"I am moving into my final seat as a trainee and an weighing up the pros and cons of where to qualify. I very much enjoy litigation and based purely on the work I like, that would be my first choice. However, one of my other major goals is to work in emerging markets. I have a passion for travel and love wacky parts of the world. I don't consider it glamorous, I just consider it interesting!
"How internationally practicable is litigation? Presumably, very much in Hong Kong, Singapore, offshore firms - but where else? Should I give some thought to corporate/commercial too - it seems even easier to transfer internationally, or am I wrong? As a general question, what parts of the world can an English qualified lawyer work in? Is it a problem that I am a GDL graduate rather than a LLB for international transferability?"
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Congratulations on moving to your final seat. No doubt you're excited by the prospect of almost being a 'real' lawyer, but somewhat overwhelmed by the decision (assuming you have some say in it and that your firm won't simply shunt you into whatever practice area can sustain another fee earner...) as to just what type of lawyer you want to be. In light of your desire to travel and work in emerging markets, I would think areas such as finance (particularly project/infrastructure finance) and corporate (particularly if you can focus on particular industries or sectors - e.g. mining, oil and gas) would stand you in good stead. That said, both of these are very very broad areas and may very well see you doing (at least initially) what many people might regard as dull or vanilla type work (think standard, commoditised type documents - whether shareholder or facility agreements). Probably quite true, but this type of work may provide you with the opportunities to develop a solid grounding and foundation from which to grow and develop in a more focused way. Similarly, finance can be quite attractive in being somewhat flexible in the skills you develop - e.g. although very few new deals may be happening, your finance skills may very well be in demand to restructure the deals that have been done that are experiencing problems/going wrong. If it were me, sitting in your about-to-qualify seat, I'd be thinking about finance... money makes the world go round - and just might help you see more of it...
Additionally, regarding your question as to what parts of the world an English qualified lawyer can work in - remember, a good many of the big deals happening around the world are under documentation governed by English law - making it your proverbial oyster! That said, there may very well be local law issues - for which local counsel will be instructed.
Stick with dispute resolution if that's what really interests you. Opportunities for working abroad may be more limited than finance or corporate, but they still exist - particularly if you specialise in arbitration.
Remember that you have time on your side and do your research. As well as the many 'traditional' international locations for a British lawyer (Hong Kong, Dubai, offshore, Singapore) there are also other areas that may well pique your interest and fulfill your 'wacky' nature.
As someone said above, energy/projects could be interesting, especially in places like Almaty where a number of international firms have offices.
Remember to be commercial though and not pigeon-hole yourself from day one.
The world is your oyster. There are many countries that don't follow the Anglo-Saxon common law model, but where business people still like using English law to govern their international transactions (in preference to New York law). Especially in Asia and Africa. Probably more opportunities for a finance or corporate lawyer, but if you like litigation I would stick to that. There will still be opportunities for you. Firms like White & Case come to mind for having offices in far-flung places, and they are always looking for good UK lawyers to work in the outposts - but make sure you don't get stitched up with a one-way ticket, if you want to parachute back into the UK after a few years out. Good luck. M
From what I have seen of the subjects through the experience of friends in the law (though not directly involved myself), shipping and/or insurance look interesting and fulfilling career lines, both with international dimensions plus arbitration/litigation. Worth looking into, maybe?
Truthfully, I am slightly put off by arbitration because of the hideous hours!
I had not considered finance, but have not done a seat there either.
I suppose in these broad general roles that isn't important.
As there have been a few comments on avoiding one-way tickets, etc, what stage of my career will a stage abroad be most suitable?
Thanks
If your firm has overseas offices and you fancy working in one of them, it may be best for you to be posted abroad sooner than later. We're facing a downturn in the West, and arguably Asia is not going to suffer as long or deep a downturn. Plus I don't know about your personal situation but it only gets more difficult later in life; your partner or spouse may have other plans for their career, and if you have kids, you may feel you want to be back in the UK, certainly by the time they start secondary school at age 11 or so. If you are posted abroad by your existing firm, there's not much danger of a one-way ticket - that applies more if you applied to work for another firm now, like White & Case, and they need you for one of their outposts. Good luck. M
I'd not worry about hideous hours in arbitration - in most firms it is no worse than anything else and probably better. You can at least generally foresee when you will be busy, rather than having to cancel plans at short notice.
If you want to make partnership you need to be known and liked, and to have clients (or good contacts). Both are difficult to achieve from a remote outpost. I agree with the advice to go quickly so you can be back when it matters.
I was recently at a Human Rights Conference in Berlin which discussed the multinationals' ability to evade national legal structures via parent/subsidiary mechanism. It was extremely interesting - for example, children used in the production process and how to prevent it was one of the employability topics for discussion. The conference threw up some good people doing some good work - of note was India. I also recently attended a lecture involving Lindsey Hilsum, a UK reporter about China. She informed that a recent case of contaminated baby food in China came to public attention - not via China, but via the multinational layer in New Zealand, which was able to override the Chinese ability to prevent a story surfacing and release the story per se. Again this is a developing area at the international level which I found extremely interesting and would recommend further investigation to you. Media and breaking stories that are 'important' therefore would be another potential hot-bed area. Interesting I think.
Regards.
Contrary to what some other comments have said, it is better to get some grounding in London before moving internationally. At least one year is advisable. When you are abroad, you will find that business and legal systems are frequently not as well established as in London and you need to be aware of pitfalls and potentially dangerous situations. Enhancing your commercial awareness in a 'safer' and better supported environment and gaining skills that you can take to your foreign secondment will be invaluable, and will also stand you in better stead on your return to the UK further down the line.
Your focus is on practice area. It should also be on whether you are at the right firm for maximising the opportunities for transfer to an international office. There are not that many firms within that pool.
Probably not India!
Is it too late for you to do your last seat as a trainee in one of your firm's overseas offices? Nothing beats actually going abroad to see what it really is like and what skills are needed. Alternatively: one or two years of PQE in the head office of your firm will probably help in tackling the issues that will arise in emerging markets (namely, clients as demanding as in Europe and a shaky legal environment). A few words on China: not much interesting lit/arb work (no access for non-Chinese lawyers), and this country will go through a very rough economic patch next year - I wouldn't recommend it, at least until 2010. Why not try the Middle East? (HK is great for six months, but it's tiny and not exactly a "wacky" part of the world).
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