working at US law firms overseas?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>i noticed that a lot of large american law firms have offices overseas in europe and asia. i was wondering how these work...</p>

<ul>
<li>do they typically recruit US law students into those offices? </li>
<li>what qualifications would one need to work in an overseas office?</li>
<li>are they typically "real" offices or just a small branch with a few lawyers?</li>
<li>does the normal associate experience and billing process work the same?</li>
<li>is it becoming a trend for those who are capable (have foreign language skills, etc.) to work overseas for a few years (maybe make partner there?) then come back to the US? (or are the lawyers there probably career expats?)</li>
<li>what are the advantages and disadvantages of temporarily working overseas?</li>
</ul>

<p>i'm going to be studying abroad in china in the fall and i'm also currently learning chinese and was just curious if i'd get a chance to make good use of all that in a legal career.</p>

2

<p>I would imagine that each firm would have their own particularities. But, in general, overseas postings tend to be in demand. In law, there is no magic or mystique. Just a simple formula:</p>

<p>TOP GRADES + TOP SCHOOL = TOP JOBS</p>

<p>If you graduate with good grades from a top law school then you will have more opportunities to work overseas either in US firms or European firms. And of course, language skills, such as Chinese are good, but these are secondary relative to the law school and ranking.</p>