How marketable is being multilingual? Forum

[jeff]

I was recently wondering how much of a resume enhancer having fluency in another language would be?

More specifically, I speak Portuguese and was curious about if that would be a boost in a biglaw setting dealing with transnational corporate issues...

I'd also be interested to hear if anyone thinks foreign language ability might be a boost in any other areas of law.

[deadhipsters]

Portuguese, probably not. Japanese or Chinese would probably carry some value.

[General Tso]

Portuguese, probably not. Japanese or Chinese would probably carry some value.

and spanish

[El_Gallo]

ctr

[jeff]

Interesting, no one see any marketability for being able to work with Brazilian clients?

[paratactical]

Interesting, no one see any marketability for being able to work with Brazilian clients?

You could do immigration law.

[ncct07]

Brazil's economy is booming; in the right environment fluency in Portuguese would be extremely helpful.

[nealric]

Unlikely to really do much at the entry level hiring level. It could be useful down the line.

[ziggie]

BRIC nations = booming economy

I speak portuguese too and I hope it comes in handy down the line!

[ToTransferOrNot]

Lots of larger firms are trying to expand in to Brazil. However, a lot of it is being done through mergers and affiliations, not organic growth (see Mayer Brown as an example).

[jitsrenzo]

Mandarin and Portuguese are TOPS for transactional work.

[solidsnake]

Cleary has a big Latin American Investment group. Target firms that have similar practices. And, yes, fluency -- especially if you worked in a professional setting utilizing the language, ideally abroad -- is extremely marketable. I say this from personal experience.

[frost]

Unlikely to really do much at the entry level hiring level. It could be useful down the line.

This is the feedback I get during interviews. Seems like language will be a way to distinguish you from another candidate if there just so happens to be a need for that language in the firm, but generally won't pull any sway otherwise for entry level positions.

[ajmanyjah]

Any use for French/German?

[vegenator]

Que legal! (Punn intended)
Happy to see other portuguese speakers here. I'm hoping Brazil's booming economy will make me marketable down the line, as I'm currently just a lolely old 0L...

[Bosque]

Actual anecdote here!

One of my friends here at Duke is a native Brazilian and (obviously) speaks Portuguese fluently. Firms have been practically salivating over her, and she is really soft spoken. I think Portuguese is a much bigger selling point than some of the people in this thread think.

[Ersatz Haderach]

Portuguese is definitely marketable. I worked briefly in the foreign office of a multinational company, and they were always bringing in management from other locations when there was a language issue. Not just a translator, but usually a translator AND an associate/manager fluent in English and the target language. I saw Spanish and Chinese in my time there and had friends from Brazil who were doing some interesting work as well.

[strawberryfanta]

Any use for French/German?

[tehrocstar]

BRIC Goldman Sachs report...

I'm thinking Portuguese would be useful, but it's dependent on various factors. Such as how companies will choose to expand in Brazil.

[txsunshine]

Law school representatives at the fair I was at seemed to be very interested in my multilingual status. A few made a special note on my interest card.

Also, it has been my experience as a multilingual legal assistant in a city with a large minority population that my skills are highly valued. I expanded my boss' client base with my communication skills and was rewarded; I believe the same would be true if you were a multilingual attorney, you could bring in more clients to whichever firm you work.

[Noval]

How would a candidate who has a Business degree ( Finance & Advanced Mathematics ) and LL.B.(McGill) + MBA(McGill) speaking
English, French, Arabic and Spanish fluently do in the U.S. market ? I am in the process of learning Chinese and German.

I have Canadian BigLaw exeperience ( McCarthy & Tetrault ) and i'm looking to work in U.S. ( Either NYC or Boston.)

Do i have a good shot or do i need to do some networking before having a decent chance ?
I want either U.S. BigLaw or Inhouse Counsel in a decent sized company.

I specialized in Corporate Law but also worked with Business Litigation and Entertainment Law.

My final GPAs were:

3.95 for Business.
3.93 for Law.
4.0 for my MBA.

+ i got several recommendation letters from Deans, Firm partners and influential Law Teachers.

[Total Litigator]

Supply and demand - although the demand for American citizens who are fluent english/portugese speakers is probably low, I would guess that the supply is even lower. Thus you are probably very marketable to a niche demand market.

[Total Litigator]

How would a candidate who has a Business degree ( Finance & Advanced Mathematics ) and LL.B.(McGill) + MBA(McGill) speaking
English, French, Arabic and Spanish fluently do in the U.S. market ? I am in the process of learning Chinese and German.

I have Canadian BigLaw exeperience ( McCarthy & Tetrault ) and i'm looking to work in U.S. ( Either NYC or Boston.)

Do i have a good shot or do i need to do some networking before having a decent chance ?

My final GPAs were:

3.95 for Business.
3.93 for Law.
4.0 for my MBA.

+ i got several recommendation letters from Deans, Firm partners and influential Law Teachers.

You have 0 marketability.

[Noval]

How would a candidate who has a Business degree ( Finance & Advanced Mathematics ) and LL.B.(McGill) + MBA(McGill) speaking
English, French, Arabic and Spanish fluently do in the U.S. market ? I am in the process of learning Chinese and German.

I have Canadian BigLaw exeperience ( McCarthy & Tetrault ) and i'm looking to work in U.S. ( Either NYC or Boston.)

Do i have a good shot or do i need to do some networking before having a decent chance ?

My final GPAs were:

3.95 for Business.
3.93 for Law.
4.0 for my MBA.

+ i got several recommendation letters from Deans, Firm partners and influential Law Teachers.

You have 0 marketability.

Thanks for reminding me this is a Lawyer forum...Aka Douchebag's Paradise.

[Total Litigator]

Thanks for reminding me this is a Lawyer forum...Aka Douchebag's Paradise.

A - You're derailing someone else's post
B - You're obviously very qualified and proud of yourself and just looking for acknowledgement.
C - You sounded like a huge douche and I wanted to speak your language.