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5 Int'l Fin. L. Rev. 18 (1986)
Joel Z Robinson: the World's Only Global Lawyer

handle is hein.journals/intfinr5 and id is 210 raw text is: Joel Z Robinson: the world's only global lawyer Most lawyers confine their expertise to one jurisdiction. But Joel Z Robinson can advise on three at any one time and claims that his clients are delighted. By Chris Blackhurst In 1976, when Joel Z Robinson, a US attorney with New York's Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine, wrote to the Law Society in London enquiring about the possi- bility of his opening a London office on behalf of his firm, his queries were politely but firmly dealt with. He put 25 questions to the Law Society, specifying what he wanted to do. For 24 the answer was no. For the twenty-fifth the answer was yes, provided he practised under his own name. To Robinson the restrictions seemed absurd. He was, after all, not only admitted to the federal bar in New York, but was also a qualified solicitor in the UK, and admitted as a solicitor and barrister in New Zealand. He had asked the Law Society whether he could practise both English and New York law in London, while remaining an associate with a New York law firm. The answer was that he could practise one but not the other; and if he was to do both he would have to practise on his own account. Offering duality Realising there was a market for a multi-jurisdictional law firm, he resigned from Donovan Leisure and started his own firm, practising both English and New York law in Rockefeller Plaza. Ten years later, Robinson has offices in London and Auckland, with six assistants, all of whom are, or are becoming, admitted in more than one jurisdiction. And, he claimed, 'We can compete with the largest firms because we offer clients duality. But by the time large New York and London firms have spent three days on a problem, think of the expense for the client'. Consulting two law firms According to Robinson, 'One day there will be a Big Eight among law firms and mine will be one of them. I look forward to the others joining'. He is not joking, and the analogy with the accountants is deliberate. To illustrate his point he cited the example of a medium- sized US company toying with obtaining a listing on the over-the-counter market in New York or the unlisted securities market in London. The company can go to an international bank and one of the Big Eight accoun- tants to evaluate the respective merits and costs of each. But when it comes to weighing the legal aspects, the company must incur the extra expense of consulting two law firms, one in New York and the other in London. According to Robinson, 'Clients want one law firm with offices and lawyers, fully-admitted, in both places'. And, he warned, 'If lawyers do not offer that, then the accountants will. You only have to see how lawyers lost tax to realise what could happen'. Robinson's firm may be unique but the idea of a trans- national or global legal practice is not a new one. Nearly all major law firms have foreign offices but they are not global law firms. Their activities are heavily restricted. They are international in the sense that they advise clients from foreign countries. But they only advise on the law of their home jurisdiction, and in that sense are not global lawyers. Where their lawyers are admitted in two jurisdictions, they only practise the law of one, and are not able to advise on the laws of every country in which the firm has an office. Robinson's intention is to develop a firm of global lawyers, all of whom are able to give advice on any jurisdiction in which the firm does business. 'The first question is: is it beyond the bounds of a lawyer's intelligence to advise on the laws of more than one jurisdiction? The answer is clearly no', he claimed. At the moment, there is one global lawyer in the firm: Robinson himself. Most law societies and bar associa- tions forbid fee sharing between local and foreign lawyers. That means that Robinson is the sole partner. The others are employees. Robinson practises on his own account, but claims that he is working on a way around the partnership problem. Lawyers often become dually admitted for family or personal reasons - mainly by accident of marriage International Financial Law Review May 1986