In this ever shrinking, technology-driven world, one of the most fundamental questions facing cross-border commercial practitioners and the legal profession as a whole is whether restrictions on the practise of law should continue to be based upon geographical considerations. Although we speak of ourselves as ‘international lawyers’, because our clients and their legal matters span the globe, we as commercial lawyers cannot be licensed or otherwise admitted to ‘international practise’.
In virtually all jurisdictions around the world, the system of lawyer regulation is based upon a national admissions process that argues for the protection of the public interest, by requiring lawyers to prove a requisite degree of knowledge in local law and the required moral character and fitness to serve the public interest through the profession. Differing practise and ethical standards based upon different legal cultures now threaten to seriously impede the commercial lawyer’s ability to effectively and efficiently represent commercial clients.
