International Trade in Services.pdf - DSpace at Khazar University

90 International Trade in Services
The use of international trade agreements for legal service reform remains nascent.
Indeed, the coverage of legal services in bilateral or regional trade agreements,
outside the European Union, has been rather spotty (Cone 2007). Similarly,
relatively few countries made commitments with respect to legal services in
the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations (table 3.8) or have submitted respective
proposals in the ongoing GATS negotiations of the Doha Round (Geloso Grosso
2004). Yet, this unremarkable coverage might not necessarily suggest a fundamental
lack of interest of the negotiating parties in legal service reform, but, rather, it
might suggest that other service sectors, including large infrastructure services,
offer bigger and more straightforward negotiation rewards. The complexity and
country specificity of legal service regulations, as well as the multitude of stakeholders
involved, notably, subnational bar associations, favor gradual, bilateral
change over multilateral negotiations of ambitious, large-scale reforms.
What Questions Should Stakeholders Bear
in Mind as They Advance Reforms
The preceding discussion touches on a number of issues that merit the attention
of policy makers as they advance the trade integration agenda for legal services.
We offer a checklist of questions that might help structure the reflections and
ensure a comprehensive approach to reform (table 3.9).
Conclusion
In a world in which people, goods, services, and capital increasingly move across
borders, access to affordable, high-quality legal services both at home and abroad
is essential to facilitating and securing international commercial transactions.
Legal resources and services have become internationalized, and trade in the profession
has flourished. This chapter informs analysts and developing-country officials
who are engaged in law and justice reforms about experiences and options so
that they may more effectively avail themselves of trade opportunities.
Trade in legal services generally accounts only for a small part of the legal profession’s
overall output, but can nevertheless play a major role in shaping the profession’s
development. Most trade is closely tied to international shipments of
goods and the movement of persons and capital. It is rare that a company will seek
advice from a law firm based abroad unless the company is established in or does
significant business with the law firm’s home country. Similarly, most law firms will
establish abroad only to accompany a major client in the client’s export business.
For small local law firms in developing countries to participate in and benefit
from legal service exports, they will often have to specialize in a particular area of