Global counselling

There is a strong commercial need for legal advice going across national boundaries - and countries with restrictive practices risk isolating their own lawyers, writes David McIntosh

North-east Asia is a region that presents unparalleled opportunities for international business and by extension for the international legal community.

So it is perhaps surprising that the activities of foreign lawyers are often highly restricted in this part of the world - or, in the case of Korea, not permitted at all.

Over the past two months, I have been invited to visit Korea, Japan and China to lobby for the liberalisation of the legal services market for English solicitors.

On each of these visits, I was accompanied by a delegation of representatives of English firms with an interest in the region.

I raised the difficulties they are facing in carrying out their activities with government ministers and officials, national bar leaders and representatives of both the domestic and international business communities.

As the only body that can speak for all 104,000 members of the solicitors' profession of England and Wales, the Law Society is uniquely placed to raise these issues.

Unlike the international firms seeking to develop their international presence, the Society has no commercial interest in market access; nor does it lobby for one firm at the expense of another.

This enables the Society to maintain excellent relationships with national lawyers' associations and ministries of justice, and to facilitate continuing constructive debate on the need for greater liberalisation of legal services .

The Law Society's project and legal development work world-wide, to which many firms and individual solicitors contribute, has assisted in developing these warm relationships with local legal professions and relevant government ministries.

In some cases, this work can have direct practice rights benefits.

The Law Society's experience in China is a prime example of this linkage.

The Society has been involved in the management and administration of a training scheme for young Chinese lawyers since 1989 - so when, in 1992, China first promulgated regulations permitting the establishment of representative offices of foreign law firms, the Society was ideally placed to make representations for licences to be granted to English firms.

This sort of work - developing relationships and trust - needs to be ongoing if it is to be effective.

Therefore, during my recent visits to north-east Asia, the Law Society helped to organise and run joint seminars with the Korean Bar Association on the financial management of law firms, and with and the All China Lawyers Association on professional regulation of lawyers and vocational training.

By developing relationships with local legal professions, the Law Society has been able to put forward arguments as to how the international legal community, and in particular English solicitors, can enhance the existing services provided by local lawyers in north-east Asia.

Not surprisingly, local lawyers often believe they will be swamped by foreign lawyers if a full opening of their market is permitted.

In Korea, Japan and China, I set out to alleviate some of these fears by demonstrating how freedom of association between domestic and foreign lawyers can benefit both.

Senior local lawyers can benefit from becoming full partners in international law firms.

Junior lawyers have the opportunity to develop a career with one of a relatively small number of major global law firms.

Many then go on to set up their own domestic law firms, ensuring the transfer of international commercial legal skills to the local profession.

On the basis of partnership with strong local practitioners, international law firms can commit capital and resources to local offices to allow these offices to grow to meet client demands.

In my discussions with national lawyers' associations, I have pointed out that the need for legal services liberalisation is created not by foreign lawyers themselves, but by the international business community.

Sophisticated foreign investors seek a one-stop, multi-jurisdictional legal advice service.

It is unwise for any country to allow local and sectional interests to deny this commercial need.

Legal and economic systems that fail to embrace the challenge of globalisation, and restrict entry and practice by foreign lawyers, risk isolating and marginalising their own lawyers, as commercial business flows to truly international firms based in truly international centres.

Lobbying visits by the Law Society form just one of the ways in which we are working for legal services liberalisation in the region.

The Society's international unit also ensures that the same message is reiterated at every level of bilateral contact by briefing UK government ministers, the Lord Mayor of London and industry leaders.

We are also working through the European Commission, to influence market access for lawyers in the region during the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) negotiations, as well as on an ongoing basis through the peer review mechanisms of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Progress in north-east Asia is always going to be gradual, but by keeping up the pressure, the Law Society continues to ensure that the interests of its members in the region are at the front of the queue when reform or liberalisation is being undertaken.

As a City of London solicitor myself, I have been able to take particular pleasure in demonstrating what the Law Society can do to help international practices.

David McIntosh is the Law Society President