Maybe the Best Way to See Rome is to Live in Houston
by Nancy Hatch Woodward
Fulbright & Jaworski LLP is one of the full-service international law firms, which serves clients around the world. The firm has eleven offices worldwide, including London, Munich, and Hong Kong. Of the 900 lawyers worldwide, about 25 attorneys practice in the foreign offices. As is true with many firms with foreign offices, young lawyers who wish to eventually be located overseas will have to demonstrate significant skills in three main areas: legal expertise, language, and cross-cultural experience.
Legal expertise
Because of the current size of Fulbright's overseas offices, the expertise of the individual is critically important. "Unlike our London office, which has both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, our office in Munich is comprised solely of U.S. lawyers," says Craig Redinger, partner-in-charge of Fulbright's Munich office. Projecting the resources of the firm into Central Europe, that office concentrates on in-bound domestic U.S. business as well as developing international business. This means that any lawyer eyeing overseas possibilities will need to be well versed in those specialties such as intellectual property, international transactions, project finance, and energy, for example. In Fulbright's U.K. office, those needs exist, along with expertise in English and European dispute resolution and international arbitration.
"For U.S. law students who wish to practice outside this country, their first question should be what kind of law they want to practice," notes Stephen F. Vogel, partner-in-charge of the London office. "Certain practices — like being a trial lawyer in the U.S. — do not lend themselves to working outside the U.S."
Language and cross-cultural experience
Obviously, it makes sense that an attorney who wishes to practice in another jurisdiction should be familiar with the language, but it takes more than just being language-class fluent. "Our ability to speak fluent German in this office is critical to being able to conduct business in Munich," asserts Mr. Redinger. "Consequently, to be really fluent you need to use the language daily. Even if applicants put on their resumes that they are fluent, rarely does that translate into an ability to negotiate contracts in that language."
Similarly, there are misconceptions of what is meant by cross-cultural experience. "Knowing Germany is more than having traveled there, advises Mr. Redinger. But if you have spent a year of your university life at the University of Heidelberg and speak the language relatively well, you will certainly be more attractive as a possible candidate for an overseas office. It will also helps if you have studied an area of law that is particularly relevant to the international practice, such as courses on international arbitration or taxation, or comparative studies in the German legal system.
Experience counts the most
Yet, even though you may be a whiz at the language, spent three years in the country, and were top of your class in law school, it is not time to start packing your bags yet. Mr. Redinger notes that much of the work done in the Munich office tends to be done by senior lawyers. "In order to properly project the reach of an international firm's resources, you need to have the depth of expertise under your belt as well as a lot of broad brush experience in general areas of law," he says.
Realistic alternatives
It is easy to get discouraged because you are unable see yourself moving to a romantic villa on the coast of Italy any time soon. But do not fret. There are many other opportunities for young lawyers to circle the globe. "The internationalizing of the practice of law goes on at a lightning pace, and people can practice very interesting international law without living in a foreign country," says Mr. Redinger.
"We often bring in support associates from our litigation department on matters," says Mr. Vogel. Fulbright's oil and gas lawyers or those working in project finance negotiate transactions all over the world and get to visit these various jurisdictions while they finish their negotiations. But law firms are not the only route to international travel. Mr. Vogel suggest that the legal departments of multi-national corporations are now a more likely entrée to working outside the U.S.
So, too, if you want to be an international lawyer, there is a lot of potential for foreign travel, even though you may be based in a major city in the states. Often these provide great opportunities for extended assignments. "It is not just popping over to London for a week. You may be there for six months during negotiations. And once that is completed, you may be heading off to another locale for your next project."
It is not always glamorous
As much fun as it is to dream about living in an exotic or gloriously historical location, the realities of living in a foreign country may not live up to your expectations. Mr. Redinger sums it up appropriately: "Living and working in another country is not always easy. There are a lot of jurisdictions that are not very pleasant places to operate in. One has to temper the idealistic notion that it is a glamour adventure with the realistic understanding that in many cases it is not."
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