Five Chinese citizens seeking compensation from Japan for injuries from poison gas left behind in China by Japanese forces during World War Two lost a court battle on Tuesday.
The five Chinese had sought a total of 80 million yen (US$680,000) from the Japanese government for injuries and health problems they suffered between 1950 and 1987.

But on Tuesday, the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling in May 2003 that had dismissed their damages suit, one of a range of war-related issues that have at times strained relations between the two Asian giants.

It was not immediately clear whether the Chinese plaintiffs would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Beijing and Tokyo have been grappling with a number of disputes over everything from energy resources and territorial boundaries to historical issues stemming from Japan's invasion and occupation of parts of China from 1931 to 1945.

But ties have warmed since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office last September and made his first trip abroad an ice-breaking visit to China. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is expected to make a reciprocal visit to Tokyo in April.

In a separate but similar court battle, the Tokyo District Court ordered the government in September 2003 to pay a total of about 190 million yen in compensation to 13 Chinese, including bereaved relatives of victims.

The Japanese government filed an appeal several days later.

The case arose from poison gas incidents in 1974 and 1982 and a shell explosion in 1995, all involving discarded Japanese munitions in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China.

China says Japanese forces left behind about 2 million chemical weapon shells in China, and more than 2,000 people have been harmed by them.

Japanese studies have placed the number of such shells at about 700,000.

Japan had pledged to clean up the weapons by this year, but it later sought an extension, saying the deadline was impossible to meet. China has complained about the slow pace of disposals.

On Aug. 4, 2003, one man died and more than 40 people were injured after five World War Two-era metal barrels containing mustard gas were unearthed at a construction site in the city of Qiqihaer, Heilongjiang.

Japan apologized and paid a total of 300 million yen in compensation to the Chinese government for the Qiqihaer incident.

In response to Gonzales' comments, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), among others, renewed his calls for Gonzales to resign in a statement on the Senate floor. Several high-ranking Democratic senators also called for Gonzales' resignation Monday in the wake of revelations in an official audit that the FBI broke and misused laws in obtaining personal information from telephone companies, Internet service providers, banks, and credit bureaus under the Patriot Act.

Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of a civil suit brought against Sudan by families of US military personnel killed in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. The families say Sudan has provided material support to al Qaeda since 1991, without which the attack that killed the US personnel would not have been possible. The 59 family members are seeking $105 million in damages. US District Judge Robert Doumar of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has nonetheless indicated that the federal Death on the High Seas Act will likely apply, limiting the maximum damages the families could receive to $35 million.

Last month, Doumar denied a motion by Sudan to dismiss the suit based on the complaint's failure to connect Sudan with al Qaeda. An earlier motion to dismiss because the statutory limitations had passed was also dismissed. During the trial phase, the plaintiffs will try to prove that Sudan provided the terrorists with explosives, locations for training camps, and the cover of diplomatic pouches to transport materials. They will also allege that Sudan's New York consulate facilitated al Qaeda's 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Because the United States has listed Sudan as a sponsor of terrorism since 1993, Sudan cannot claim sovereign immunity.

Jerry Salzman, longtime outside counsel for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom on Monday, leaving the law firm he co-founded as it winds down operations.

Freeman, Freeman & Salzman is going out of business after 40 years, he said. The firm had only nine lawyers after some partners retired in recent years.

"People were getting older, and it stopped being sustainable as we were getting smaller," said Salzman. "It was a good run."

Yet, Salzman said he did not want to quit working.

Who could blame him? The Merc recently agreed to acquire CBOT Holdings Inc., parent of the Chicago Board of Trade, in an $8 billion transaction that would create the world's largest futures exchange. The deal awaiting regulatory approval from the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Salzman joins one of the nation's elite law firms, and one he's worked with over several years. Skadden has represented the Merc in several matters, including its reorganization, initial public offering and, now, its merger.

Salzman is one of the few legal experts in derivatives regulation left in Chicago, as the city is no longer the banking center it used to be. He hopes to help build the practice at Skadden.

Meanwhile, a group of Salzman's former colleagues, he said, is moving to Jenner & Block, including Lee Freeman Jr. Freeman could not be reached for comment.

LEGAL AID: The charitable arm of the Chicago Bar Association for the first time has launched a fundraising campaign to help address what it calls a crisis in the state's legal aid system. The funds will be used to help supplement the disparity in incomes of lawyers who work for Chicago-area pro-bono and legal aid organizations compared with their counterparts in private practice.

