Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has opened an office in Hong Kong with two attorneys leading the effort. Kelly Austin has joined the firm as a partner from General Electric Co., where she was Asia compliance and litigation counsel. The firm also is relocating partner Joseph Barbeau to Hong Kong from its Palo Alto office.

Austin has been based in Hong Kong since 2001. She previously advised GE's Asian business units on government investigations, compliance matters, and litigation. Her mandate now is to launch a practice focused on litigation and regulatory compliance in the region for her new firm.

Gibson Dunn's decision to open in Hong Kong with such a practice reflects the growing belief among international firms that litigation groups in Asia are set to take off. Over the past few weeks, Latham & Watkins launched a Hong Kong litigation practice and top Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jacques recruited a senior Clifford Chance litigation partner to its Hong Kong office.

A public interest law firm is preparing to sue the Canadian owners of a pipeline that ruptured in southern Michigan and dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a Kalamazoo River tributary.

The Great Lakes Law Center on Monday sent Enbridge Inc. a notice of intent to file suit if a settlement isn't reached within 60 days. The letter accuses the company of violating the Clean Water Act.

The Detroit-based law center says Enbridge could face more than $26 million in civil penalties based on the Environmental Protection Agency's estimate that the spill exceeds 1 million gallons. The company estimates the total at 820,000 gallons.

A phone message seeking comment was left with Enbridge, which reported the spill a week ago.

The lawsuit says Locksley attacked Gerald on Sept. 20 by choking him, punching him in the face and cursing at him in front of peers and athletes, and should have to pay damages to Gerald.

The lawsuit says the University of New Mexico discriminated against Gerald, who is black, by encouraging him to minimize the assault and failing to take appropriate action.

UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey says the university "will vigorously defend itself and its employees against these claims."

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says judges can look to foreign law for good ideas without diminishing their ability to apply U.S. law faithfully.

Ginsburg told a meeting of international lawyers Friday that American judges can learn from their foreign counterparts when seeking solutions to "trying questions."

Ginsburg said high court nominee Elena Kagan got it right when she told senators at her confirmation hearing that she was in favor of good ideas "wherever you can get them."

Ginsburg acknowledged that other justices, including Antonin Scalia, are sharp critics of the use of foreign law in Supreme Court decisions. Still, she predicted the high court will continue to look to courts in other democracies for occasional help.

A judge has lifted an order that prevented a legal newspaper from publishing information found in court records that were supposed to have been shielded from public view.

The Internet blog of the National Law Journal said Friday that the judge freed the newspaper to publish the information, which concerned an investigation of juicemaker POM Wonderful by the Federal Trade Commission.

POM had fought to keep the investigating agency's name secret, but reversed course Friday and asked D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff to rescind her order. Bartnoff had ordered the records sealed, but they mistakenly remained available.

POM said in a statement that it never intended to provoke a First Amendment fight over the issue.

"POM is, and always has been, fervent supporters of and believers in the freedom of the press, and takes very seriously its commitment to transparency in all aspects of our business," the company said.

Its request to the judge came as news organizations filed legal papers in support of the law journal that said Bartnoff's order lacked "any conceivable justification" and should be reversed immediately.

Jury questioning is slated to begin Monday in Los Angeles in the drug conspiracy trial of Anna Nicole Smith's doctors and her lawyer-boyfriend.

Superior Court Judge Robert Perry says questionnaires filled out by prospective jurors show most of them know something about the former Playboy model's life and death. Jury questioning will help determine how much they know and what they think about the charges.

Perry hopes to have a panel seated in two days. Opening statements are scheduled for Wednesday.

Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and Howard K. Stern have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to illegally provide Smith with massive amounts of opiates and sedatives. They are not charged in her 2007 overdose death in Florida.