Is being bilingual an asset? Forum

[anonQs2019]

Hello all,

Just wondering if being fluent in a second language like Mandarin or Russian makes you more valuable to a future employer? I was reading "24 hours with 24 lawyers" and the first lawyer at an international firm mentioned that her fluency in a second language made her more attractive as a candidate at the firm.

Thank you.

[jbagelboy]

it makes you more valuable to some employers, like the CIA or commercial translator companies, but it would only benefit you in law in very specific cases. One case I could imagine that would be relevant to a law student might be speaking fluent Portuguese when interviewing for the Lan Am M&A and project finance practices of NY megafirms.

Speaking an "exotic" second or third language might be a neat conversation topic in an interview, but its not really substantively helpful. Something like Mandarin doesn't count: tons of chinese students in law school speak mandarin.

[anonQs2019]

it makes you more valuable to some employers, like the CIA or commercial translator companies, but it would only benefit you in law in very specific cases. One case I could imagine that would be relevant to a law student might be speaking fluent Portuguese when interviewing for the Lan Am M&A and project finance practices of NY megafirms.

Speaking an "exotic" second or third language might be a neat conversation topic in an interview, but its not really substantively helpful. Something like Mandarin doesn't count: tons of chinese students in law school speak mandarin.

So in certain cases yes, in most no.

Thanks

[Lincoln]

It certainly won't hurt you, but, echoing what jbagelboy said, it's only useful for certain firms/practice areas (Cleary, for example, has a big LatAm practice group), or on the margins.

[inter-associate]

It depends on what you want to do. Most "international" work in NY firms revolves around Latin America, so Spanish/Portuguese can be viewed as an asset. Most other "international" work is handled entirely in (or has large portions farmed out to) the relevant region (e.g., Europe, Asia), so your language will only benefit you if you plan to work in the relevant region.

That said, there are certain languages that many firms will view as a plus in hiring. For example, I speak Mandarin. When interviewing with my first firm in NY, an interviewer directly told me that HR had circled my language skill on the resume as a reason to extend an offer. However, I didn't use my language skills at all until I lateraled to Asia.

On the other hand, you need to be strategic when playing your language card. Some employers will see you as a flight risk (to the relevant region) if you focus on it too much on your resume or in interviews. I was told directly by two interviewers that my language skills would not be valued at their firms and that was basically the end of the conversation. Also, you need to be honest about your language skills, as HR will often match you up with an interviewer who speaks that language to test you.

Best advice is to maintain/develop the skills that you have and then use them strategically when looking for a job.

Finally, to respond to this:

Something like Mandarin doesn't count: tons of chinese students in law school speak mandarin

This is absolutely not true. Tons of Chinese students in law school speak Mandarin but will never be as efficient with English documents or as proficient in drafting as a native English speaker. Native English speakers with good law school credentials who are truly fluent in Mandarin (both speaking and reading) are hard to find and can be very valuable. They tend to make good impressions on clients and add value on the technical side that most native Mandarin speakers cannot. I can't speak to other languages/regions, but Mandarin counts if you really have this skill.

[pancakes3]

Something like Mandarin doesn't count: tons of chinese students in law school speak mandarin

This is absolutely not true. Tons of Chinese students in law school speak Mandarin but will never be as efficient with English documents or as proficient in drafting as a native English speaker. Native English speakers with good law school credentials who are truly fluent in Mandarin (both speaking and reading) are hard to find and can be very valuable. They tend to make good impressions on clients and add value on the technical side that most native Mandarin speakers cannot. I can't speak to other languages/regions, but Mandarin counts if you really have this skill.

... what?

[mvp99]

It depends on what you want to do. Most "international" work in NY firms revolves around Latin America, so Spanish/Portuguese can be viewed as an asset. Most other "international" work is handled entirely in (or has large portions farmed out to) the relevant region (e.g., Europe, Asia), so your language will only benefit you if you plan to work in the relevant region.

That said, there are certain languages that many firms will view as a plus in hiring. For example, I speak Mandarin. When interviewing with my first firm in NY, an interviewer directly told me that HR had circled my language skill on the resume as a reason to extend an offer. However, I didn't use my language skills at all until I lateraled to Asia.

On the other hand, you need to be strategic when playing your language card. Some employers will see you as a flight risk (to the relevant region) if you focus on it too much on your resume or in interviews. I was told directly by two interviewers that my language skills would not be valued at their firms and that was basically the end of the conversation. Also, you need to be honest about your language skills, as HR will often match you up with an interviewer who speaks that language to test you.

Best advice is to maintain/develop the skills that you have and then use them strategically when looking for a job.

