Summary

	Practice law abroad and get involved in making change.
	Opportunities are on the rise, especially short-term stints.
	With a second language, your options are considerable better.

Jaime Mercado has a legal job that could be the envy of many attorneys. Based in New York, he travels several times a year to Latin America and the Caribbean to represent clients. His native Spanish and English abilities combined with a top-tier undergraduate and graduate education, make Mercado a natural candidate for a job with virtues he can easily describe.

Learn More Are you currently a law student? If you are interested in the possibility of a summer internship abroad, contact the Law Student Division of the ABA (Be sure to join and get the student membership fee!). Each year, this organization publishes a list of summer programs outside the US. To order this publication, call the ABA Service Center at 312-988-5522. The ABA Web site has links to a wide variety of global legal associations, from the Law Society of Singapore to the Swedish Bar Association. Many people are unaware that the Fulbright Scholar Program provides opportunities for individuals with legal backgrounds, including those with academic or research interests as well as individuals with applied professional backgrounds. Fulbright grants are awarded for amounts of time ranging from a few months to a full year overseas. Application deadlines and more information are available at The Council for International Exchange of Scholars Web site.

"Aside from the many travel opportunities it provides, what I like most about my job is that it allows me to play a role in the development of various sectors of local economies," he says. "Many international clients are coming to the capital markets for the first time and come to rely significantly on their advisors, which makes our practice all the more rewarding."

But what if you are not bilingual and bicultural like Mercado? Are there still possibilities to get a taste of international work? The answer is yes.

According to Mark Janis, professor of international law at the University of Connecticut, opportunities have increased over the past 20 years. If you research carefully and plan strategically, you can make yourself an attractive candidate for a short-term stint overseas, either paid or pro bono or you can retool your career to add an international dimension.

Mercado points out that most international legal jobs are in the corporate area and may be easier to attain with a second language. "While there are some jobs in international arbitration, they are more difficult to get because they are not as plentiful," he explains. "While language is not essential, it is a tremendous selling point for the firm if it can offer its clients attorneys that can speak the language and understand the culture."

Professor Janis echoes the importance of language and adds that flexibility and adaptability to other cultures, as well as energy, are vital. "The complexity of transactions combined with the time differences often faced in international work" means that an international legal job can be more demanding than a domestic one, he says. On a practical note, your move will be much easier if you are in a field of law that is relevant and important to multinational corporations, like securities, banking or other types of commercial transactions.

If you have no international experience, but would like to see if overseas work is for you, take advantage of the American Bar Association's International Legal Exchange Program. The American Bar Association (ABA) accepts both US lawyers who want to work abroad and non-US attorneys who wish to work in America and links them to short-term placements or seminar opportunities abroad. Information on this program is available at the ABA's Web site in the Section of International Law and Practice. This is also an excellent way to build your resume.

A variety of pro bono opportunities for lawyers interested in working in developing countries provide another option for international work that can also fulfill one's sense of social responsibility. Again, the ABA is an excellent resource. They have a strong Central and East European Law Initiative for individuals interested in providing legal assistance and technical advice to country governments in this region. The ABA has also joined forces with UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme, supplying lawyers on a short-term basis to UNDP country offices to assist with institution building, judicial reform, drafting legislation, etc. For more experienced attorneys, The Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the UN Secretariat hires lawyers to assist with peacekeeping missions that include rebuilding country judicial systems and prosecuting war criminals.

Law jobs that have global dimensions are on the rise, and with a little ingenuity and commitment, there are definitely possibilities to take your career global. While the salaries may not be as rewarding as a high-power New York firm, the work may be more interesting and your office view a lot broader.