Category: News Feeds

Until now most in Zimbabwe have accepted that China’s aid and investment strategy in the country is usually tied to infrastructure development.

The partnership announced this week between the China Gezhouba Group and a Zimbabwean company to build a new coal-fired power station worth three billion US dollars fits much better into the business mould Zimbabweans and Zimbabwe business watchers have come to expect.

Critics call the new trend, replicated in several African countries, of shipping medical supplies and offering financial support for primary health care China’s “coronavirus diplomacy”.

“China has been extremely active in pushing out support to a host of countries needing assistance to tackle Covid-19,” Piers Pigou, southern Africa consultant with the International Crisis Group, tells RFI.

“It may well be expending more energy on profiling these contributions in the face of bad press relating to its responsibilities around managing and communicating around the initial stages of the pandemic.”

The suspicious list

Here are some of what’s been supplied to Zimbabwe so far by the Chinese embassy and the Chinese private sector:

• An upgrade worth US$500,000 to Harare’s main Covid-19 centre, the Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital.
• A donation of 50,000 masks, one thousand goggles and 510 protective suits by two Chinese firms to First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s charity
• Equipment including 166,000 face masks, 7,600 protective suits, 20,000 test kits, 12,000 pairs of gloves and five ventilators from the Chinese embassy
• Two donations from China’s richest man, Jack Ma, including tens of thousands of test kits, protective suits, face masks and shields
• A US$3million donation from the China International Development Cooperation Agency to UNICEF Zimbabwe. China is also supporting the United Nations Population Fund in refurbishing neonatal clinics in southern and eastern Zimbabwe.

Shielded from criticism

Suspicion among Zimbabweans is rife. It was strongest among government critics to begin with.

Indeed, Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo in early April called on Zimbabweans not to blame one group of people for the origin of the coronavirus in a clear attempt to shield China from criticism.

The late Robert Mugabe used to call China Zimbabwe’s “all-weather friend”, a gratitude sparked no doubt in part by China’s willingness to turn a blind eye to the country’s rights abuses.

But local thought leaders have resisted, using hashtags like #ChineseColony. Videos posted online showing the mistreatment of African migrant workers and traders, mostly Nigerians, in the city of Guangzhou last week haven’t helped.

Attempts by Chinese diplomats in Harare to downplay the incidents only stirred anger.

“You think that Zimbabweans are so foolish that they would buy into your pathetic explanations when the whole world knows what is going on?” journalist Hopewell Chinono said in a tweeted remark to top embassy official, Zhao Baogang.

Chinono, who has more than 134,000 followers accused some Chinese firms operating in Zimbabwe of having pillaged the country and not paying taxes.

“If companies like Huawei were paying taxes, Zimbabwe would not need donations,” he said, referring to the opaque 2014 investment agreement under which the Chinese tech giant has been exempted from paying tax.

Snakes and bats

The remarks by Chinono reflect growing anti-Chinese sentiment in Zimbabwe, at least on social media. This may gain further traction, says Pigou.

“China’s support is intended for all Zimbabweans, but there is a strong sense that beneficiation remains mediated by state and Zanu-PF (the ruling party) interests,” he said.

Lately even a member of Zanu-PF has let slip some frustration. In a tweet last week, Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi said the consumption of “dogs, cats, snakes, bats, monkeys” in China and other Asian countries had “left us all at risk of contracting the Covid-19”.

Said Mutodi: “We hope to up our game on beef exports to China, Indonesia & others soon.”

• Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)
• Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
• Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
• Counselling Services Unit (CSU)
• Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, (ZADHR)
• Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)

6.         Legal Matters
The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) published the Practice Direction 3 of 2020, advising that the courts in the country will open at full capacity from 11 May 2020.  The courts will operate on the following rules;

• Court Registries will be open for litigants, legal practitioners and the public on weekdays from 8am until 3pm.
• Filing of court documents will proceed in terms of existing court rules, legislation or as directed in court orders
• All matters are to be determined expeditiously without delay; this is to limit contact and attendance at courts by litigants
• The Sheriff will continue to serve all court process and orders, but will not carry out evictions, executions or conduct sales in execution for the duration of the lockdown period.
• The Marriages registry will remain closed in the lockdown period

• urges security forces to respect human rights as they are enforcing the lockdown.
• urges the government to investigate allegations of partisan distribution of food aid
• urges community members to adhere to the lockdown and to exercise social distance
• urges local authorities to step up efforts to provide clean and potable water for communities.
• urges the government to provide personal protective equipment to health workers on the frontlines

Post published in: Featured

Post published in: Featured

According to data collected by ALM for their 2020 Am Law 100 ranking, which Biglaw firm notched the greatest gain in gross revenue?

