Lawyers, law firms and the stabilization of transnational business

Flood, J. and Sosa, F. 2008. Lawyers, law firms and the stabilization of transnational business. Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business. 28 (3), pp. 489-525.

TitleLawyers, law firms and the stabilization of transnational business
AuthorsFlood, J. and Sosa, F.
Abstract

Globalization is having profound effects on the practice and the organization of law. In the field of cross-border transactions the role of the state and its legal system has diminished such that private ordering through contracting is now the key mode of lawmaking. The vast majority of private ordering is undertaken by large law firms with international practices. Moreover, these law firms tend to adopt Anglo-American common law principles when putting together transactions. Yet within Europe there is competition from the law firms of the civil law countries, which are becoming adept at identifying markets not fully taken over by the American and English firms. But in order to understand the roles of lawyers in such cross-border transactions, we start from Abel and Lewis' question: what is that lawyers do? By using a number of case studies of transactions and disputes, we attempt to theorize how it is that lawyers create enabling and support structures for transnational business. We draw on Luhmann's ideas of stabilization of expectations and Gilson's depiction of lawyers as transaction cost engineers to help explain our findings.

JournalNorthwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Journal citation28 (3), pp. 489-525
ISSN0196-3228
Year2008
PublisherNorthwestern University
Web address (URL)http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njilb/vol28/iss3/21
Publication dates
Published2008
EventUniversity of Miami School of Law Faculty Speakers Series

Related outputs

Disruption, temporality, law: the future of law and society scholarship?
Peters, T., de Silva-Wijeyeratne, R. and Flood, J. 2017. Disruption, temporality, law: the future of law and society scholarship? Griffith Law Review. 26 (4), pp. 459-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2017.1576378

What do lawyers do? An ethnography of a large law firm
Flood, J. 2013. What do lawyers do? An ethnography of a large law firm. New Orleans Quid Pro.

Entrepreneurship, managerialism and professionalism in action: the case of the legal profession in England and Wales
Muzio, D. and Flood, J. 2012. Entrepreneurship, managerialism and professionalism in action: the case of the legal profession in England and Wales. in: Reihlen, M. and Werr, A. (ed.) Handbook of research on entrepreneurship in professional services Edward Elgar. pp. 369-386

Becoming a cosmopolitan lawyer
Flood, J. and Lederer, P.D. 2012. Becoming a cosmopolitan lawyer. Fordham Law Review. 80 (6), pp. 2523-2539.

Transnational lawyering: clients, ethics and regulation
Flood, J. 2012. Transnational lawyering: clients, ethics and regulation. in: Mather, L. and Levin, L. (ed.) Lawyers in practice: ethical decision making in context University of Chicago Press. pp. 176-196

The re-landscaping of the legal profession: large law firms and professional re-regulation
Flood, J. 2011. The re-landscaping of the legal profession: large law firms and professional re-regulation. Current Sociology. 59 (4), pp. 507-529. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392111402725

Legal education in the global context: challenges from globalization, technology and changes in government regulation
Flood, J. 2011. Legal education in the global context: challenges from globalization, technology and changes in government regulation. Legal Services Board.

Straight there, no detours: direct access to barristers
Flood, J. and Whyte, A. 2009. Straight there, no detours: direct access to barristers. International Journal of the Legal Profession. 16 (2&3), pp. 131-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695951003588956

Structuring transactions: the case of real estate finance
Flood, J. 2009. Structuring transactions: the case of real estate finance. in: Gessner, V. (ed.) Contractual certainty in international trade : empirical studies and theoretical debates on institutional support for global economic exchanges Oxford ; Portland Hart. pp. 157-171

Clementi, crisis and careers
Flood, J. 2009. Clementi, crisis and careers. Reconceptualising the Professions: Professions and professionalism in the 21st century: meanings, challenges and prospects. Lancaster University 06 Jan 2009

Will there Be fallout from Clementi? The global repercussions for the legal profession after the UK Legal Services Act 2007
Flood, J. 2008. Will there Be fallout from Clementi? The global repercussions for the legal profession after the UK Legal Services Act 2007. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 8 No. 6.

Straight there no detours: direct access to barristers
Flood, J. and Whyte, A. 2008. Straight there no detours: direct access to barristers. Westminster Law School, University of Westminster.

Lawyers, law firms, and the stabilization of transnational business
Flood, J. and Sosa, F. 2008. Lawyers, law firms, and the stabilization of transnational business. Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business. 28 (3), pp. 489-526.

Will there be fallout from Clementi? The global repercussions for the legal profession after the Legal Services Act 2007
Flood, J. 2008. Will there be fallout from Clementi? The global repercussions for the legal profession after the Legal Services Act 2007. Workshop on Law Practice in the European Union and the United States. School of Law, University of Miami 04 Apr 2008

Role of lawyers
Flood, J. 2008. Role of lawyers. Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) Second Meeting. May 2008

Globalization and lawyers
Flood, J. 2008. Globalization and lawyers. Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference 2008: The Impact of Legal Scholarship. London School of Economics 15 - 18 Sep 2008

Globalisation and large law firms
Flood, J. 2008. Globalisation and large law firms. in: Cane, P. and Conaghan, J. (ed.) The new Oxford companion to law Oxford Oxford University Press. pp. 501-502

Future directions in the UK legal profession: life after the Legal Services Act 2007
Flood, J. 2008. Future directions in the UK legal profession: life after the Legal Services Act 2007. Symposium of the Future of the Global Law Firm. Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC 17 - 18 Apr 2008

Becoming global lawyer
Flood, J. 2008. Becoming global lawyer. 38th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology: Sociology Looks at the Twenty-first Century: From Local Universalism to Global Contextualism. Budapest 26 - 30 Jun 2008

The fall and rise of barristers' clerks
Flood, J. 2007. The fall and rise of barristers' clerks. Counsel.

