Wherever global commerce is robust, lawyers and law firms follow. In the current global legal practice landscape, the implementation of new regulatory regimes affecting law firm structure and nonlawyer participation, as well as rules and regulations designed to facilitate ethical infrastructures through enhanced risk management practices affect more than lawyers and law firms. No longer can front line regulators of the profession afford to remain insulated within the boundaries of their country or state. As cross-border legal practice continues to grow and these new approaches to regulation spread, the need for the regulators of the profession to communicate, cooperate and collaborate must follow. Not only does international lawyer regulatory communication enhance the chance that positive regulatory change in one country may beget positive change elsewhere, but international regulatory cooperation will help ensure lawyer and law firm accountability to the benefit of clients and the public.
This presentation will focus on current developments in international regulatory cooperation and communication, including the two International Conferences of Legal Regulators (the first in 2012 in London, followed by the second in 2013 in San Francisco), U.S. Conference of Chief Justices’ Resolutions, the newly adopted ABA Guidelines for International Information Exchange and other initiatives. In addition, the presenter will discuss how international regulatory cooperation can help ensure reciprocal disciplinary enforcement when necessary to protect clients and the public, and how the ABA National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank can facilitate increased international regulatory information exchange and where appropriate, enforcement.