Page 10 International Feature

banks were not exposed to the toxic assets that their European and American counterparts were. However, Lang acknowledges: ‘If the rest of the world slows down, it will have an effect on us.’ In the meantime, he points to interesting developments in the legal market with UK firms such as Eversheds entering into associations and co-branding with local firms. South Africa is also developing as an attractive market for offshoring legal services and processes because of its combination of high-quality lawyers and lower rates of pay.

Lang says: ‘Some clients have suggested they are interested in our English law capabilities in South Africa for emerging market work because they see we are closer to the assets, relative to London, and we are certainly more cost effective, though we don’t set ourselves out to compete with UK firms on that basis.’ For offshore jurisdictions, 2009 is going to be a challenging year as they come under scrutiny from both the US and UK. New US ­President Barack Obama has said he plans to crack down on any ­offshore tax abuses by individuals and companies, while the UK Treasury has commissioned an independent review of the three crown dependencies and 14 overseas ­territories. This will cover financial crisis management, transparency and international cooperation, but will not affect the UK’s constitutional relationship.

Chaplin (Ogier) says the review will look at how the Crown dependencies fit into the modern world. ‘We don’t have a bank deposit protection scheme, for instance, so what would happen if one of the banks licensed in the Channel Islands couldn’t meet its obligations?’ As firms respond to the rapidly changing economic conditions, one critical factor will be recruiting and retaining good lawyers. The key to managing talent, according to leading practitioners, is understanding what you, as a firm, are trying to achieve. Are you trying to integrate people across jurisdictions or are you a domestic firm aiming to give your people international opportunities, for example by using overseas networks to promote key talent through placements? Some firms have legal teams that resemble a mini-UN. Al-Tamimi has lawyers from 15 different countries, while Lalive’s lawyers speak French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Greek and Chinese. Baizeau says it is its international reputation that attracts good candidates.

For home-grown solicitors, the attraction of exciting work, tax-free salaries and an attractive lifestyle has resulted in the UAE fast becoming the jurisdiction with the most English lawyers outside the UK. So, for law firms gathering intelligence on where to target their resources so they cope with the downturn, while ensuring they are in a strong position when the tide turns, where should they look? The emerging markets in the Gulf, India, Russia and China offer exciting opportunities, but they have all been affected by the recession hitting the western economies and they warn firms to be realistic about levels of work – ‘we won’t be the white knights that will save the legal world,’ one leading practitioner has warned.
However, international activity will continue to be an important driver for new work over the coming year, according to Hook at the Law Society, with the Society planning visits by lawyers and in-house counsel from Spain, India, Russia and China, as well as trade missions to Qatar, Ukraine, Brazil, Chile and Texas. ‘There remains a huge amount of ­interest from abroad in what the UK legal market has to offer,’ she says. ‘Times are undoubtedly tough and going to get tougher, but this is an opportunity for those who are thinking and planning ahead.’

Grania Langdon-Down is a freelance journalist