As Thomas Friedman observes in his book of the same title, the world is flat.  But the opportunities for solos aren’t.  

While many large, national U.S. firms are struggling in the international arena – due to competition with global firms with substantial overseas presence or  loss of once-lucrative document review projects to off-shoring, nimble solos – like this month’s Xemplar, Susan Burke – are well positioned to capitalize on the wide array of option’s that today’s brave new world has to offer.   In this piece, I’ll identify some of the global opportunities on the horizon for solo and small firm lawyers, and more importantly, what you need to do to take advantage of them.

I. International Trends

Several reasons explain why the iron is hot for solos to crack international markets.  First, as a result of international crises and a downward economy, more United States citizens are spending time out of the country than ever before.  Peacetime military deployment overseas is at one of its all time highs, while the idea of retiring outside of the country, to stretch retirement savings farther is gaining popularity. Likewise, in the face of rising healthcare costs, many U.S. residents are traveling overseas for affordable procedures ranging from cancer treatment to IVF.   Cultural attitudes are changing as well.  No longer aspiring to a 30 year career in a corporation, today’s younger generations are far more transient and more likely to sample working abroad.  

Of course, migration isn’t a one way street either.  Just as U.S. residents are moving abroad, so too residents living in war-torn countries are looking to move to the United States. Likewise, entrepreneurs in Europe and Asia have their eyes on U.S. markets – perhaps even a presence in the US.  

Technology is also accelerating global movement.  When home is just a skype call away, it’s far less intimidating to make the move overseas.  And of course,  technology companies like Google and Amazon have become international giants, and often have headquarters, computer servers and other staff all over the world.  Even more importantly, technology is eradicating boundaries. The products that we buy or services we purchase may come from anywhere in the world The information that you store in the cloud may be held on servers anywhere.  The defamatory tweet that a U.S. citizen sends is heard round the world, and may have repercussions for that reason.  In the UK, the Legal Services Act is opening up the legal profession to non-lawyers.  Does that mean that a virtual practitioner in the US can help UK clients?. The possibilities are endless.

II.  Specific Opportunities

All of these developments may give rise to numerous legal issues  with an international dimension.  For example:

• A US couple wants to retire to India, and retain some property in the US but acquire a new house in India.  How does that impact estate planning and taxes?
• A business stores customer data in the cloud, on servers housed overseas.  How does that impact the business’ risk of identity theft, and what steps can the business take to mitigate risk?
• A small renewable energy company in Norway wants to take advantage of the US market and access federal funding?  What does it need to do to establish a US presence?
• An overseas media company wants to provide services in US markets and requires advice on laws that may apply to doing business in the US.  In addition, the overseas company has concerns regarding infringement by another US company.
• An offshore document reviewer botched a project.  A US lawyer overseas but not currently licensed managed the project.  What is the recourse?
• What opportunities might the UK’s Legal Services Act open up to US lawyers?
• An medical procedure overseas goes wrong.  What legal resource is available?  
• A woman seeks to divorce her serviceman husband stationed overseas, but retain full custody of their children.  What rules and laws will apply? Same question, but the family is currently living overseas and one spouse seeks to return to the US.

III. Taking Advantage of Opportunities

So how can solo and small firm lawyers take advantage of new global opportunities?  Here’s where technology assists as well.

For starters, solo and small firm lawyers can use the Internet – specifically, websites, blogs and social media to market their practice and gain exposure in overseas markets.  Used to be that lawyers who wanted to attract overseas business would have to travel there to make connections.  And while the personal approach still works,  blogs and social media offer alternatives.  So too do webinars – which lawyers can use to offer presentations to international audiences.  Likewise, lawyers who want to develop an international niche for US clients – such as estate planning for individuals retiring abroad – can use blogs and social media to demonstrate their expertise in these markets.

Lawyers can also take advantage of technology to enter into a collaborative relationship with a law firm overseas with similar practice capabilities.  The two firms could engage in joint marketing efforts, advise each other on substantive legal issues, team up on projects and refer cases back and forth.  A cloud-based infrastructure would allow for the firms to share documents seamlessly and more securely than emailing them back and forth.

Lawyers may also need to develop substantive skills to handle overseas work.  Technology can help there as well.  The World Legal Information Institute offers access to many decisions and laws from countries overseas, and other commercial research products are available as well.  Of course, there’s also language skills, which lawyers may need to communicate with foreign clients – and today, many self-study courses are available online.  As for today’s law students, they should start acquiring these skills and, perhaps look for internship opportunities with firms overseas.

Used to be that a global legal career was limited to the lucky few who worked for ginormous global firms or corporations.  No more.  With a little technology and a lot of imagination, solo and small firm lawyers can also dominate world markets.  The question is, are you ready to go global?