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2. 大成的Nextlaw投资平台对两家法律科技初创公司提供资金和培训支持

 

2015年5月，大成启动了位于美国帕洛阿尔托的Nextlaw Labs，由首席执行官Dan Jansen负责。现在Nextlaw Labs与风投基金公司Seedcamp一起，投资了两个法律创业企业Libryo和Clause，不仅投入了20万欧元的初始共同投资，而且未来将提供大成律师的训练和指导来开发相关产品。Nextlaw和Seedcamp在2016年6月份开展合作，对法律创业公司进行投资和培养。共有来自五大洲的超过80家初创企业提出资金和培训计划的申请，并由来自Seedcamp、Nextlaw和大成的评委进行评选。Libryo是一家位于伦敦、为监管问题提供解决方案的软件即服务（SaaS）平台，使用智能仪表盘来展示各种场景中用户的法律义务。Clause是一家位于纽约的合同构建平台，为企业提供下一代的自动化和数据整合合同，该公司声称其平台将在今年晚些时候管理第一批“自主性合同”，该平台还能根据变化的条件和数据自动更新定价等合同变量。Nextlaw和Seedcamp将初步对每家投资10万欧元，分别获得9%的股权，而Nextlaw和Seedcamp之间将各自承担一半出资。大成的其他法律科技投资还包括：能够让客户监控合伙人/律师在每项交易或每个案件上所花费时间的工具Apperio；今年夏天与人工智能公司RAVN共同开发针对英国脱欧的合同审查系统；2016年10月初，完成了新的免费全球法律业务推介网络Nextlaw Global Referral Network，注册加盟律所达到283家（包括13家英国律所），律师达到18,600名。

'Unprecedented applications in the legal industry': Dentons' Nextlaw backs two legal tech startups with funding and training

Nextlaw Labs, the legal tech platform launched by?Dentons last year, has invested in two legal startups, alongside venture funding company Seedcamp.

The pair are backing two startups, Libryo and Clause, as part of an initial co-investment worth around €200,000. The partnership will also offer future training and mentoring from lawyers at Dentons to develop the products.

The investment comes after Nextlaw teamed up with Seedcamp in June this year. More than 80 start-ups from five continents applied for the funding and training programme and were selected by a panel of judges from Seedcamp, Nextlaw and Dentons.

Libryo is a London-based software-as-a-service platform that provides solutions to regulatory issues, using a dashboard that explains the legal obligations of its users in a variety of scenarios.

Clause is a New York-based startup contract-building platform 'for the next generation of automated and data-integrated contracts for enterprise'. The company claims its platform will manage its first 'autonomous contracts' later this year, and the platform can automatically update contract variables, such as pricing, in response to changing conditions and data.

The initial investments from the Nextlaw and Seedcamp partnership will offer up to €100,000 to each company for 9% of equity, with Nextlaw and Seedcamp contributing half the investment each.

Recent investments from?Dentons' tech venture have included funding in Apperio, a tool that enables clients to monitor the amount of partner/associate time spent on each transaction or case. The company also worked with artificial intelligence company RAVN for a Brexit contracts system this summer.

Dentons launched?Palo Alto-based Nextlaw Labs in May last year, led by chief executive Dan Jansen. The firm also finalised its new free-to-use legal referral network earlier this month. The Nextlaw Global Referral Network signed up 283 member firms and 18,600 lawyers, with 13 UK firms joining. (Legal Business)

3. 剑桥大学法学学生创建在线犯罪识别智能系统“LawBot”

 

四名剑桥大学法学学生创建了一个新的在线系统“LawBot”，来帮助那些刑事犯罪的受害者获得公正。这四名学生Ludwig Bull、Rebecca Agliolo、Jozef Maruscak和Nadial Abdul仅花了六周时间就建成了LawBot，它使用人工智能标记语言（AIML）来“提供保密的、无偏见的、免费且易于理解的法律知识”。目前，LawBot能够提供与26种“主要刑事犯罪”有关的咨询，包括性犯罪、财产犯罪和人身侵犯犯罪。这一智能系统参照此前Legalnews报道的停车罚单申诉机器人“DoNotPay”，目前只能用于针对在英格兰和威尔士境内发生的刑事犯罪的咨询。不过创建者们计划扩展LawBot的性能，使其在不久的将来能够用于处理民事法律问题。

Cambridge University law students create crime-identifying ‘LawBot’

Four Cambridge University law students have created a new online system called ‘LawBot’ which is designed to help the victims of criminal offences get justice.

LawBot— which is the brainchild of Ludwig Bull, Rebecca Agliolo, Jozef Maruscak and Nadial Abdul — took just six weeks to build. It uses Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) to “provide confidential, non-judgmental, free, easy to understand legal knowledge”.

Currently, LawBot can offer advice in relation to 26 “major criminal offences”, including sex offences, property offences and offences against the person.

