Law Commons^™

Elite Law Firm Mergers And Reputational Competition, Bruce E. Aronson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Although rapid law firm growth has persisted since the 1980s, the acceleration of this trend over the last decade by means of mergers is puzzling. Why would normally conservative law firms embark on a merger strategy that appears to encompass significant risk and uncertain benefits? Is this trend a peculiarly U.S. phenomenon?

Most of the popular explanations for law firm mergers focus on a single factor: Law firms everywhere cite strikingly similar reasons based on a presumed client demand for "one-stop shopping." This Article contributes to providing a more robust, multi-causal explanation for law firm behavior through a comparative study …

Services As Objects Of International Trade: Bartering The Legal Profession, Louise L. Hill

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The General Agreement on Trade in Service calls for members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to further liberalize and expand opportunities for international trade in services. With legal services included in this mandate, requests for specific commitments and offers have been made by WTO Member States. While services as components of international trade is new to many of the WTO Member States, free movement of services has been addressed by the European Union (EU) since the inception of the European Economic Community. Thus EU directives, declarations, codes and case law serve as valuable resources to WTO Member States as …

Lawyer Ethics In The Twenty-First Century, Dr. Julian Lonbay

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article surveys multijurisdictional legal practice in the European Community. It details some of the types of lawyers and law practices that can be found across Europe and describes the variety of activities in which these lawyers engage. The Article then examines the regulatory regime that controls the legal industry. Specifically, it considers Article 49, Article 43, Directive 89/48/EEC, and Directive 98/5/EC. The Article concludes with a discussion of how conflicts in the regulation of lawyers may be resolved.

Comments Of A Commissioner, Peter D. Ehrenhaft

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

These comments are solely the views of Peter D. Ehrenhaft, one of the twelve members of the ABA Commission on Multijurisdictional Practice. They are not the official views of the Commission and, indeed, may be modified by the presenter based on the further information the Commission is now gathering from interested parties. These comments are intended to stimulate thought and discussion of the issues and to encourage all sectors of the profession to submit their views to the Commission. The final deadline for the submission of written materials for the Commission's consideration in the preparation of its Initial Draft Report …

Ethics Beyond The Horizon: Why Regulate The Global Practice Of Law?, Christopher J. Whelan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article explores whether global self-regulation of the legal profession is desirable. The Author explains that as global law practice has grown over the past decade, so has the desire to formulate global rules of professional responsibility. The Article focuses on large law firms offering transnational legal services in many countries. The Author addresses whether and for whom the aspiration to deliver core values at the global level is desirable. He does so by comparing the rhetoric of global self-regulation with the reality of global law practice. In reality, the global law practice has undermined the power of nation states …

The Dichotomy Between Standards And Rules, Mary C. Daly

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The differences in perception between U.S. and foreign lawyer codes of conduct is more than simply a matter of academic interest or curiosity. It is only a matter of time until the WTO turns its attention to the codes, examining whether and to what extent they create illegitimate regulatory barriers to trade in legal services. As the participants in the Forum on Transnational Legal Practice have come to realize, if the legal profession is to play a meaningful role in cross-border regulation, it must seize the initiative, much as the CCBE did in 1988 with the adoption of the CCBE …

Izvestiia As A Mirror Of Russian Legal Reform, Frances H. Foster

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Foster explores the breakdown of legal authority in post-Soviet Russia by examining the experience of the Russian newspaper Izvestiia. The author recounts the power struggles between the Russian president and the parliament, each seeking to exercise sole control over the destiny of Izvestiia and of post-Soviet Russia. Professor Foster argues that Izvestiia's battle for survival is merely symptomatic of the overall structural, procedural, and attitudinal obstacles to Russian legal reform in the post-Soviet era. The author concludes that the key to successful establishment of a stable, democratic, law-based state is a fundamental reconstitution of Russian legal …