Professional Qualification and Educational Requirements for Law Practice in a Foreign Country: Bridging the Cultural Gap

Article by Roger J. Goebel

This Article will discuss preparation for transnational legal practice, and the extent of the right to engage in transnational legal practice in major commercial centers. It is divided into five parts: (I) the role of the transnational lawyer in bridging the cultural gap; (II) education in preparation for transnational practice; (III) professional qualification requirements for foreign lawyers in New York and several major commercial centers abroad; (IV) the extent of the lawyer's right to provide services and the right of professional establishment in the EEC; and (V) some general reflections on desirable qualification requirements for law firms and individuals to practice transnational law.

There are at least seven different types of major transnational legal practice: contractual and transactional; foreign investment and local law counseling; international banking and finance; international antitrust; international arbitration and litigation; international tax planning; and trade law. This Article will relate primarily to the first five types, and in particular to the extensive performance of services by a transnational lawyer in a foreign country or the services performed by a transnational lawyer established with some degree of permanence in a foreign office.


About the Author

Roger J. Goebel. Professor of Law, Fordham University; B.A. 1957, Manhattan College; J.D. 1960, LL.M. 1961, New York University.

Citation

63 Tul. L. Rev. 443 (1989)