NLJ Home > News > Advice for success: Go abroad, young lawyers
Karen Sloan All Articles
The National Law Journal
March 07, 2011
During the 1990s, Peter Engstrom accepted a 1 1/2-year legal assignment that required frequent travel to Kazakhstan.
"It was a rough place to be," said Engstrom, the former North American managing partner of Baker & McKenzie, now a member of the firm's civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution practices. "They didn't have ATMs, the food was bad, you couldn't get a fresh breath of air, but it was one of the best things I've ever done. If you have an opportunity like that, take it." Being open to moving overseas is an important way for young attorneys to position themselves to succeed in the increasingly global legal market, Engstrom said. His advice was seconded by The Coca-Cola Co. General Counsel Geoffrey Kelly and Alcatel-Lucent U.S.A. Inc. General Counsel Steve Reynolds. ... The three shared their thoughts on globalization on March 7 with more than 100 up-and-coming attorneys chosen for the Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity's new Fellows Program — a mentorship effort intended to foster diversity by giving young attorneys the chance to learn directly from law firm leaders and general counsel.
All three panelists agreed that clients increasingly are looking for counsel skilled at working internationally because the fastest-growing markets for most major companies are outside the United States. Coca-Cola earns about 70% its profits come abroad, Kelly said, and that figure would be closer to 90% had the company not recently acquired a large North American bottling enterprise, he added.
