Morning Briefing: Lawyer found dead, man charged

A lawyer who was found dead at her London home last weekend has been described as a “young star” and a “beautiful and talented young woman.” Elizabeth Nnyanzi had worked at Herbert Smith Freehills as a temporary paralegal and was previously at Leigh Day. The Evening Standard reports that the 31 year old was found by police in her home on Friday evening. Nnyanzi, who followed her father into the legal profession, was said to be “a huge loss to society”. A spokesperson for Herbert Smith Freehills said “We are shocked and very sorry to hear of this tragedy.” A 23-year-old man has been charged with murder.
 
Vietnamese law firms form new alliance
Bross & Partners, LuatViet, Phuoc & Partners, Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers, and VLT Lawyers have joined forces to form Vietnam’s first law firms alliance. The firms will continue to be independent operations but will work as a “goodwill” alliance under the banner LawTeam Alliance.
 
Growing disparity between revenue, profits
A new study reveals that, despite generating more revenue, many law firms are not increasing profits. The report from UK accountancy firm Crowe Clark Whitehill says that 85 per cent of firms it surveyed reported increased revenue in 2015 so far, up from 76 per cent in 2014. However 30 per cent of the firms reported a dip in profit per equity partner. The firm says that recruiting and retaining lawyers is a challenge for many firms.
 
Lawyers run digital music industry says Kim Dotcom
The internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom says that the digital music industry is run by lawyers. Techcrunch.com reports that during a telephone recording released on his Twitter account, Dotcom discusses a potential deal between Universal Music Group and his firm Megaupload, which was shut down in 2012. During the call a record company executive says that “the business has been controlled by lawyers for a long time.”