least 151 state lawmakers, the Center for Public Integrity reported last year.”

“Turkey retained Amsterdam and Partners LLP, an international law firm with offices in London and Washington, D.C., that specializes in cross-border disputes and white-collar crimes, in 2015 as the Gulen movement was falling out of favor with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party. Following a failed coup attempt in July 2016, Turkish leaders sharpened their rhetoric, calling Gulen a terrorist and demanding the U.S. extradite him from the compound in Pennsylvania’s Poconos where he lives in exile.” Full story.

JOBS REPORT

— Jeff Brabant joined the National Federation of Independent Business as manager of government relations. He was previously legislative director for Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.).

— Britt Cocanour is managing director for search and recruitment at Grossman Heinz. She was previously director of public outreach at Greenpeace.

— Emily Liner is joining Salesforce’s government affairs office. Today is her last day at Third Way.

SPOTTED: At a Democratic Communicators Network happy hour sponsored by S-3, according to a PI tipster: Caitlin Girouard of Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office; Mariel Saez of Rep.Steny Hoyer’s office; Emilie Simons of Rep. Adam Schiff’s office; Nick Zeller of Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office; Miranda Margowsky of Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s office; Ned Adriance of Sen. Tom Udall’s office; Melissa Miller of DGA; Tess Whittlesey of Rep. Salud Carbajal‘s office; Josh Weisz of Rep. Mark Takano’s office; Jessica Gail of Rep. André Carson; S-3’s Andrea Ricco and Todd Wooten.

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:

Lavender Consultants: Jones walker, LLP on behalf of JDW Properties III, LLC
US Policy Strategies: General Electric Corporation
US Policy Strategies: Oracle Corporation
US Policy Strategies: Proctor & Gamble

NEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:

Gary and Mary West Health Institute: Gary and Mary West Health Institute
Aaron Houston: Adam R Eidinger Mintwood Strategies
Clifford Smith: Middle East Forum
Fierce Government Relations: Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Shenker Russo & Clark LLP: Center for Disability Services
DC Strategies Group, LLC: Citizens For Gma Labeling

NEW JOINT FUNDRAISERS

Michigan Victory Fund 2018 (Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Mich.), Bishop PAC Building Infrastructure Harnessing Our Priorities, NRCC)

NEW PACs:

Maine Liberty PAC (PAC)

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Government issues punishment to 42 lawyers, 10 law firms

The Chinese Ministry of Justice has made public the details of penalties issued to 42 lawyers and 10 law firms in 2017, amid intensified efforts to standardise practice and boost transparency.

Those listed have been given administrative punishments, such as fines, a suspension of practice and disbarment, according to the ministry.

Nineteen lawyers were punished for privately accepting cases or collecting fees, which did not conform to laws and regulations, the most common misdemeanour listed.

Six were punished for disrupting litigation proceedings, such as providing communications devices or other prohibited items to suspects in detention.

Violations also included soliciting business by illegitimate means, submitting fake documents to judicial organs, and willful offences such as dangerous driving, bribery or gambling, the ministry said.

This was the ninth consecutive month for the ministry to disclose violations by lawyers since it began to release such information in May.

It released the information in a move to standardise lawyer’s practice, protect litigant rights, improve the complaint handling system, step up penalties on violations and boost transparency.

Source : (Xinhua/NAN)

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National Law Journal Readers Vote Furia Rubel Among Top Crisis…

Integrated marketing and public relations agency Furia Rubel ranks in national legal publication’s ‘Best of 2018’ survey

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (PRWEB) February 01, 2018

Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., (http://www.furiarubel.com), is pleased to announce that it has been voted a top service provider by ALM readers nationwide in the National Law Journal’s “Best of” 2018 survey. The agency is ranked among the best in the Best Crisis Management Firm for Law Firms, the Best Integrated Law Firm Marketing Provider, the Best Legal Marketing & Branding Services Provider, the Best Overall PR Firm and Best Social Media Consultancy for Law Firms categories.

The National Law Journal “Best of” survey asks its readers to vote for the best providers of products and services to the national legal community. The 2018 survey is the journal’s seventh annual ranking; results from the 7,500 voters were published in the Best of 2018 issue on January 31.

Founded in 2002 by Gina Rubel, a third-generation attorney, Furia Rubel is a full-service marketing and public relations agency with a niche in legal marketing. The agency’s diverse roster of clients includes financial institutions, accounting firms, technology companies, behavioral health service providers, nonprofits and more, with a special emphasis on law firms and legal services providers.

Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. is an integrated and strategic marketing and public relations agency based in Bucks County, Pa. The certified woman-owned agency provides strategic planning, marketing, public relations, media relations, graphic design, website design, content marketing, blog production and social media services to a wide array of professional clients. Furia Rubel represents law firms, technology companies, educational organizations, accounting firms, nonprofits, municipalities, and manufacturing, behavioral health and elder care organizations. For more information, visit http://www.furiarubel.com, follow on Twitter at @FuriaRubel.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/02/prweb15159728.htm


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