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The trial of one of China's most high profile human rights lawyers, on charges of inciting ethnic hatred and provoking trouble, lasted just three hours on Monday, with police blocking diplomats, foreign reporters and protesters from the Beijing court.

General Motors Co (GM.N) and its law firm need not turn over privileged documents to drivers hoping to show that the automaker intended to commit a crime or fraud by concealing defective ignition switches in their vehicles, a Manhattan federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

Company executives may be quicker to hire lawyers and less likely to cooperate with investigations because of a renewed push by U.S. prosecutors to put individuals in prison instead of only levying big fines on corporations that break the law, lawyers with expertise in white-collar crime cases said.