The Licensing of Foreign Legal Consultants in the United States

The focus in this Essay is on the regulations which have been adopted in the various states within the United States to recognize lawyers licensed in other countries. As the financial and commercial markets move beyond national boundaries to become global markets, lawyers practicing in the United States will increasingly be called upon to analyze and understand international law and the laws of countries outside the United States. Adopting regulations allowing foreign legal consultants to practice law will permit US lawyers to better serve their current clients. In addition, US lawyers will more easily obtain access to markets for legal services in other countries once reciprocal access is available for the lawyers from those countries.

Therefore, each of the jurisdictions within the United States should adopt regulations permitting foreign legal consultants to practice law. Ideally, the requirements should be made uniform throughout all fifty states and the District of Columbia.