Former Ghosn lawyer’s offices raided by Japanese prosecutors…
DWF acquires legal and managed services firm in U$18.5m deal
International firm DWF is to acquire legal and managed services business Mindcrest Inc. in a deal worth U$18.5 million.
DWF aims to expand its Managed Services business across a global platform and the acquisition of the Chicago-headquartered Mindcrest will help with this growth and provide additional in house training capabilities.
Mindcrest also provides established document review and legal outsourcing capabilities.
The talent acquisition is also key with Mindcrest employing more than 360 people, mostly located in India with small teams in New York and London. Following the completion of the acquisition, DWF will have offices in 33 key locations with approximately 4,200 people.
"Managed Services continues to be a real differentiator for DWF, and Mindcrest will provide the resources to better support our clients globally by meeting their requirements where and when they need them,” Andrew Leaitherland, Group CEO at DWF.
Former Ghosn lawyer’s offices raided by Japanese prosecutors
Japanese authorities have raided the offices of Junichiro Hironaka, a well-known lawyer in Japan who previously led the legal team representing former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn.
Ghosn was arrested in 2018 and was on bail pending a trial on alleged financial wrongdoing but he fled to Lebanon from Japan and insists that he is innocent of the charges.
Bloomberg reports that Hironaka, who is nicknamed “The Razor”, told Tokyo District Court this month that he is no longer representing Ghosn. He denies any involvement in the auto executive’s escape to Lebanon.
The lawyer’s offices have been searched by prosecutors who believe there may be documents relating to Ghosn.
The report, citing Japan’s public broadcaster HNK, also says that they wanted to seize a computer that they believe was used by Ghosn before he fled but Hironaka has not surrendered it to protect client confidentiality.
