We currently have an open position for a bilingual *associate lawyer* in our *Immigration Department.*. The lawyer is responsible for monitoring and. Anderson, herself a native Spanish speaker who worked in a Latin American law firm before entering the field of legal recruitment, personally tests the language skills of the Spanish-speaking candidates she presents to her clients. She suggests that even native speakers should maintain their skills by attending evening classes or joining a language-specific reading group, especially if they haven`t used the language in a business context. Núñez warns that the native speaker may be put in a certain role in some workplaces. To protect himself from this possibility, he has become accustomed to considering his cultural knowledge as an indicator of his ability to appreciate different cultures in general. Many global companies use not only the language skills, but also the cultural competence and understanding of bilingual lawyers. As a rule, it is the native speaker who offers this added advantage. Similarly, Sangita Patel, an attorney in Chevron`s legal department in San Ramon, California, found that her company`s global reach relies on her language skills. “Given the international reach of my practice discipline, coupled with the reach of Chevron`s global operations, multilingualism has been helpful in communicating with employees where English can be a second language. It also helps to identify possible changes in the content of a communication that may result from translating a written communication,” says Patel. “We saw it in the mid-80s. It was very unique at the time,” says Africa.
While the recession of the 1990s temporarily slowed the trend, Africa adds, “Now it just doesn`t stop and most of the positions we work on outside the United States require fluent knowledge of a language other than English.” She is increasingly noticing that corporate legal departments are particularly interested in lawyers who speak Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese or Japanese. “Over time, there has been a huge increase in the demands we`ve had – just secondary to globalization,” says Africa, co-founder and managing director of Major, Lindsey & Africa, LLC, a national legal consulting firm specializing in recruiting lawyers for law firms and corporate legal services. “It started with the Attorney General`s request to read some contracts in Spanish, and then when I arrived in Paris and finished, I was asked if I could check some of them in French, and it became a four-and-a-half-month mission. Because of my language skills, I was called for this mission,” Núñez explains. Prepare legal documents, including pleadings, pleadings, appeals, agreements, contracts and legal notes, motions. Consult with customers and suggest case options. Africa and Anderson point out that while language skills are an advantage in their experience that is valued by lawyers at all levels of responsibility, they are more likely to be required of mid-level lawyers. With the exception of those who oversee a unit of the company focused on Latin America or Asia, general counsels are generally less likely to require additional language skills than lawyers who are directly responsible for negotiating contracts or communicating directly “in the field.” Responsible for all legal issues in Latin America, Fernandez is now based in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
She frequently attends business meetings where English, Spanish and Portuguese are spoken interchangeably, and appreciates the lessons she learned when she grew up in the Bronx in New York City. Therefore, the demand for native language skills has an impact on efforts to further increase the diversity of corporate legal services. “It naturally increases diversity within an organization,” says Anderson, who recently placed three Spanish-speaking lawyers at a media company. “It`s a big trend all around.” More and more legal departments are seeking and benefiting from the valuable perspectives and talents offered by bilingual and multilingual lawyers in today`s competitive marketplace. When legal services do this, more diversity and opportunities for minority lawyers are not far behind. Born in Mombasa, Kenya, Patel is fluent in Gujarati, Hindi and English. She also speaks French and Italian. In his duties at Chevron, which includes international trade, customs and international business law, Patel has used his native Gujarati as well as Hindi and some French.
She has found knowledge of these languages useful in her interactions with bilingual or multilingual employees on the business side at Chevron. “I think it`s a little easier to be a Latina, so to a certain extent I understand their culture, their music. It speeds up the transition, but anyone can do it if they show appreciation for the people, the culture and who they are,” Fernandez said, noting that his predecessor, a non-Hispanic, had himself learned the culture, struggled to recognize what was appropriate, and thus deserved universal respect and admiration. Fernandez also predicts that the future is bright for his firm`s bilingual lawyers. “I really think with some of the growth that we`re forecasting in Brazil, India, China and Russia, you`re going to see a huge demand for bilingual lawyers,” Fernandez said. The demand for Aboriginal language skills and the associated cultural awareness can also provide opportunities for bilingual or multilingual minority lawyers who are veterans of the legal service. Four and a half years ago, Maria Fernandez, IBM`s Senior Regional Advisor for Latin America, seized such an opportunity. U.S.
companies continue to expand their global presence by doing or influencing their business in previously untapped multicultural markets. Increasingly, these companies are taking advantage of the talents of lawyers who speak the language and understand the culture of these markets. This is a trend that Martha Fay Africa has observed during her 22 years in the field of legal recruitment. For the level one lawyer, you must have at least one year of experience in the legal field, including the time before your bar exam. While he didn`t fully anticipate the benefits his bicultural training would bring after graduating with a law degree, Ricardo Núñez, Home Depot`s vice president of legal and business operations, attracted opportunities that required language and cultural skills. Based in Atlanta, it supports international and domestic business activities and merchandising, including retail in Mexico and Canada, as well as global sourcing. Here you will see job postings that match your search query. SimplyHired can be paid by these employers, which helps keep SimplyHired free for job seekers. SimplyHired ranks job postings based on a combination of employer and relevance offers, such as: Your search terms and other activities on SimplyHired. For more information, please see SimplyHired`s privacy policy. Excerpt from the May/June 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar® “When they say `native fluency`, they also talk about idiomatic discussions to understand nuances. The hypothesis is that someone for whom it is his mother tongue, or at most his second language, has that too,” explains Africa.
“When clients prescribe that the native language [Spanish or Portuguese] is common, we know that those with native language skills are likely to be Hispanic or Brazilian. If it is one of the Asian languages, the people most likely to have a mother tongue are Asian. “One of Chevron`s core values is to learn from and respect the cultures in which we work. We value and respect the uniqueness of the individual and the different perspectives and talents they offer,” says Patel.