Hint: The firm went up an impressive 16.3 percent in gross revenue, landing it in the 65th spot overall.

See the answer on the next page.

The Justice Department’s effort to prove that actually, Christians are a persecuted minority, targeted for their faith by evil Democratic governors, continues apace.

“We are going to keep an eye on all these actions that restrict people’s liberty,” Bill Barr told Fox’s Laura Ingraham last month, in a wide-ranging interview during which the nation’s top lawyer opined that the media was on a “jihad” against supposed miracle drug hydroxychloroquine. (How’d that one work out again?)

DOJ spox Kerri Kupec promised that the Department would prioritize the First Amendment right of all Americans to assemble in holy contagion as tens of thousands of their fellow countrymen are dying of disease.

And apparently they meant it, since the Justice Department has now waded into multiple cases where the state government failed to grant a special carve-out in the stay-at-home order for religious assembly. Which, in the DOJ’s telling, is exactly the same as targeting religious people for discrimination.

How can governors let heathens spend five minutes picking up beer at the Liquor Mart if they won’t allow unlimited numbers of the faithful to assemble for hours on end in close proximity? Clearly this bespeaks a hostility toward religion, rather than a zeal to protect public health!

This has been the Department’s position in motions supporting the right of persecuted churches in Kentucky and Kansas to assemble despite statewide stay at home orders. By amazing coincidence, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly are both Democrats, and so is Ralph Northam in Virginia, the site of this week’s entry into the grievance sweepstakes. All three of these states have Senate seats up this cycle, and inventing a war on religion by Democratic governors might well gin up the faithful to vote red in November.

So yesterday, the DOJ filed a motion in support of the Lighthouse Fellowship Church of Chincoteague, Virginia, whose pastor was criminally cited on April 5 for holding an in-person service for 16 people. In a May 1 denial of the plaintiff’s request for a TRO, U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen noted that the church could have adapted its worship through electronic means, or even by holding two in-person services, splitting its 16-strong throng of parishioners in half to abide by the 10-person limit:

Plaintiff faces the choice between adapting to current circumstances by utilizing a combination of small group worship services multiple times per day and week, broadcasting worship services on its Facebook page, sending emails to members, calling members, making house visits to members, and mailing communications to members, or risking arrest by inflexibly continuing on with its usual modes of religious worship. Although this may not be how Plaintiff wishes to practice its religion under ideal circumstances, these are not ideal circumstances. The equities, in the context of a deadly pandemic, tip in Defendant’s favor.

But according to the DOJ, Judge Allen “erred” in refusing to allow the Plaintiffs to argue their case before denying the TRO. Although the brief cautions that “the United States does not take a position on the ultimate question of whether the Commonwealth may have a legally sufficient justification for treating Plaintiff differently from non-retail businesses or other permitted assemblies that may be comparable,” it urges the court to force Virginia to “demonstrate that it has compelling reasons to treat Plaintiff differently than similar non-religious businesses, and that it has pursued its objectives through the least restrictive means.”

Virginia Solicitor General Toby Heytens filed a response last night, in which he also demanded time to brief the court. Not only to demonstrate the falsehood of the Plaintiff’s claim that Governor Northam’s order “exempts all non-retail businesses, including professional services, from the mass gathering limit,” but also assert the state’s claim to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity from federal suit, lest it be waived before the case reaches the Fourth Circuit on appeal.

So, to recap, the Justice Department isn’t saying that Governor Northam hates Christians. But it’s not NOT saying it, either. And if that Obama judge knows what’s good for her, she’ll go back and rectify the situation STAT.

States rights for me, but not for thee ….