Partnership and professionalism in global law firms: resurgent professionalism?
Flood, J. 2007. Partnership and professionalism in global law firms: resurgent professionalism? in: Ackroyd, S., Muzio, G.D. and Chanlet, J.F. (ed.) Redirections in the study of expert labour Basingstoke, UK Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 52-74

Participant observation
Flood, J. 2007. Participant observation. in: Clark, D.S. (ed.) Encyclopedia of law and society: American and global perspectives Thousand Island, CA Sage.

Lawyers as sanctifiers: the role of elite law firms in international business transactions
Flood, J. 2007. Lawyers as sanctifiers: the role of elite law firms in international business transactions. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 14 (1), pp. 35-66.

Lawyers as sanctifiers of value creation
Flood, J. 2007. Lawyers as sanctifiers of value creation. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 14, pp. 35-66.

Law firms
Flood, J. 2007. Law firms. in: Clark, D.S. (ed.) Encyclopedia of law and society: American and global perspectives Thousand Island, CA Sage.

Case assignment in English courts
Banakar, R., Flood, J., Webb, J. and Whyte, A. 2007. Case assignment in English courts. in: Langbroek, P.M. and Fabri, M. (ed.) The right judge for each case: a study of case assignment and impartiality in six European judiciaries Antwerp ; Oxford Intersentia.

What's wrong with legal aid?: Lessons from outside the UK
Flood, J. and Whyte, A. 2006. What's wrong with legal aid?: Lessons from outside the UK. Civil Justice Quarterly. 25, pp. 80-98.

Book review: The Collegial Phenomenon: The Social Mechanisms of Cooperation Among Peers in a Corporate Law Partnership by Emmanuel Lazega, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, Hbk, 346 + xi pp, ISBN 0-19-924272-0
Flood, J. 2006. Book review: The Collegial Phenomenon: The Social Mechanisms of Cooperation Among Peers in a Corporate Law Partnership by Emmanuel Lazega, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, Hbk, 346 + xi pp, ISBN 0-19-924272-0. Legal Ethics. 8 (2), pp. 291-294.

Postmodern professions? The fragmentation of legal education and the legal profession
Boon, A., Flood, J. and Webb, J. 2005. Postmodern professions? The fragmentation of legal education and the legal profession. Journal of Law and Society. 32 (3), pp. 473-492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2005.00333.x

Report on international approaches to the defence of indigent persons in criminal cases: a report for Lord Carter's review of legal aid procurement
Flood, J., Whyte, A. and Bacquet, S. 2005. Report on international approaches to the defence of indigent persons in criminal cases: a report for Lord Carter's review of legal aid procurement. London, UK Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Internal case assignment in England
Flood, J., Banakar, R., Webb, J. and Whyte, A. 2005. Internal case assignment in England. in: Fabri, M. and Langbroek, P.M. (ed.) Internal case assignment. A report on a comparative study into the rules and practices of case distribution in courts in five countries Utrecht, Netherlands University of Utrecht. pp. 63-134

Socio-legal ethnography
Flood, J. 2005. Socio-legal ethnography. in: Banakar, R. and Travers, M. (ed.) Theory and method in socio-legal research Oxford, UK Hart. pp. 33-48

Rating, dating, and the (in)formal regulation and formal ordering of financial transactions: securitisations and credit rating agencies
Flood, J. 2005. Rating, dating, and the (in)formal regulation and formal ordering of financial transactions: securitisations and credit rating agencies. in: Likosky, M.B. (ed.) Privatising development: transnational law, infrastructure, and human rights Leiden, Netherlands Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 147-171

Report on costs of legal aid in other countries
Flood, J. and Whyte, A. 2004. Report on costs of legal aid in other countries. UK University of Westminster.

Capital markets, globalisation and global elites
Flood, J. 2002. Capital markets, globalisation and global elites. in: Likosky, M.B. (ed.) Transnational legal processes: globalisation and power disparaties London, UK Butterworths. pp. 114-134

The vultures fly East: the creation and globalisation of the distressed debt market
Flood, J. 2001. The vultures fly East: the creation and globalisation of the distressed debt market. in: Nelken, D. and Feest, J. (ed.) Adapting legal cultures Oxford, UK Hart. pp. 257-278

Capital markets: those who can and cannot do the purest global law
Flood, J. 2001. Capital markets: those who can and cannot do the purest global law. in: Appelbaum, R.P., Felstiner, W.L.F. and Gessner, V. (ed.) Rules and networks: the legal culture of global business transactions Oxford, UK Hart. pp. 248-272

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/9158w/lawyers-law-firms-and-the-stabilization-of-transnational-business


Share this

Usage statistics

134 total views
0 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.