In an article for Bloomberg Law, Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Clint Hermes outlined factors that American institutions should consider when deciding whether to hire local counsel for projects overseas. American-based institutions continue to expand their international reach and establish education, research, healthcare and humanitarian operations overseas that are governed by various laws, both U.S. and country-specific. When deciding whether to engage local counsel in these overseas projects, the “principal consideration will be the nature of the activities the institution is carrying out in the foreign jurisdiction, particularly in its own right or through a corporate affiliate rather than through a collaborator or partner.”
Clint further stresses that “Regardless of the foreign legal issues presented by these projects, the legal and practical issues presented by American law and funding requirements are significant and fraught with risk and should always have senior institutional buy-in and be evaluated by experienced counsel.”
The full article, “When Academic, Health-Care Institutions Should Hire Overseas Counsel,” was published by Bloomberg Law on March 9 and is available online.