Finally, to respond to this:

Something like Mandarin doesn't count: tons of chinese students in law school speak mandarin

This is absolutely not true. Tons of Chinese students in law school speak Mandarin but will never be as efficient with English documents or as proficient in drafting as a native English speaker. Native English speakers with good law school credentials who are truly fluent in Mandarin (both speaking and reading) are hard to find and can be very valuable. They tend to make good impressions on clients and add value on the technical side that most native Mandarin speakers cannot. I can't speak to other languages/regions, but Mandarin counts if you really have this skill.

I think he/she meant Chinese-americans and not Chinese JDs or LLMs.. i.e. americans fluent in mandarin + know the culture because of their parents.

[jbagelboy]

It depends on what you want to do. Most "international" work in NY firms revolves around Latin America, so Spanish/Portuguese can be viewed as an asset. Most other "international" work is handled entirely in (or has large portions farmed out to) the relevant region (e.g., Europe, Asia), so your language will only benefit you if you plan to work in the relevant region.

That said, there are certain languages that many firms will view as a plus in hiring. For example, I speak Mandarin. When interviewing with my first firm in NY, an interviewer directly told me that HR had circled my language skill on the resume as a reason to extend an offer. However, I didn't use my language skills at all until I lateraled to Asia.

On the other hand, you need to be strategic when playing your language card. Some employers will see you as a flight risk (to the relevant region) if you focus on it too much on your resume or in interviews. I was told directly by two interviewers that my language skills would not be valued at their firms and that was basically the end of the conversation. Also, you need to be honest about your language skills, as HR will often match you up with an interviewer who speaks that language to test you.

Best advice is to maintain/develop the skills that you have and then use them strategically when looking for a job.

Finally, to respond to this:

Something like Mandarin doesn't count: tons of chinese students in law school speak mandarin

This is absolutely not true. Tons of Chinese students in law school speak Mandarin but will never be as efficient with English documents or as proficient in drafting as a native English speaker. Native English speakers with good law school credentials who are truly fluent in Mandarin (both speaking and reading) are hard to find and can be very valuable. They tend to make good impressions on clients and add value on the technical side that most native Mandarin speakers cannot. I can't speak to other languages/regions, but Mandarin counts if you really have this skill.

I think he/she meant Chinese-americans and not Chinese JDs or LLMs.. i.e. americans fluent in mandarin + know the culture because of their parents.

I meant all the second generation chinese and taiwanese american students who went to american high schools and colleges (so obviously they speak english) and put "fluent" in Mandarin on their resume, which of course they spoke at home and at chinese school for twelve years.

[krads153]

Being bilingual (mainly Spanish, and sometimes Mandarin Chinese) is a necessity for most public interest jobs and often for transactional associate positions that deal with Latin America, etc.

[abogadesq]

Spanish in criminal law is very valuable.

[Chrysogonus]

Being bilingual (spanish) helped me with certain firms during OCI (in particular: Cleary, White & Case).

Knowing spanish also definitely gives you a leg up in many legal services jobs.

[patentlitigatrix]

I don't think it helped me get my job, but I use my foreign language skills more than I would have expected. I speak and read 4 languages in addition to English, not because I studied them, but because I grew up until high school in a part of the world where it is common to do so. (I didn't actually learn English until high school.) I don't use the language skills much in my practice, but my firm does a fair amount of FCPA work/international securities work and I will get called in to help with documents/translation if a translator of the given language is not available. They aren't very common languages, so I'd like to think I am useful, but again I don't think it helped me get a job.

There is the downside that you can get called up to do work totally unrelated to your practice, that is fairly low level just due to language skills.

[spenceast]

[redacted]

[Lincoln]

it makes you more valuable to some employers, like the CIA or commercial translator companies, but it would only benefit you in law in very specific cases. One case I could imagine that would be relevant to a law student might be speaking fluent Portuguese when interviewing for the Lan Am M&A and project finance practices of NY megafirms.

I am fluent in Portuguese and will be starting law school this fall. i'd love to be able to do something that will help me utilize my bilingual skills...could you explain more about the Lan Am M&A? I've never heard of that before, but I'd love to be able to learn more about any way I could get a job that will help me use my bilingual skills.

https://www.clearygottlieb.com/practice ... in-america

[spenceast]

[redacted]

[mukol]

.

[Phil Brooks]

How useful is something like Ukrainian, Turkish, or Hungarian?

Ukrainian and Turkish can be quite useful in international arbitration (both commercial and investor-state). I suppose also with FCPA.

[mukol]

.

[Nachoo2019]

In lieu of the new trade agreements with Iran, will fluency in Farsi begin to gain value in the legal sector?

[Lincoln]

In lieu of the new trade agreements with Iran, will fluency in Farsi begin to gain value in the legal sector?

I don't think you are using this correctly.

Also, I think that's a very difficult question to answer. I doubt many law firms will be opening up Persian practice groups anytime soon, but I'm sure it can't hurt for firms that have clients wanting to do business there.