Technology makes it easy for lawyers to work across borders: regulations should too
The rules of legal practice are highly localised. Every country sets rules that determine how lawyers qualify professionally and what they are allowed to do.
When a lawyer who is licensed to practise in one country provides legal services in another country, it is known as cross-border or transnational legal practice. Many countries have regulations that restrict the services that foreign lawyers may provide.
The restrictions vary from country to country. For example, in Nigeria, foreign lawyers aren’t allowed to practise any form of law – Nigerian law, their home country’s law, or international law – unless they are licensed as a local lawyer.
A recent study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development found that restriction on cross-border legal practice was the most common form of trade restriction among 50 countries surveyed. The most restrictive barrier was nationality or residency requirements.
These restrictions tend to be justified