Senior Law Society and American Bar Association (ABA) officials will soon begin bilateral negotiations to hammer out a deal over multi-jurisdictional practice rights between England and Wales and the 50 US states.



Heading the agenda will be moves to push the state authorities in Florida to sign up to the ABA's foreign legal consultant (FLC) model, which would allow solicitors to practise in the jurisdiction.



Also targeted will be New York state's restrictive requalification regime that prevents solicitors who do not have law degrees from requalifying without obtaining a US law degree, as well as California.



The development emerged at the third annual European/US bar leaders summit, held at this year's ABA conference in Hawaii, where Law Society President Fiona Woolf wrung a commitment from senior association officials to open talks on further liberalisation.



Speaking to the Gazette, Ms Woolf said she was encouraged by the apparent willingness of the ABA to press key states to adopt the FLC regime or to liberalise their positions further. She described New York's requalification requirements as being 'an intellectual nonsense'. The highest court of each state controls entry to the local profession and is not obliged to adopt ABA model rules.



Indeed, Ms Woolf went further, calling for moves to streamline requalification across common law jurisdictions. 'Our ethical rules are extremely similar,' she said, 'so why not create a multi-lateral regime of a fast-track entry system for lawyers around the world who meet the requirements?' She also said it should be easier for in-house lawyers to cross borders.



Jonathan Goldsmith, the solicitor secretary-general of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of the EU (CCBE), challenged ABA officials over preaching free trade to other jurisdictions but not to its own members.