The clever system —which is based on Joshua Browder’s parking ticket appeal robot ‘DoNotPay’— can currently only advise on criminal offences committed in England and Wales. However, according to its creators, there are plans to extend LawBot’s capabilities so it will be able to tackle civil law in the near future. (Legal Cheek)

4. 大众同意向提起柴油门集团诉讼的美国律师支付1.75亿美元法律费用

 

德国大众汽车因柴油排放作弊丑闻而损失惨重，现在又要向原告方律师们支付1.75亿美元费用。这些律师此前代表47.5万排污汽车车主对德国大众提起集团诉讼，最终获得100亿美元的和解，这些车主能够要求大众回购汽车并获得赔偿。8月，这些律师要求大众支付在该集团诉讼中所发生的法律费用和成本，索赔金额达到3.325亿美元。最终大众达成和解，同意支付1.75亿美元，又走完了一段丑闻赔偿历程。而这笔与律师的和解赔偿也意味着，由于“柴油门”丑闻，为补偿车主以及解决各州、联邦监管机构和交易商的罚款和索赔等，大众所支付的和解总额已经达到了167亿美元。原告方牵头律师Elizabeth Cabraser是监督大众车主集团诉讼案件的22名律师组成的委员会成员之一，他在8月时表示，所寻求的律师费用赔偿远低于集团诉讼的“司法判决基准”，这一基准大约是和解金额的25%。

 

（图片来源：Reuters）

Volkswagen to pay $175 million to U.S. lawyers suing over emissions

Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), in another step to move past its costly diesel emissions cheating scandal, has agreed to pay $175 million to U.S. lawyers suing the German automaker on behalf of the owners of 475,000 polluting vehicles, two people briefed on the agreement said on Friday.

In August, the lawyers in the class action litigation sought up to $332.5 million in fees and costs for their work in a $10 billion settlement that gives U.S. owners of 2.0 liter polluting cars the ability to sell back their vehicles to Volkswagen (VW).

The latest deal with the lawyers means VW now has agreed to spend up to $16.7 billion to compensate U.S. owners and address claims from states, federal regulators and dealers arising from the "Dieselgate" scandal.

Lead plaintiff lawyer Elizabeth Cabraser, who is part of a committee of 22 lawyers overseeing the owner suits, said in August the amount sought in attorneys fees was far less than the "judicially established benchmark" for class actions of approximately 25 percent of the settlement amount. (Reuters)

5. 美国禁止乘坐飞机时携带或托运三星Galaxy Note 7手机

 

从上周六开始，美国禁止在飞机上携带三星Galaxy Note 7智能手机。这是在出现大量该机型起火报告后，监管机构在上周五做出的紧急命令。此前Note 7出现冒烟或起火的事件，后来更换的新手机又发生起火报告，引发了监管机构、手机运营商和航空公司的新一轮警告，最终导致三星做出决定，彻底放弃了这一旗舰智能手机，而该事件也对三星的名声造成了巨大打击。为了防止发生事故，美国交通部和其他机构发出命令，禁止Note 7所有者乘坐飞机时随身携带该手机或放在托运行李中。根据交通部的记者招待会发言，任何违反这一禁令者在被处以罚金之外将可能受到刑事指控。不仅是美国，小编一个月前在迪拜机场就已近看到值机柜台单独用一个屏幕警告携带三星Note 7，估计下次回去再路过时就是禁止标志了。而以前迪拜机场到处是Samsung Galaxy的广告，昔日宠儿，而今落水狗一般，令人叹息。

U.S. bans Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from air travel

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone devices will be banned from aircraft in the United States starting on Saturday at noon EDT (1600 GMT) under an emergency order, regulators said on Friday after numerous reports of the devices catching fire.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd scrapped its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on Tuesday because of incidents where the phones began smoking or caught fire, dealing a huge blow to its reputation. The decision came after reports of fires in replacement devices prompted a new round of warnings from regulators, phone carriers and airlines.

The order from the U.S. Transportation Department and other agencies bars owners from carrying on the devices or stowing them in checked baggage during flights.

"Anyone violating the ban may be subject to criminal prosecution in addition to fines," the department said in a press statement. (Reuters)

6. 美国证券交易委员会确立了流动性风险管理新规则

 

上周四，美国证券交易委员会对共同基金和交易型开放式指数基金（ETF）确立了新的流动性风险管理规则。现在，这一行业被要求建立相关程序，以在投资者突然抛售其资产时能够保护投资者。SEC提议这些规则适用更加严格的标准，但也给ETF持有者留下了一些余地。这些基金将必须根据基于流动性的四级标准进行分类，而此前此类规则确立的是更严格六级流动性分类。对于那些能够被归类为非流动性的资产或必须能够变现的资产，建立了更加严格的门槛规则，不过ETF持有者可以自主决定当没有满足这些门槛时如何处理。那些承诺证券赎回的ETF也可能免于高度流动性和流动性资产的上限要求。SEC之后将明确基金中对金融衍生品的使用。这些规则将在2018年12月开始影响大型基金，并在2019年6月影响小型基金。

