1 00:00:12,870 --> 00:00:14,880 Welcome to studying law around the world. 2 00:00:15,010 --> 00:00:17,690 I'm Claudio Claus. In each episode I talk. 3 00:00:17,700 --> 00:00:20,620 With lawyers, law students. And professors from different. 4 00:00:20,630 --> 00:00:22,750 Parts of the. World to talk about legal. 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,440 Education Careers. And what the profession looks 6 00:00:25,450 --> 00:00:27,760 like in real life. We talk about the hard parts. 7 00:00:27,770 --> 00:00:29,640 The surprises and the decisions that. 8 00:00:29,650 --> 00:00:32,800 Shaped their paths whether you're planning to study abroad, 9 00:00:32,870 --> 00:00:35,100 thinking about. Working in another legal system. 10 00:00:35,150 --> 00:00:38,500 Or just curious about how law works around the world? 11 00:00:38,730 --> 00:00:44,350 This podcast is for you. 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Visit imans dot Ch today. 38 00:02:14,140 --> 00:02:20,950 That's Edmond, and use promo code ITL 50 to claim your 50% 39 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,010 discount on NCA exam preparation courses. 40 00:02:27,550 --> 00:02:30,540 So many of the guests on this podcast have talked about how 41 00:02:30,550 --> 00:02:33,580 important it is to have strong writing skills as a lawyer. 42 00:02:34,070 --> 00:02:37,480 It's true, written communication is essential in this profession, 43 00:02:38,190 --> 00:02:41,140 but it can also be one of the trickiest skills to master. 44 00:02:41,710 --> 00:02:44,480 If you find your writing feels a bit clunky, or you're getting a 45 00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:47,300 lot of edits on your work, or perhaps you're breaking into an 46 00:02:47,310 --> 00:02:50,440 English speaking jurisdiction for the first time, Grammatica 47 00:02:50,450 --> 00:02:53,560 International can help. I'm Rebecca Lockwood, the 48 00:02:53,570 --> 00:02:56,840 lawyer, mediator and educator behind Grammatica, and we help 49 00:02:56,850 --> 00:03:00,060 lawyers and law students to write more sharply, speak more 50 00:03:00,070 --> 00:03:02,920 clearly, and advance their careers with group training and 51 00:03:02,930 --> 00:03:05,700 one-on-one skills coaching designed just for legal 52 00:03:05,710 --> 00:03:08,020 professionals. I have worked with so many 53 00:03:08,030 --> 00:03:11,480 lawyers like you who are exceptionally smart, qualified 54 00:03:11,490 --> 00:03:14,500 and capable, but need a bit of guidance to stand out in a 55 00:03:14,510 --> 00:03:17,480 competitive legal market. And I get it myself, having 56 00:03:17,490 --> 00:03:20,680 lived and worked in five countries during my 17 years in 57 00:03:20,690 --> 00:03:23,410 law and education. Whether you're looking to 58 00:03:23,420 --> 00:03:26,650 sharpen your writing skills, generally refresh your CV, or 59 00:03:26,660 --> 00:03:29,990 draft an application for a law program, Grammatica can help. 60 00:03:30,260 --> 00:03:33,310 Visit gramatica.co to learn more. 61 00:03:35,630 --> 00:03:39,520 Today have the opportunity to talk with Tomas Ballari. 62 00:03:39,590 --> 00:03:42,980 He is an Argentinian and American lawyer. 63 00:03:43,030 --> 00:03:47,120 He has had quite the journey studying in Cordoba and George 64 00:03:47,130 --> 00:03:49,030 Mason University. In the US. 65 00:03:49,230 --> 00:03:52,300 And now he's both licensed in Argentina and California. 66 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,920 Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. 67 00:03:55,030 --> 00:03:56,460 Thank you very much for inviting. 68 00:03:56,470 --> 00:03:58,710 Me amazing. And to to start off our episode, 69 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,110 Thomas, could you start by introducing yourself and sharing 70 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:03,580 a little bit about your background? 71 00:04:04,110 --> 00:04:09,640 So well, born and raised in Argentina, Cordova, it's a city 72 00:04:09,650 --> 00:04:11,490 with very strong legal tradition. 73 00:04:11,500 --> 00:04:14,080 There's a lot of lawyers. There's one of the oldest law 74 00:04:14,090 --> 00:04:17,040 schools in the, in the cold of the Americas. 75 00:04:17,050 --> 00:04:20,329 I think it's like the both or the 5th oldest law school, you 76 00:04:20,339 --> 00:04:24,190 know, older than Harbor even. And there's a very strong 77 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,130 presence of law firms and international local operations. 