Foreign Language Skills Increasingly Required
 March 3, 2005

As globalization plays an increasing role in law firms’ practices, we are seeing foreign language fluency becoming a big plus for applicants at all levels. The decreased value of the U.S. dollar is drawing a lot of foreign investment into U.S. transactions and the poor quality of professional legal document translators is causing many firms to seek capability where ever they can. While the primary push is for associates who speak a second language, the lack of bilingual attorneys in languages other than Spanish is causing firms to seek out secretaries, paralegals and even administrative employees who speak German, French and Chinese. While English is the worldwide language of business, parties often revert to their own language when negotiations get tough. Although language ability is a plus for many firms, Sheppard, Mullin in Los Angeles is one firm that virtually requires it of new associates. Beyond the expanded capability, the requirement itself has registered well with clients as a demonstration of a high service ethic.