21 make partner at international law firm

Allen & Overy has promoted 21 lawyers to its partnership with effect from May 1, 2016. Seven of the new partners are in the Asia Pacific region, there are six each from London and Europe and one each in Africa and North America. Twenty-nine percent are women.
The new Asia-Pacific partners are: Matthew Hodgson (Litigation) and
Richard Woodworth (Banking) in Hong Kong; Goran Galic (Corporate) in Perth; Andrew Battison (Litigation) and Alun Evans (Corporate) in Singapore; and James Abbott (Banking) in Sydney.
 
Shanghai real estate partner joins DLA Piper from Paul Hastings
Wayne Ma has joined DLA Piper in Shanghai from Paul Hastings where he was a partner since 2013. Ma is a real estate lawyer and his addition to the team brings the firm’s Shanghai headcount to 6 partners and 16 lawyers in total.
 
Judge frees men because state defenders have no money
A judge in New Orleans has ordered that 7 men remanded while awaiting trial for violent crimes must be freed as they could not be represented by lawyers because the state’s defenders had no money. Some of the men have been held for more than a year.
Judge Arthur Hunter agreed with a private attorney that either the state must provide public defenders or compensate private lawyers who had been hired to represent the men.
The men are not able to fund their own legal representation and Judge Hunter agreed that not having legal counsel violates their constitutional rights. CityLab.com reports that the New Orleans district attorney is to appeal the judge’s ruling, which could potentially affect the plight of hundreds of other defendants awaiting trial but without access to lawyers.