THE UNITED STATES’ STATEMENT OF INTEREST IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR AN INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL [Lighthouse Fellowship Church v. Northam, No. 2:20-cv-00204-AWA-RJK (E.D.V.A. May 3, 2020)]
ORDER [Lighthouse Fellowship Church v. Northam, No. 2:20-cv-00204-AWA-RJK (E.D.V.A. May 3, 2020)]
DEFENDANT’S NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL AND UNITED STATES’ STATEMENT OF INTEREST  [Lighthouse Fellowship Church v. Northam, No. 2:20-cv-00204-AWA-RJK (E.D.V.A. May 3, 2020)]

Elizabeth Dye (@5DollarFeminist) lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

COVID-19 has forced a lot of Biglaw firms to take a hard look at exactly how and where they are spending their money. And one firm that has been taking an axe to expenses is Nixon Peabody. Unlike some other firms that cut expenses and salaries as the first austerity measures to combat the economic upheaval surrounding the novel coronavirus while keeping as many people as possible gainfully employed, Nixon Peabody went right for cutting jobs.

As we’ve previously reported, the firm laid off/furloughed approximately 10 percent of non-partner attorneys and did massive staff layoffs. Now we’re hearing from law school students that were supposed to start work as summer associates at Nixon Peabody that the firm has left them, “shit out of luck.”

As tipsters report the firm has canceled their summer program. While that isn’t, unfortunately, unheard of in these times, Nixon isn’t extending the summer associates offers of future employment (either after graduation for 2Ls, or next summer for 1Ls). That is bound to sting, especially when the majority of other top law firms are making their summer associates offers. And, yeah, based on the emails Above the Law is receiving, folks are angry indeed:

Only a few weeks before I was slated to move, they called telling me I’m basically shit out of luck and no guaranteed offer…. They didn’t even have the decency to let me know back in early April. They had to do it only a few weeks before the program was supposed to start to fuck everyone over with housing and zero notice to look for a new summer internship. And now with NO 2L summer job, I likely will have to head into 3L hiring. It’s so annoying because I was good enough of a student to have landed a biglaw summer associateship! I had other options but I CHOSE these guys and completely got shafted. RIP.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson at Nixon Peabody confirmed the cancellation of their summer program and noted the firm will offer summer associates a $5,000 stipend and 1L summer associates will be considered for next year’s summer program.

Best of luck to those that now find themselves without a clear career path due to COVID-19.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. 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).

It’s become clear that in dealing with COVID-19 and its effect on the world around us we may all be in the same storm, but we are certainly not in the same boat. Our current situations — how we are able to respond to the virus and shutdowns — vary enormously. When you’re caught in a storm, it makes a difference whether you’re on a raft, inflatable boat, canoe, kayak, or jet ski; similarly, several qualities about your company will affect its experiences in this new reality. Some have been able to weather the storm better than others, and based on my informal survey, those more successful ones tend to share three basic and fundamental factors:

One, do employees and members of your legal department have a laptop? This simple decision to distribute laptops to employees makes the difference between freedom to work from anywhere and being chained to a desk. It turns out that in the pandemic, having a portable office that allows your employees to transition seamlessly to remote work without you, the general counsel, needing to purchase and distribute laptops is a major time and resource saver. Not to mention the effect it has on the company’s morale and anxiety level.

Two, do employees and members of your legal department have access to stable, reliable internet. One general counsel explained to me that he feels completely unsupported because his executive assistant does not have an internet connection from home and therefore could not be helpful. Ignoring for a moment the first world problem here, the realization that not all your employees may have a stable, reliable internet is powerful. Believe it or not, it is absolutely a reality in the 21st century United States that not everyone has internet at home. This is even true in Silicon Valley, where I am located.  Whether an employee has access to stable, reliable internet at home may be a personal decision, but it will most definitely have implications on your legal department’s success in the pandemic. Perhaps ensuring that employees have access to stable, reliable internet should be part of the modern onboarding process.

Three, your company and members of your legal department are more likely to fare better in crises if you plan for disasters and do tabletop exercises. Practice really does make perfect. It turns out that if you went through an exercise of thinking of what could possibly go wrong and ways to address that, in addition to writing the robust force majeure provisions in your contract, your company will be in a much better position today.

As we enter the reconstruction efforts, modern general counsels are shifting their attention from the basics to what makes long-term success for a company and legal department. Two efforts stand out — culture and sustainability. It turns out that the focus on creating a culture where employees can thrive and the company can do the right things for its employees, customers, and the world positions the company for long-term success.

That’s why Sharon Zezima and Kelly M. Slavitt, two well-known and highly regarded general counsels, emphasize the importance of culture and sustainability. This is where general counsel and in-house lawyers can lead, build long-term value, and engage the boards. That is where they can truly be impactful — in the short term, in an unprecedented emergency, and in the long normal, once the “new normal” kicks into gear.

Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.