Legal aid attorneys typically start at $38,500, according to a report from the Chicago Bar Foundation and Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice. A 2006 law school graduate earns $145,000 at one of the city's top-tier law firms.

The report forecast an impending exodus of legal aid lawyers because of the low pay.

Stopping the departures is an immediate priority for the legal community, said Kimball Anderson, president of the Chicago Bar Foundation and a partner at Winston & Strawn. Otherwise, the legal aid system is headed for collapse.

There are about 250 legal aid attorneys in the Chicago area to serve the more than 750,000 Cook County residents living in poverty.

The foundation distributed brochures and donation cards to about 35 law firms and corporations. Partners are being asked to contribute $500, and associates, $100, said Tony Valukas, a partner at Jenner & Block and chairman of the fundraising effort.

A plan for a local ski resort to use treated wastewater for snowmaking has been rejected by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the plan will pollute the sites and violate Native American rights under the Religious Restoration Act of 1993, a March 13 story in The Arizona Republic reported.

The Arizona Snowbowl has been seeking approval to use recycled water for snow for over a year; last January a federal district court ruled against Indian tribes opposing the plan. The tribes appealed and presented their case to the Court of Appeals last September, the story said.

The tribes believe the recycled water would be harmful to the mountain's deities and that the treated water could come from mortuaries, according to the story.

Judge William A. Fletcher wrote in the court decision: "To get some sense of equivalence, it may be useful to imagine the effect on Christian beliefs and practices — and the imposition that Christians would experience — if the government were to require that baptisms be carried out with 'reclaimed water," the story reported.

The ski mountain's owner, Eric Borowsky, said, "Snowbowl intends to vigorously pursue further judicial review."

Candace Vail, 60, of Batavia, also was ordered Monday by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Charles Kubicki Jr. to repay the money stolen from the Goodman & Goodman firm from January 2001 to February 2006.

Vail, who pleaded guilty last month to a theft charge, used the money to fund her son’s landscaping business and to care for ailing parents, according to prosecutors and court records.

An attorney for the family owned Cincinnati law firm discovered several bounced checks during a trip to the bank in March 2006.

In a letter to the court in which a defendant often expresses remorse or apologizes, Vail wrote that the firm didn’t pay her enough and failed to issue her last paycheck after she was fired. She earned $26,500 a year.

Her letter also detailed all the tasks she said she performed for the firm over the years, including buying fans when the air conditioning did not work and filling parking meters for clients.

A leading Canadian law firm based in Toronto yesterday announced a merger that will give it a presence in Ottawa and expertise in broadcast and telecommunications regulations.

Effective April 1, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP will merge with Johnston & Buchan LLP, a 13-lawyer boutique firm in Ottawa. "Combined with our current practice, we will become one of the dominant players (in communications law)," said David Corbett, managing partner of Fasken.

Fasken recently represented CHUM when Bell Globemedia bought the cable and television broadcaster for $1.7 billion.

Johnston represented cable TV companies, such as Rogers and Shaw Communications, when each wanted to offer telephone services. It also successfully completed the application for Canadian Satellite Radio to broadcast in Canada.

Johnston has been approached with acquisition proposals from other leading Canadian firms over the years, said Laurence Dunbar, Johnston partner and lawyer.

Fasken approached Johnston about a year ago because it wanted to increase its speciality in communications law, Corbett said.

"There are a number of our significant clients whom this (merger) will be useful for," he added.

Johnston accepted the offer from Fasken because Fasken already has a successful communications law practice, Dunbar said. Six of Johnston's 11 partners have been ranked as the top Canadian lawyers in their field of practice.

The firm was founded in 1980.

"This is a boost for Fasken," said Susan Kennedy, managing consultant of ZSA Legal Recruitment, about the merger.

Not only will it give Fasken a presence in Ottawa, but the nation's capital is where the bulk of telecommunication and broadcast communications regulatory work is done.

Fasken's main competition in communications law is McCarthy Tetrault LLP, Corbett said.

Last month, Fasken announced the first Canadian-U.K. law-firm merger when it joined forces with Stringer Saul LLP, a 32-lawyer boutique firm that specializes in the London Stock Exchanges Alternative Investment Market.

Fasken has five offices in Canada and three internationally. After the merger, it will employ about 655 lawyers.

http://www.fasken.com