Language: frank speech would avoid 'dishonest' inference

British lawyers can be seen as 'dishonest' by their foreign counterparts because of the way they use language, an expert on global business culture has warned.


Keith Warburton said the British tendency to be diplomatic rather than frank - for example, by not saying 'no' directly and by using coded language rather than literal speech - can lead foreign lawyers to feel they have been lied to.


He told delegates at a seminar on law firms and international business culture: 'Our communication style can lead to a great deal of misunderstanding when we are dealing with non-native English speakers, and even Americans. [British] Lawyers pride themselves on their fluency - but if there is one bunch that is likely to use more diplomatic and coded language, it is them.'


Mr Warburton warned that when British law firms open offices abroad, their lack of understanding of the local marketplace can lead them to recruit people with the wrong character traits for that market.


He added: 'This has an impact in partnership appraisals, because very often you have, for example, a German guy coming over to a partnership panel in the UK, being appraised by British lawyers. They are looking for him to be like a British lawyer, rather than someone who is right for the marketplace he is in.'


Mr Warburton said that most solicitors would be surprised to learn that a 'major complaint' by foreign lawyers about their British colleagues is that they 'lack attention to detail'. He said this is because of a 'post-planning' culture in the UK - where it is expected that detailed work will not be done until options have been discussed in a meeting - compared to a 'pre-planning' method used in many other jurisdictions, where lawyers turn up to a meeting having already done much of the research.


He said: 'British lawyers do consider themselves to be quite detailed in anything that is client facing. But when they are dealing with overseas counterparts, they tend to do a lot less preparation, which foreign lawyers find frustrating.'