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How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:26 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:33 pm
by deadhipsters
Portuguese, probably not. Japanese or Chinese would probably carry some value.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:43 pm
by General Tso
deadhipsters wrote:Portuguese, probably not. Japanese or Chinese would probably carry some value.
and spanish
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:44 pm
by El_Gallo
ctr
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:12 pm
by jeff
Interesting, no one see any marketability for being able to work with Brazilian clients?
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:12 pm
by paratactical
jeff wrote:Interesting, no one see any marketability for being able to work with Brazilian clients?
You could do immigration law.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:27 pm
by ncct07
Brazil's economy is booming; in the right environment fluency in Portuguese would be extremely helpful.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:29 pm
by nealric
Unlikely to really do much at the entry level hiring level. It could be useful down the line.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:35 pm
by ziggie
BRIC nations = booming economy
I speak portuguese too and I hope it comes in handy down the line!
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:40 pm
by 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).
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:41 pm
by jitsrenzo
Mandarin and Portuguese are TOPS for transactional work.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:42 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 10:32 pm
by frost
nealric wrote: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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 11:33 am
by ajmanyjah
Any use for French/German?
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:59 pm
by 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...
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:55 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 11:51 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 2:52 pm
by strawberryfanta
ajmanyjah wrote:Any use for French/German?
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:50 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 6:10 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 6:39 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 6:43 pm
by 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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 6:46 pm
by Total Litigator
Noval wrote: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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 6:56 pm
by Noval
Total Litigator wrote:Noval wrote: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.
Re: How marketable is being multilingual?
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 9:24 pm
by Total Litigator
Noval wrote:
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.