78 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:33,330 So I, you know, eventually when I turn 18, I want to collect the 79 00:04:33,340 --> 00:04:35,410 university there. I saw the lot. 80 00:04:35,420 --> 00:04:39,750 I got my JB over there. And then, you know, ultimately 81 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:43,830 my path took me to wanted to expand to privacy in the US. 82 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:49,170 So I went ahead and did an LLM in George Mason in Virginia and 83 00:04:49,180 --> 00:04:53,720 the US, and I've been working with a California-based law firm 84 00:04:53,770 --> 00:04:55,840 and that's so far what I've been doing. 85 00:04:55,910 --> 00:04:58,240 Fantastic. And I love that you already 86 00:04:58,250 --> 00:05:01,840 mentioned a little bit about your passing law and and also 87 00:05:01,930 --> 00:05:05,360 why eventually you went to the US, But I'd love to hear a 88 00:05:05,370 --> 00:05:07,620 little bit about, you know, these experiences. 89 00:05:07,710 --> 00:05:10,440 And also, now that you're licensed to practice in both 90 00:05:10,450 --> 00:05:13,100 countries, if you could share with us a little bit of, you 91 00:05:13,110 --> 00:05:16,380 know, the challenges and the rewarding parts of building this 92 00:05:16,390 --> 00:05:19,100 practice that that goes across borders. 93 00:05:19,150 --> 00:05:22,540 Now, well, I guess, you know, I guess it all started when I once 94 00:05:22,550 --> 00:05:27,520 lost school in Argentina. I guess that sort of natural 95 00:05:27,530 --> 00:05:32,300 choice because of the strong process of law firms and these 96 00:05:32,310 --> 00:05:36,400 particular college that has a very longstanding legal 97 00:05:36,410 --> 00:05:38,200 tradition. You know, sort of at the 98 00:05:38,210 --> 00:05:39,600 beginning, I sort of didn't know. 99 00:05:39,610 --> 00:05:42,660 I guess like many students, I wasn't sure exactly what area of 100 00:05:42,670 --> 00:05:45,060 law I wanted to pursue. I think, you know, make law 101 00:05:45,070 --> 00:05:47,660 students going to law school and they just, you know, probably 102 00:05:48,210 --> 00:05:51,940 had a lawyer in their family or they watched a lot of lawyer 103 00:05:51,950 --> 00:05:55,080 movies and they just found it, you know, intriguing. 104 00:05:55,090 --> 00:05:58,320 And they went to lost, but they didn't really know much. 105 00:05:58,370 --> 00:06:01,820 And I, you know, I think that's kind of where I was going. 106 00:06:01,870 --> 00:06:04,960 But then, you know, as I take class after class after class, 107 00:06:05,030 --> 00:06:08,910 you know, you start shaping what you like and I found myself 108 00:06:08,980 --> 00:06:13,380 photo gravitating towards subjects like international or 109 00:06:13,390 --> 00:06:17,260 court law and then noise. They, you know, that job right 110 00:06:17,270 --> 00:06:21,520 up last month, marinas as soon as I started working as sorry, 111 00:06:21,530 --> 00:06:26,120 as soon as I started studying for my first year of law school, 112 00:06:26,130 --> 00:06:30,130 I got it down and I would do, you know, sort of both things 113 00:06:30,170 --> 00:06:33,130 simultaneously. And you know, the job that I do, 114 00:06:33,140 --> 00:06:38,990 it had a very strong component. And so that kind of would mean a 115 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,330 position where it started dealing with a lot of companies 116 00:06:41,340 --> 00:06:44,350 and a lot of corporate clients. And, you know, I started 117 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:49,430 realizing, well, you know, things are not like us, you 118 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,410 know, strictly local as I had expected, because I, you know, 119 00:06:52,420 --> 00:06:56,790 I, I wanted to law school with the understanding that many 120 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,530 people are apologies. Well, laws changed from 121 00:06:59,540 --> 00:07:02,410 different jurisdictions, either going to law school in order 122 00:07:02,420 --> 00:07:04,430 while you're going to practice the quarter, you're going to go 123 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:09,670 to law school in Toronto. And I quickly learned that