Law Commons^™

How Countries Seek To Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Laws In Response To The Panama Papers, And The Ethical Implications Of Incentivizing Whistleblowers, Carmina Franchesca S. Del Mundo

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The Panama Papers is currently the world’s largest whistleblower case that involved 11.5 million leaked documents and over 214,000 offshore entities. It all linked back to one Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca. In 2016, over 400 investigative journalists collaboratively and simultaneously published stories that exposed the money laundering and tax-evading schemes committed by the rich and powerful. This included political figures and heads of states, celebrities, sports figures, criminal organizations, and terrorist groups.

This article aims to dissect the innerworkings of Mossack Fonseca’s asset-shielding strategy and investigate how the Panamanian law firm was able to circumvent the tax and anti-money …

The European Commission Project Regarding Competition In Professional Services, Laurel S. Terry

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

One goal of this article is to help EU Member States' policy-makers and citizens understand the broad-brush nature of the EU Initiative and remember that it was a call for further investigation by EU Member States. This article provides a detailed case study of the EU Initiative so that as many individuals as possible in the European Union can understand the issues at stake and participate in rigorous discussions about the justifications for, and costs and benefits of, particular lawyer regulation rules in particular countries. Although one goal of this article is to empower European stakeholders and policy-makers, it is …

International Legal Practice Involving England And New York Following Adoption Of The United Kingdom Legal Services Act Of 2007, Sydney M. Iii Cone

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article deals with the regulation of legal services in England and New York in the context of, first, multidisciplinary practice ("MDP") and, second, permitted investment in legal practice. The article summarizes both the background of and potential differences between the regulations in those two jurisdictions, and comments on the possible reconciliation of those differences. Because, chronologically, New York was the first of the two jurisdictions under consideration to adopt rules on MDP, the New York rules will be considered first, and the more recent statute, known as the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007 (hereinafter "U.K. Act"), will then …

The Core Values Of The Legal Profession For Lawyers Today And Tomorrow, Jonathan Goldsmith

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This Article began life as a speech I gave on the fifth anniversary of the Flemish Bar in Belgium (Orde Van Flaamse Balies) on 24 May 2007. It addresses the changes which are taking place in Europe and elsewhere in the world in relation to the regulation of lawyers, particularly insofar as the core values of the legal profession are concerned.

Globalization And The Business Of Law: Lessons For Legal Education, Carole Silver, David Van Zandt, Nicole De Bruin

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Cross-border law practice is growing to serve the increasingly global business of its clients, and U.S. and U.K. firms have been leaders in this global expansion of law practice. Expansion takes several forms, including the physical--with law firms opening offices in faraway locations to serve existing and new clients1--as well as the virtual--based on technology that supports the economics of cross-border activity by enabling practice apart from physical presence. Whether working for global or local organizations, lawyers today are increasingly faced with the prospect of working with colleagues and competitors who are diverse in terms of nationality, education and training, …

Global Law Firms: Globalization And Organizational Spaces Of Cross-Border Legal Work, James R. Faulconbridge, Jonathan V. Beaverstock, Daniel Muzio, Peter J. Taylor

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The aim of this paper is not, however, to generically chart the rise of the global law firm; others have already done this. Instead, our interest lies in better understanding how existing geographies of globalization of law and lawyers, alongside the new geographies of professional partnership and legal work, have created opportunities and challenges for global law firms. More specifically, we seek to unravel the complexities of: (a) the factors driving the presence and absence of global law firms in different cities; and (b) the way that law firms have been reconfigured to operate as spatially distributed organizations present in …

Lawyers, Law Firms, And The Stabilization Of Transnational Business, John Flood, Fabian Sosa

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Cross-border business transactions are complex. But in this globalized age, as commentators such as Ohmae have argued, business ought to be conducted simply despite national boundaries. Yet there are features of business that run counter to globalization and maintain a resolutely local character. A crucial aspect of this is the nature of law. No transaction can be carried out without a normative structure to provide a framework for the actors to operate within. Obligations, rights, warranties, covenants, and so on have to be specified and allocated. Even economists agree that the rule of law is essential for the conduct of …

The Legal World Is Flat: Globalization And Its Effect On Lawyers Practicing In Non-Global Law Firms, Laurel S. Terry

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

While lawyers in these large global law firms usually are aware of why globalization is relevant to them, other U.S. lawyers may not think that the globalization phenomenon affects them. A comment frequently heard is "Law is local so I don't have to worry about globalization affecting me or my practice." The goal of this article is to look at Friedman's work through the lens of legal services and to answer several questions, including: • Whether Friedman's analysis is relevant to what has happened in the field of legal services; • Whether a U.S. lawyer who doesn't practice in a …

Transnational Bribery: The Big Questions, Steven R. Salbu

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

During the past few years, I have written extensively on the subject of transnational bribery. My articles have examined several aspects of this serious problem,' including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), 2 re-cent multilateral global conventions to fight bribery,3 and the comparative costs and benefits of legislative versus systemic or institutional forms of change.4 This body of work also has addressed some of the problems that can accompany aggressive legal remedies, such as potential cultural imperialism5 and global discord.6 This examination has been rewarding, and it has spurred a rich exchange with a number of very talented scholars, as …

Getting From Salbu To The Tipping Point: The Role Of Corporate Action Within A Portfolio Of Anti-Corruption Strategies, Thomas W. Dunfee, David Hess

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Salbu's "big questions" identify core issues for scholars on bribery and corruption. Salbu asks: (1) when may it be ethical to pay a bribe, (2) whether the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act's ("FCPA") provisions on "routine government action" permit us to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate facilitative payments, (3) whether non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") should supplant the role of governments in fighting corruption, and (4) whether corporate principles can have an impact in the fight against corruption. Our focus is primarily on the latter question, but encompasses all of them. Implicit in Salbu's list is the question of whether a single magic …