SEC sets liquidation risk management regulation

The US?Securities and Exchange Commission?(SEC) set new rules on Thursday establishing new liquidation risk management rules for mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF). The industry will now be required to establish programs that protect shareholders in the event that investors suddenly sell off their assets. The SEC proposes that the rules apply stricter standards to the industry, however some leeway has been given to ETF holders. While funds will have to be categorized on a four-tiered scale based on liquidity, the previous form of this rule set six stricter tiers. Stricter rules set thresholds for the amount of assets that can be classified as illiquid or must be available for cash conversion, however ETF holders are left to determine what happens when these thresholds are not met. ETF's that honor securities redemptions may also be exempt from the cap on highly liquid and liquid assets. The SEC will later address the use of derivatives in funds. The rules will begin affecting large funds in December 2018 and small funds in June 2019. (Jurist)

7. 布隆迪投票退出国际刑事法院引发担忧

 

布隆迪上周投票选择退出国际刑事法院（International Criminal Court，ICC），这引发了海牙方面的担忧。国际刑事法院缔约国大会主席Sidiki Kaba称，这一退出“对与逃脱惩罚的斗争、公约普适目标的努力来说是一次倒退”。布隆迪国会投票退出建立国际刑事法院的《罗马规约》，将使得布隆迪成为第一个离开国际刑事法院的国家。本月早些时候，布隆迪副总统Gaston Sindimwo宣布了该国退出国际刑事法院的决定，并表示其政府“已经做好面对后果的准备”。联合国布隆迪独立调查组（UNIIB）在9月份时表示，他们对布隆迪当前的人权状况深表担忧。

 

（图片来源：www.naameshaam.org）

Burundi vote to withdraw from ICC elicits concern

Burundi's vote last week to leave the International Criminal Court?(ICC) elicited concern from The Hague on Tuesday. President of the ICC's governing body Sidiki Kaba stated that such a withdrawal "represent[s] a setback in the fight against impunity and the efforts towards the objective of universality of the Statute." The Burundi parliament's?vote to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the court would make it the first country to leave the ICC.

Earlier this month, Vice President Gaston Sindimwo of Burundi announced the country's decision to withdraw from the ICC, stating that his government is "ready to face the consequences." The UN Independent Investigation in Burundi (UNIIB) in September?stated their grave concern about the current human rights situation in Burundi. Three human rights experts from UNIIB in June echoed previous calls for a stop to violence after their second visit to the country. (Jurist)

8. 刚果前副总统被国际刑事法院判决犯有行贿证人罪行

 

刚果民主共和国前副总统 Jean-Pierre Bemba因战争犯罪在国际刑事法院受审，在此期间又因贿赂证人而被判犯有行贿罪。第二次刚果内战时，Bemba的军队在2002至2003年犯有强奸、谋杀和掠夺罪行，国际刑事法院也因此对Bemba判处18年监禁。后来国际刑事法院发现，在3月份的案件审判中，Bemba又在他的牢房里策划了行贿计划，来影响证人和伪造证据。周三，国际刑事法院判决Bemba犯有行贿罪。

Former Congo VP found guilty of bribing witnesses

A former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo was found guilty of bribing witnesses in his International Criminal Court(ICC) trial for war crimes. On Wednesday The Hague-based court found Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of bribery during the trial in March when he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Bemba was convicted of influencing witnesses and falsifying evidence at trial, after the court was made aware that Bemba masterminded the bribery scheme from within his prison cell. During the second Congo civil war, Bemba's troops committed rapes, murders and pillaged in 2002 and 2003. (Jurist)

9. 审理头号大毒枭“矮子”的法官被暗杀

 

据报道，现年37岁的墨西哥法官Judge Vicente Bermudez被暗杀，该法官曾主持审理包括墨西哥头号大毒枭“矮子”华金·古兹曼在内的贩毒集团主要人物的上诉案件。周一，Bermudez在距离墨西哥约50英里的梅特佩克慢跑时被人射中头部，随后死亡，谋杀过程被监控录像拍摄下来。Bermudez法官处理了被监禁的锡那罗亚贩毒集团头子古兹曼的律师提出的数起法律挑战，后者目的是为了避免被引渡到美国；此外也处理了泽塔斯贩毒集团前头目Miguel Trevino的律师提起的上诉。根据当地报道，该法官没有获得任何保护。墨西哥总统Enrique Pena Nieto在周一的电视讲话中表示，已经下令检察总长调查该起谋杀。

'El Chapo'judge assassinated

A Mexican judge who presided over appeals by drug cartel kingpins including Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman has been assassinated.

Judge Vicente Bermudez, 37, died after being shot in the head on Monday while jogging in Metepec, about 40 miles from Mexico City. The murder was captured on surveillance tape.

Judge Bermudez had dealt with several legal challenges lodged by lawyers representing Mr Guzman, the jailed head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, that were aimed at preventing?his extradition to the US. He had also dealt with appeals by lawyers on behalf of Miguel Trevino, ex-leader of the Zetas cartel.

According to a local report, the judge?had not been given any protection; Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a televised speech on Monday that he had ordered his attorney general to investigate the murder. (Sources:The Telegraph;Reuters)