was 124 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,520 not the case. I learned that these companies, 125 00:07:11,530 --> 00:07:14,590 they operate all around the world and they need lawyers that 126 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:20,390 can help them sort of navigate, you know, whatever business 127 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:23,120 they're gonna do. But it's in the US or in Europe 128 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,440 or in South America. So, you know, I, I eventually 129 00:07:26,450 --> 00:07:30,590 graduated from law school and I kept working with these 130 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,630 companies and I started working with American clients. 131 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:37,150 And, you know, the more I work with them, the more I realized I 132 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,750 sort of had to take a leap of faith and, you know, try myself 133 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:42,670 studying law in, in the US as well. 134 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:47,030 So I enrolled in an L in George Mason University that's in 135 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,030 Virginia. And after I asked my classes and 136 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:54,260 I got my degree, then I start with the parks. 137 00:07:54,270 --> 00:07:58,790 I'm in California and I passed it and I'm just now finalizing 138 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,670 the last steps to get my license and hopefully soon I'll get 139 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:04,240 that. And in the meantime, I've been 140 00:08:04,250 --> 00:08:06,830 working with, you know, other colleagues that are already like 141 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,630 this and we're advising clients and corporate matters between 142 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,580 mainly between two jurisdictions, but sometimes, 143 00:08:13,650 --> 00:08:16,740 you know, not just Argentina and the US, but our countries. 144 00:08:16,930 --> 00:08:20,800 And so I'm starting to build this, you know, career where, 145 00:08:20,860 --> 00:08:22,880 you know, this corporate clients. 146 00:08:22,890 --> 00:08:26,040 There is so much need of these lawyers that have licenses in 147 00:08:26,050 --> 00:08:28,760 both countries, which is very rare, you know, and then trying 148 00:08:28,770 --> 00:08:31,660 to, you know, help other people, help other students as well. 149 00:08:31,670 --> 00:08:34,390 I'm counseling something student organizations. 150 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,520 So how they can do the same thing that I get and, you know, 151 00:08:37,530 --> 00:08:40,720 try to get their licenses across different jurisdictions because 152 00:08:40,730 --> 00:08:42,900 it's necessary. I've been seeing that, you know, 153 00:08:42,909 --> 00:08:46,400 very often that these companies, they need attorneys that have 154 00:08:46,470 --> 00:08:49,320 licenses and they get practice and go jurisdiction. 155 00:08:49,330 --> 00:08:52,490 And that's very, very not many people do it either because they 156 00:08:52,500 --> 00:08:55,200 think it's too difficult or because it is expensive. 157 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,870 It's true that it's expressive, but video doesn't matter. 158 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,870 It's necessary. And I think we should be pushing 159 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,650 for more young lawyers to to go ahead and do that. 160 00:09:03,700 --> 00:09:07,070 Fantastic. And you've been in the the same 161 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,010 corporation for for a couple of years now. 162 00:09:10,100 --> 00:09:12,390 And I'd love to hear a little bit about, you know, what a 163 00:09:12,460 --> 00:09:15,930 typical day looks like for you and also what are some of the 164 00:09:15,940 --> 00:09:18,050 skills that you rely the most on that role? 165 00:09:18,110 --> 00:09:22,910 Sure. Yes, I, I work with very closely 166 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:26,290 with the corporation in Southern California, with law firm in 167 00:09:26,300 --> 00:09:30,190 Southern California. And I guess the short answer to 168 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,880 you question is that, I mean, there are no two days to go. 169 00:09:33,890 --> 00:09:36,040 Be safe. You know, the, the work is very 170 00:09:36,150 --> 00:09:41,210 volatile in a way and it changes a lot of what I do varies 171 00:09:41,690 --> 00:09:44,190 without poor departments. I oversee 4 departments. 