Everything about a Foreign Legal Consultant

   
 
   
 
IN INTERNATIONAL negotiations, even a single word or phrase holds greater power than ever before, as international business transactions and cross-border investment are becoming more frequent. To the eyes of an ordinary student, treaties among countries or legal documents such as contracts may seem a mere combination of words and sentences. Without appreciating the efforts of the person drafting such legal instruments, you will never know what a particular choice of wording will bring about, in multi-million dollar cross-border transactions or bilateral treaty negotiations. Then, who is in charge of such a crucial role, in the field of international disputes resolution?
 
Expert in global legal standard
The number of foreign enterprises in Korea has been increasing, and a lot of domestic corporations are expanding their business opportunities to the global market. Cross-border transactions narrow the gap between countries. There is, however, one thing that can never be unified: laws. Thus, the solution-providers in the minefield of international disputes should help business avoid potential risks, with the international legal standards. These people are called Foreign Legal Consultants (FLC), or simply, “international lawyers.”
 
A nonexistent term?
In fact, there is no such thing as an “international lawyer” in any dictionary, but it has widely been used to indicate legal professionals who are admitted to practice law in any states within the United States, the biggest trade partner in the world. Nowadays, there are international lawyers from countries as varied such as China or Australia.
 
Classified as a trendsetter
International lawyers should always try to catch up with the development in the global legal standards and progress of industry innovation. Thus, in the United States, the job of international lawyer is officially classified as a “trendsetter,” which means a person who establishes a new trend. As it is expected that international business will become more and more complicated and specialized, the role of the international lawyers will become greater than ever.
 
Creativity is the key
In the early days, the role of international lawyers was not even established, and their role was limited to basic secretarial tasks, assisting Korean lawyers. In this global society, however, it has become one of the most important jobs, preventing clients from getting into troubles due to their misunderstandings of international contracts or violations of foreign laws. Thus, at least one FLC is needed in every corporation to manage complicated overseas affairs.
   
 
  ▲ Song Woo-suk (FLC, Hwa-woo)  
     
“From the 1970s, many domestic corporations have restructured their business portfolio after the oil shock,” said Song woo-suk, (FLC, Korean law firm, Hwa-woo. According to Song, many major global companies often violate the Anti-trust legislation[1]. Without a FLC, it is hard to imagine solving these problems. To become this global trendsetter, there are two important factors: language skills and creativity. According to Song, global firms are demanding talented men who can suggest proper and efficient legal advice and creative solutions with the fluent language skills to alleviate international disputes.
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These internationally sought legal magicians are working hard, day and night, to prevent legal risks. We look forward to seeing these magicians make further contribute to the world.

[1] Antitrust laws are intended to stop large firms taking over their competitors, fixing prices, or interfering with free competition.
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