Are You Prepared to Think and Act Globally?
The Lawyer's Domestic Mindset
The legal profession in the United States still has a largely domestic mindset for most lawyers. Practice admissions and jurisdictional requirements are on a state-by-state basis. Most individual and small clients typically have concerns centered in the local community. And lawyers generally don't have to be concerned about a law firm from another country showing up on their doorstep to buy out their practice.
Getting a Global Mindset
In a broader sense, however, the rest of the world has already had more of an impact than perhaps we realize. Investment expansion of Asian, European and Latin American countries means that local lawyers in the United States may be working with companies whose headquarters are in a foreign country. They may even be representing a foreign investor in an effort to buy an American business operation. And even longtime local business clients increasingly require familiarity with customs laws, trade treaties and anti-piracy statutes.
Similarly, a family law practitioner may have clients subject to an international treaty regarding child custody and thus may have to take depositions outside of the United States or may even be subject to the decisions of a foreign tribunal. And as retirement to a location outside the United States becomes attractive to more people seeking a lower cost of living, or just an exotic new locale for their "second season," it raises a host of issues for estate planning, Social Security and pension benefits, and similar concerns.
Globalization Creates New Opportunities for Legal Work
Globalization has already had a negative impact on domestic law firms due to outsourcing, a dramatic influence on legal costs made possible by global electronic technology. Yet, as in the examples noted above, globalization also has the potential to provide more work for the typical firm, provided that firm is prepared to take the work on. The phrase "think global, act local" has become a common refrain of the globalization movement in national economies, and law firms are not immune to its implications. Globalization creates new causes of action, new opportunities for legal work - and new concerns from firms that cannot adjust to global realities. If an offshore company bought your largest local business client, it could create new demand for your firm's services in local courts and regulatory agencies - but not if an offshore company rejects your current rate structure, or finds you unable to lower it through efficiencies from electronic technology. In change, there is challenge and opportunity, and for even the smallest firms, globalization provides plenty of both.
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