172 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,740 We have about 18 people working there at this point. 173 00:09:46,790 --> 00:09:49,880 And so a lot of what I do is management, management of all 174 00:09:49,890 --> 00:09:54,040 the workload, the cases that we do for our clients and also the 175 00:09:54,050 --> 00:09:58,120 people that work on those. So I have, you know, my official 176 00:09:58,130 --> 00:10:00,400 title, I guess would be senior case manager. 177 00:10:00,530 --> 00:10:03,500 And that involves, like I said, both working the cases 178 00:10:03,510 --> 00:10:07,400 themselves and working with the people to, you know, help them 179 00:10:07,410 --> 00:10:10,480 warm, they're OK. So I supervise all those big 180 00:10:10,490 --> 00:10:13,430 team team members and I make sure the cases ward. 181 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:18,220 I don't help people strategize how to move ahead and work their 182 00:10:18,230 --> 00:10:21,250 own cases. And you know, I, I, I review the 183 00:10:21,260 --> 00:10:23,370 work. I reviewed the writings, the 184 00:10:23,380 --> 00:10:25,450 pleadings. They're they're bleeds. 185 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:27,930 You know, you see that with the clients I meet with clients. 186 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,650 But again, you know, like, no, today's look the same. 187 00:10:30,660 --> 00:10:35,920 Some days I working mostly on on bleeding so breathings they need 188 00:10:35,930 --> 00:10:41,130 to go out motions or the light or some other days I'm just you 189 00:10:41,140 --> 00:10:44,210 know strategizing or didn't know with clients and planning ahead 190 00:10:44,220 --> 00:10:47,950 the next six months 12 months robbery since right. 191 00:10:48,380 --> 00:10:54,490 I guess the skills I rely on most are probably, like I said, 192 00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:56,830 management. There's a lot of leadership 193 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,530 here. Part of my job is to lead these 194 00:10:59,540 --> 00:11:04,930 people that often are are young or younger than me and they are 195 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:09,550 new in in working this sort of cases. 196 00:11:09,700 --> 00:11:12,310 Sometimes they need some guidance, some pointers on how 197 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,250 to do that, you know, and I learned that you cannot do 198 00:11:15,260 --> 00:11:17,150 everything yourself. And I try to do that. 199 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,430 And that's often a recipe for disaster. 200 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:22,710 You know, you have to delegate and you have to put them in a 201 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,650 position where they can do it. You know, it's not about or want 202 00:11:25,660 --> 00:11:28,030 to do as much as they can. I want to be the greatest there. 203 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,950 You know, it's about, you know, in this and sharing the workload 204 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,470 so that we can be efficient and get things out as soon as 205 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,270 possible on the best way possible. 206 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,470 So you need to sort of empower your teammates and set some 207 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,730 expectations, clear expectations and just make the decisions on 208 00:11:45,740 --> 00:11:49,160 how to get there, how to go about Gmail, whatever bowl the 209 00:11:49,170 --> 00:11:53,780 client has set out to achieve. So I think I actually love this 210 00:11:53,790 --> 00:11:56,840 job and I love the role that I have because it's sort of forced 211 00:11:56,850 --> 00:12:00,850 me to grow beyond just being a lawyer case lawyer, which 212 00:12:00,860 --> 00:12:04,960 there's nothing wrong