You're Not in Kansas Anymore: What Every CEO Needs to Know about Contracting & Doing Business Internationally
Book Details
Author(s)Lauren Rachlin
PublisherExecSense
ISBN / ASINB00BWVO714
ISBN-13978B00BWVO712
Sales Rank3,717,497
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
About the eBook
The most important thing to know about doing business in another country is the most obvious and least understood fact--it is another country. It has different laws, different customs, different languages, different legal structures and systems. Even in countries that we think of as negligibly different from the United States, such as Canada, the differences can be profound. Misunderstandings and misapprehensions can become very expensive, and in many situations the differences are counterintuitive to our way of thinking. The purpose of this chapter is to alert you to some of the major issues and potential traps for the unwary CEO; knowledge that can ease your path or cause expensive damage if left unheeded.
One of the first things to realize is that you simply cannot concern yourself with the business aspects of the transaction and leave the “lawyer issues” to your lawyer in many situations. The reason for this is quite simple: the United States market has been the greatest market in the world throughout recent history, and our law schools have trained our lawyers to be very successful practitioners in that marketplace. Little or no training, even to this day, is given to law students in what we call international commercial law or other legal systems, such as the civil law or Sharia legal systems, even though these predominate throughout much of the world.
During law school, students are often discouraged from studying international law by the demands of the job market. After graduation, the opportunity for learning is even more limited except perhaps by experience, which can be a much less reliable education, and certainly less desirable from the client’s perspective. Since most business lawyers do not have a background in other legal systems and because they are being forced by the realities of globalization and the ever increasing expansion of their clients’ businesses to become involved in international transactions, this chapter will also focus on how you can work with your lawyer to be certain he or she has or develops the ability to provide you with the legal help you need to engage in international commerce.
The best way to start is with our first topic - the selection of foreign legal counsel.
About the Author: Lauren D. Rachlin, Partner, Hodgson Russ LLP
Lauren D. Rachlin’s practice focuses on international business law, general corporate law, international trade, distribution, investment, and finance. Prior to joining Hodgson Russ LLP, he was a partner for twenty-two years in another major firm, which merged with his firm, Rachlin & Rachlin. Rachlin is licensed as a Foreign Legal Consultant in Ontario. Rachlin lectures frequently on international corporate legal matters. He was a featured guest speaker at “Crossing Borders 2008,” a multi-disciplinary conference on the United States, Canada, and border issues hosted by the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in conjunction with the Consulate General of Canada, Buffalo and the Consulate General of the United States, Toronto. He serves on the advisory board of the Canadian American Studies Program sponsored by SUNY Buffalo and Brock University in Ontario.
Rachlin served as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He also serves by appointment on the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Customs and Trade Facilitation. He has also served as a panelist on Chapter 19 dispute resolution panels under both the U.S./Canada Free Trade Agreement and the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce. Rachlin was a founder of the Western New York International Trade Council, now the World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara and the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. He chairs the International Business Law Committee of the
The most important thing to know about doing business in another country is the most obvious and least understood fact--it is another country. It has different laws, different customs, different languages, different legal structures and systems. Even in countries that we think of as negligibly different from the United States, such as Canada, the differences can be profound. Misunderstandings and misapprehensions can become very expensive, and in many situations the differences are counterintuitive to our way of thinking. The purpose of this chapter is to alert you to some of the major issues and potential traps for the unwary CEO; knowledge that can ease your path or cause expensive damage if left unheeded.
One of the first things to realize is that you simply cannot concern yourself with the business aspects of the transaction and leave the “lawyer issues” to your lawyer in many situations. The reason for this is quite simple: the United States market has been the greatest market in the world throughout recent history, and our law schools have trained our lawyers to be very successful practitioners in that marketplace. Little or no training, even to this day, is given to law students in what we call international commercial law or other legal systems, such as the civil law or Sharia legal systems, even though these predominate throughout much of the world.
During law school, students are often discouraged from studying international law by the demands of the job market. After graduation, the opportunity for learning is even more limited except perhaps by experience, which can be a much less reliable education, and certainly less desirable from the client’s perspective. Since most business lawyers do not have a background in other legal systems and because they are being forced by the realities of globalization and the ever increasing expansion of their clients’ businesses to become involved in international transactions, this chapter will also focus on how you can work with your lawyer to be certain he or she has or develops the ability to provide you with the legal help you need to engage in international commerce.
The best way to start is with our first topic - the selection of foreign legal counsel.
About the Author: Lauren D. Rachlin, Partner, Hodgson Russ LLP
Lauren D. Rachlin’s practice focuses on international business law, general corporate law, international trade, distribution, investment, and finance. Prior to joining Hodgson Russ LLP, he was a partner for twenty-two years in another major firm, which merged with his firm, Rachlin & Rachlin. Rachlin is licensed as a Foreign Legal Consultant in Ontario. Rachlin lectures frequently on international corporate legal matters. He was a featured guest speaker at “Crossing Borders 2008,” a multi-disciplinary conference on the United States, Canada, and border issues hosted by the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in conjunction with the Consulate General of Canada, Buffalo and the Consulate General of the United States, Toronto. He serves on the advisory board of the Canadian American Studies Program sponsored by SUNY Buffalo and Brock University in Ontario.
Rachlin served as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He also serves by appointment on the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Customs and Trade Facilitation. He has also served as a panelist on Chapter 19 dispute resolution panels under both the U.S./Canada Free Trade Agreement and the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce. Rachlin was a founder of the Western New York International Trade Council, now the World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara and the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. He chairs the International Business Law Committee of the
