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Interview with a Lawyer: Insights on International Law

   

Added on  2019-09-22

5 Pages1335 Words440 Views
An Interview with a LawyerMohamed Zaher (MZ) is a lawyer as well as Chairman of a law firm that handles and advises USand non-US clients in international trade matters and litigation. A few days back, I contacted andinterviewed him by asking some pertinent questions related to international law. He respondedpositively and threw light on certain burning matters, here are excerpts:Que.1: What kind of law do you practice and why did you choose it?MZ: For the last two and a half decades, I have been practicing international, transactional lawand arbitration. I have specialized in international mergers and acquisitions by foreign as well asUS companies. My work also includes giving advice to MNCs on compliance issues related tocorruption, auditing and privacy. During early 1980s, I got an opportunity in pro bono work inAfrica with the help of US State Department where I taught government officials about anti-corruption issues. As my career evolved and according to my skill-set, I concentrated oninternational arbitration and transnational business transaction. After some years, I wasapproached by law firm and made me a counsel regarding multitude of international deal thatinvolved US and foreign parties. After that, I decided to go on my own and reached out to findwho could use our services.

Que. 2: Was your journey so far intellectually challenging? If yes, how?MZ: After I graduated, I could not find any international law positions available, so, I had towork legal service poverty lawyer. As I gained experience with the practice, today I find my areaof expertise as intellectually challenging because the type of work that I do is much broader inscope than the other lawyers do. Apart from the knowledge of law, my work requires goodlanguage skills, cultural insight, legal talent and proficient communication skills for explainingthe nuances to my clients. It has kept me sharp and connected and on a daily basis I learnsomething new. When I began working, I did not have a predefined career path so I had to studyboth arbitration and M&A. I work hard and final both of these specializations fit into my skill-set. Gradually, my work allowed me to use a variety of skills such as negotiating theshareholder’s agreements, interpreting the terms and conditions of sale, all the legal needs ofsubsidiaries and MNCs. So, I will have to accept that the kind of journey that I took so far hasbeen indeed an intellectually challenging.Que3. What do you want to say to those who want to pursue a career like yours?MZ: My first advice to the students of law, who want to take up a career in international law, isthat they are needed to learn how to reason and how to be creative in law so that they couldeffectively interpret the laws for their clients. In this particular field, you should be open tovarious cultures and be flexible towards political, sociological and economic issues regarding theclients. Sometimes, an issue that you would be dealing with may involve more than a legalaspect so in this scenario you will have to consider all the possible implications of the issue.What I want to focus on is that an international lawyer needs to possess a whole robust set of

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