to it, But you know, sometimes lawyers fail 213 00:12:04,970 --> 00:12:07,670 to understand that there's more to being a lawyer than just 214 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:11,640 working the kids, right. This is a lot of management and 215 00:12:11,650 --> 00:12:16,950 strategizing and, and helping you, you know, stay a lot, 216 00:12:17,010 --> 00:12:18,340 right? There's a lot of that as well. 217 00:12:18,510 --> 00:12:23,020 So I, you know, I think that job has to be really taking me to a 218 00:12:23,030 --> 00:12:25,500 position where I can develop these skills that are not 219 00:12:25,510 --> 00:12:28,940 necessarily so common out there. So I'm very happy to have had 220 00:12:28,950 --> 00:12:30,940 that opportunity. That's amazing. 221 00:12:30,990 --> 00:12:34,260 If I may ask you about the, the cross-border practice, you know, 222 00:12:34,270 --> 00:12:37,140 you mentioned first that sometimes corporations are not 223 00:12:37,150 --> 00:12:39,510 as local as they seem and, and all of that. 224 00:12:39,590 --> 00:12:43,940 And how do you balance, you know, these independent projects 225 00:12:43,950 --> 00:12:45,840 that you have with your firm work? 226 00:12:45,910 --> 00:12:48,780 And also, if you don't mind me asking, what are some of the 227 00:12:48,790 --> 00:12:51,540 areas that you find yourself working more and more 228 00:12:51,550 --> 00:12:52,740 frequently? Yeah. 229 00:12:52,750 --> 00:12:58,410 So I guess that's a fair point because you know, balance is why 230 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,810 key in, in in when you're working for corporation and at 231 00:13:01,820 --> 00:13:04,510 the same time have your own independent practice. 232 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,030 It takes a lot of discipline. It takes a lot of clarity, 233 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:13,650 setting clear boundaries and expectations for every client 234 00:13:13,660 --> 00:13:19,220 that they know that well, you're not the only client then you 235 00:13:19,230 --> 00:13:22,560 have a lot on your hands and you need to prioritize and 236 00:13:22,620 --> 00:13:25,650 strategize as well as the primary mostly focus on the 237 00:13:25,660 --> 00:13:28,490 firms work. But in my independence practice, 238 00:13:28,660 --> 00:13:32,930 I take on projects that sort of align directly with these 239 00:13:32,940 --> 00:13:35,030 cross-border practice that I'm building. 240 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,430 And obviously they do not conflict with firm because the 241 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,790 firm that's mostly local work. So when I do my independence 242 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,960 practice, most often the class done to me for business 243 00:13:46,970 --> 00:13:51,000 formation in the US or for contracts between jurisdictions, 244 00:13:51,010 --> 00:13:55,650 compliance also recommend to see out there. 245 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:59,010 So it's mostly those, those seasons of chemigation and tax 246 00:13:59,020 --> 00:14:00,950 considerations come into play as well. 247 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:04,130 Obviously, I, I guess, and the root of all of this, it's 248 00:14:04,140 --> 00:14:06,410 compliance, right? So they, they want to set up, 249 00:14:07,460 --> 00:14:11,280 you know, corporation over there in the US and they want to do 250 00:14:11,290 --> 00:14:15,770 business in the US or they want to invest in other US properties 251 00:14:15,780 --> 00:14:18,910 and they want to do different sort of transactions. 252 00:14:18,980 --> 00:14:21,590 And for that, they need some sort of corporate entity 253 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,050 structure. And they also need to understand 254 00:14:24,300 --> 00:14:27,260 what are my tax obligations? Where do I pay taxes? 255 00:14:27,270 --> 00:14:29,590 Do I pay taxes in both jurisdictions? 256 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,490 How much, you know, and their treaties involved. 257 00:14:32,500 --> 00:14:35,530 And obviously sometimes they want to send people to the US 258 00:14:35,540 --> 00:14:38,140 through your business and there's immigration or 259 00:14:38,210 --> 00:14:40,210 management and executives, right? 