You want to do WHAT?

Everybody can grasp how global our economy has become when they look at manufacturing industries. But have you ever thought about the impact of globalization upon the practice of your hometown lawyer?

I am not talking about the mega-firms charging mega-prices. We all know they have special departments which deal with international legal issues; heck, they even have subspecialties on this specialty (international employment, international tax, international business, international litigation, international arbitration, customs laws, etc). Their attorneys often work for one client for many years, tend to focus in one small area of law, and never deviate from that area.

But does that mean the rest of the profession is restricted to a local practice? Not so. It is not realistic to expect that firms with less than 100, less than 50, less than 15, less than 2 attorneys will never face an international issue.

The real question is: How do local attorneys handle the client who comes into the office with a unique problem? What questions do they need to address with local businesses (or individuals) who suddenly go global?

REAL ESTATE: Are there tax and non-tax implications to representing a foreign citizen purchasing or selling real estate in the U.S.? What are the implications if you are attempting to set up a business entity (corporation, LLC or equivalent) for the holding of that real estate?
ESTATE PLANNING: If you represent globetrotting individuals with residences in the U.S. and abroad, what are the tax implications of the dual residence? Does the estate plan you drafted take into account enforceability under international, U.S. and foreign laws? Are there certain documents your clients will need to have authenticated for use abroad?
FAMILY LAW: Are you familiar with how foreign laws regarding marriage and divorce affect enforceability of the U.S.? What do you do if a client advises you his/her spouse took their child to a foreign country? How do you counsel a client regarding obtaining child support from a foreign resident?
LITIGATION: How do you serve a foreign business or individual with a summons and Complaint? Are you able to engage in discovery in a foreign country where a party or non-party is resident, and, if so, what are the limitations? Can you enforce in the U.S. a judgment obtained abroad in either litigation or arbitration? Can you enforce in another country a judgment obtained in the U.S.?
SMALL BUSINESS: Obviously, there is the forward-looking small business owner who has a dream, and wants to expand into the international arena. Maybe the company will be a U.S. agent or distributor of an international corporation; maybe the company wants to dangle its own toe into another country's pond, where it will soon learn how foreign laws, U.S. laws, international laws will impact upon contracts with vendors, clients, agents and distributors.

I'd love to hear about other times where someone's traditional, local clients have suddenly and unexpectedly gone global. Over the next few weeks I will be taking a look at these situations more closely, and provide resources for small and mid-size law firms facing these new, sophisticated, worldly clients.

HOW U.S. DOCUMENTS CAN BE AUTHENTICATED FOR USE ABROAD

The traditional request for legalization of documents used abroad required certification up the chain of line -- starting with the notary public (authenticating the document and signature), then moving on to the court clerk of the jurisdiction in which the notary public serves, and finally by the office of the state's secretary of state. The document would then have to be sent to the Authentication Office of the U.S. Department of State, where you would pay a nominal fee and tell them where the document was intended to be used, and the document would be authenticated for use abroad, and ultimately transmitted to the other state's embassy or consulate.

Luckily that process is rarely used anymore because most countries are members of the Hague Legalization Convention. For a list of members of the Convention, click here, http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41 This Convention streamlines the procedure for international acceptance of document through use of a convention apostille. The apostille is appended to the document, and allows it to be accepted in other Hague Convention member country. When requesting a certifying body in the U.S. for an apostille for your document, you will have to advise them of the country in which you intend to use the document.

Where do I get an Apostille?

The Administrative Office of the Federal Courts issues apostilles for U.S. federal court documents.

Apostilles for state-issued documents can be obtained from the Secretary of State's office (notary office/document authentication office) in your state. Apostilles can be obtained for documents issued by state or local courts, birth/death/marriage records, documents issued by state or local government agencies, and documents signed before a notary public. Wills, powers of attorney, attestations, affidavits and other documents that have been sworn to before a notary public are all covered by the Hague Legalization Convention.

The Convention does not apply to commercial documents, such as a bill of lading, since those documents were not originally sworn to before a notary public, and did not otherwise undergo a certification process. Therefore, if you wish to have commercial documents authenticated for use outside of the U.S., you will need to follow the more onerous "traditional" procedure for legalization of documents.

Welcome to my new blog, where we can discuss issues burning in the minds of business owners. I'd like to hear from any of you who are thinking of building gift baskets in your basement and selling them to hungry German grandmothers, and want to discuss the practical, legal and other confusing issues that surround how to take your business global.

Do you own a manufacturing company and want someone in Timbuktu to sell your goods? Do you want to be a distributor in Podunk, Texas for a Chinese manufacturing company? What do you want to do? What problems have you faced doing them? Let me hear them all!

Disclaimer time! None of the information provided in this blog should be construed as legal advice for any particular situation. This is an information forum only, and is a place for sharing, discussion and dissemination of information and resources. In order to determine which laws will be applicable to your business, you should sit down with a lawyer. I am not licensed to practice law anywhere except Illinois, and the laws in your jurisdiction may vary significantly.