Hollinger International’s former chief lawyer, on trial for fraud with its ex-chairman, Conrad M. Black, is an “honest and trustworthy man” and should be acquitted of all charges, his lawyer told jurors Monday in closing arguments, Bloomberg News reported.

A prominent Washington lawyer yesterday settled civil charges that he misappropriated secret information to buy Vastera stock in advance of a merger, reported The Washington Post.

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to fine Nortel Networks Corp. for accounting fraud in the first test of a policy that gives the agency's commissioners more say in corporate penalties, Bloomberg News reported Friday citing four people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Sudanese lawyers who represent victims of torture and abuse in the Darfur region of the Sudan will be available to reporters at a special press briefing to be held in conjunction with the American Bar Association Section of Litigation's Darfur Legal Training Project. Each of these lawyers has made personal sacrifices in an effort to represent those who cannot speak for themselves. The briefing will be held on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in London.

The demand for UK legal professionals in Dubai is increasing, according to the legal recruitment website www.totallylegal.com.

The legal profession, its associations, firms and law schools have spent years and considerable money encouraging lawyers to do more pro bono work. A new study by University at Buffalo sociologist Robert Granfield, Ph.D., finds, however, that mandatory law school programs, bar association campaigns and good will are not the principle spurs provoking lawyers to work for the public good.