260 00:14:40,250 --> 00:14:45,230 So those are kind of the hot topics, I guess they wanna drop 261 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,000 their contracts to make sure that they're not, you know, in a 262 00:14:48,010 --> 00:14:50,240 side squad in the event of a dispute or they're gonna do 263 00:14:50,250 --> 00:14:53,480 arbitration or are they gonna do submit themselves to 264 00:14:53,610 --> 00:14:56,480 jurisdiction in the US? Those are, I think the hot 265 00:14:56,490 --> 00:14:59,780 topics, business formation clerks and mostly compliance 266 00:14:59,790 --> 00:15:02,420 with immigration and tax consider issues. 267 00:15:02,430 --> 00:15:04,820 But, you know, I tried to give my client some Peace of Mind. 268 00:15:04,830 --> 00:15:07,540 You know, when you're dealing with two different countries and 269 00:15:08,170 --> 00:15:11,860 their loss, they can be very different or have they say that 270 00:15:12,210 --> 00:15:14,720 most of the Western world is very similar. 271 00:15:14,810 --> 00:15:17,990 You know, the procedures may change, certainly they do even 272 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,710 the laws change quite a bit. But culturally, you know, 273 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,400 they're, they're very similar and and there will be some 274 00:15:24,410 --> 00:15:26,260 similarities. So I often tell that to my 275 00:15:26,270 --> 00:15:28,770 clients to make them feel like this shouldn't be so 276 00:15:28,780 --> 00:15:32,120 overwhelming. You know, there will be some 277 00:15:32,130 --> 00:15:35,890 overlap and at the other day just wanted the business and 278 00:15:35,900 --> 00:15:37,230 people want to do business with you. 279 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,230 This shouldn't be rocket science, right? 280 00:15:39,340 --> 00:15:42,280 And you know, my my job is mostly to guide them to 281 00:15:42,290 --> 00:15:46,570 anticipate their Browns and try to make the process as smooth as 282 00:15:46,580 --> 00:15:48,550 possible. That's outstanding. 283 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,330 So I also wanted to ask, I noticed that on LinkedIn, you 284 00:15:51,340 --> 00:15:55,690 run a newsletter and published some articles on crossbar barter 285 00:15:55,700 --> 00:15:57,450 law and how it should go about it. 286 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,410 And I was curious to know, how did you decide to share some of 287 00:16:01,420 --> 00:16:05,610 your insights online and how has writing that also helped you 288 00:16:05,660 --> 00:16:08,970 with your career and also, you know, shaped your connections 289 00:16:08,980 --> 00:16:12,580 and all of that? You're right, I guess at first I 290 00:16:12,590 --> 00:16:15,910 started publishing because I sort of wanted to clarify my own 291 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:18,680 thoughts that, you know, almost as if I was willing to like my 292 00:16:18,690 --> 00:16:21,680 old journal. Like, you know, I had some 293 00:16:21,770 --> 00:16:26,440 following in Leptin and just share some insights and lessons 294 00:16:26,450 --> 00:16:30,140 that are learned Again, because I felt a lot of people were 295 00:16:30,150 --> 00:16:34,340 contacting me directly because they seeing that I have not just 296 00:16:34,350 --> 00:16:38,430 school in the US and taking the bar exam that felt too many 297 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:40,890 people waiting, intriguing, very attractive. 298 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,830 And so I thought, well, I, I get it, you know, start publishing 299 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,430 maybe once a week or once every two weeks and start explaining 300 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,490 this to some people and show them, hey, it's not impossible. 301 00:16:51,500 --> 00:16:54,590 You don't have to be millionaire and certainly not and you know, 302 00:16:55,060 --> 00:16:59,420 you could do it at a reasonable budget at and expand your 303 00:16:59,430 --> 00:17:02,420 practice and getting licensed in multiple jurisdictions. 