Australia
In Australia, the practice of foreign law is generally banned unless the practitioner proves to be registered as a foreign layer practitioner. The legal profession is not regulated under the ambit of the Commonwealth of Australia – it is the exclusive domain of each State and Territory, though the former can bring in overriding territory legislation. Nevertheless, the Law Council of Australia (2008) has the unifying objective on national issues and the issue of foreign legal professionals practicing within Australia. The council has developed model legislation and regulation, and the above rule is part of the model law.
The model law aims at liberalizing trade in legal services at the international level, compliance with W.T.O.’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and enabling Australian registered foreign legal practitioners to experience the highest standards of practice. The model suggests that a registered foreign lawyer is not subject to the general prohibition if he practices for not more than 90 days in the aggregate within any period of 12 months, or if he is already restricted under the Migration Act 1958 of the Commonwealth and he does not have an office for practice.
This is also the case when he does not enter into a partnership or directorship in a law firm in Australia. This is the essence of the fly-in and fly-out rule that explains the enabling of a foreign lawyer to visit Australia along with clients for commercial negotiations and international arbitrations. If there is registration, a foreign lawyer can practice his own country’s law in Australia. The foreign lawyer cannot appear before an Australian court, except when he advises his client on the effect of Australian law, which is based on the advice of an Australian lawyer who is not an employee of the foreign lawyer.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, Foreign lawyers are allowed to practice as non-New New Zealand lawyers without being admitted. If they want to qualify in New Zealand, they have to apply to NZCLE, which will assess their qualifications and experience for “academic fitness” to be able to practice in New Zealand.
The U.S.A.
Notwithstanding the above position in the above jurisdictions, the U.S.A. has its own regulations on lawyers wanting to enter international practice to advise on foreign law. The typical situation of P.P. raises the following issues. The lawyers are liable to particular professional responsibilities when they solely represent their clients in their home jurisdiction without the assistance of a lawyer of the concerned foreign country.
Professional responsibilities also apply when they are representing their client in a foreign country. Whether they are professionally restricted to visiting the foreign country to carry out work for their client is the other issue that requires professionalism. If they consider themselves not competent to advise on foreign law, they are required to appoint a practicing counsel in the foreign country. Once the foreign lawyer is selected, what are the obligations of the home country’s lawyer? Model professional conduct rules expect the U.S. lawyers to “competently” advice on foreign law and represent their client “zealously”.
Therefore, lawyers are required to be thoroughly conversant with foreign law before they undertake the role of providing advice to the client. American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct provide guidelines in this respect. The rules warn that foreign countries’ laws may treat such a practice as unlicensed practice of law. Thus, a lawyer’s responsibilities for representing a client in the matter of advising on foreign law are to recognize the questions of foreign law and accordingly meet the competency standards, which are required to address the foreign issues promptly, expertly, and inexpensively, in a similar manner that a foreign counsel would act.