304 00:17:02,430 --> 00:17:05,810 It just takes a lot of resilience and a lot of hard 305 00:17:05,819 --> 00:17:07,599 work, but you know, you can pay off. 306 00:17:07,770 --> 00:17:11,800 So I started publishing mostly for those reasons and then I 307 00:17:12,069 --> 00:17:15,220 continued publishing also to show that these things that 308 00:17:15,230 --> 00:17:18,400 people talk about compliance between jurisdictions or 309 00:17:18,410 --> 00:17:21,819 contracts or incorporating a different country, again, it's 310 00:17:21,829 --> 00:17:24,980 not rocket science. You know, many people should be 311 00:17:24,990 --> 00:17:28,300 doing it, not just those few who took a leap of faith. 312 00:17:28,430 --> 00:17:33,370 So I started polishing to sort of spread the word and trying to 313 00:17:33,380 --> 00:17:37,650 encourage people to do it. And you know, this newsletter to 314 00:17:37,660 --> 00:17:40,680 be resonating with a lot of people, just not just lawyers, 315 00:17:40,690 --> 00:17:42,940 but also like business people on students. 316 00:17:42,950 --> 00:17:45,710 They they'll be in contact with me and they'll be asking 317 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,340 questions prior and we'll be having calls and obviously, you 318 00:17:49,350 --> 00:17:54,190 know, very DC actually, but you know, I always try to point out 319 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:57,560 to have balls and, and to discuss their questions and try 320 00:17:57,570 --> 00:17:59,880 to help them right now. So I keep on publishing this 321 00:17:59,890 --> 00:18:01,880 newsletter. He goes out every week, you 322 00:18:01,890 --> 00:18:04,730 know, like store has the demonic platform to share some practical 323 00:18:04,740 --> 00:18:08,400 advice, reflections on Myles and personal experience about 324 00:18:08,410 --> 00:18:11,320 working across borders. And I hope that, you know, if I 325 00:18:11,330 --> 00:18:13,800 keep polishing, you'll open doors for other people that 326 00:18:14,070 --> 00:18:15,740 you'll see that this is possible. 327 00:18:15,830 --> 00:18:18,860 And, you know, people can feel free to reach out because, you 328 00:18:18,870 --> 00:18:21,930 know, if they feel they know me through my writing, well, then 329 00:18:21,940 --> 00:18:25,120 they're invited to talk to me and, and ask whatever questions 330 00:18:25,130 --> 00:18:26,860 they have. And to the extent that I can, 331 00:18:26,940 --> 00:18:29,960 I'll help them out. And they said I'm getting a lot 332 00:18:29,970 --> 00:18:31,720 out of it. I'm, you know, I'm certainly 333 00:18:31,790 --> 00:18:34,000 enjoying right now. I always thought since I was a 334 00:18:34,010 --> 00:18:37,830 very little kid, used to write little novels of books, but then 335 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:39,860 obviously now I'm writing about legal stuff, right? 336 00:18:39,870 --> 00:18:43,990 That's what I'm doing. But and not just the personal 337 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,590 satisfaction of writing that I do enjoy quite a bit, but also 338 00:18:47,860 --> 00:18:51,810 people see me out there and they are inviting me to conferences. 339 00:18:51,820 --> 00:18:55,350 They're panels and would you guess that even a podcast? 340 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,630 So yeah, I'm, I'm very happy being, well, publishing and I'll 341 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,620 be doing that hopefully consistently over the next 342 00:19:02,630 --> 00:19:03,910 couple years. Fantastic. 343 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,430 And if I may ask you before we go forward to another subject, 344 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,900 can you tell our listeners of how they could find your 345 00:19:10,950 --> 00:19:13,340 newsletter and how they could subscribe to it in case you're 346 00:19:13,350 --> 00:19:14,250 interested? Yes. 347 00:19:14,260 --> 00:19:17,970 So my newsletter is called cross-border Insights. 348 00:19:18,020 --> 00:19:21,820 It's under my LinkedIn profile, so people search my name. 349 00:19:21,830 --> 00:19:25,580 They'll you'll probably pop out first thing on my profile and 350 00:19:25,830 --> 00:19:28,860 you can also search by name is Cross-border Insights. 351 00:19:28,870 --> 00:19:32,020 Fantastic Thomas is where it gets you the end of this 352 00:19:32,030 --> 00:19:33,880 episode. I also wanted to ask you 353 00:19:33,890 --> 00:19:37,460 something that I've been asking every every guest that comes to 354 00:19:37,470 --> 00:19:41,360 the podcast and that is what kind of advice would you give to 355 00:19:41,370 --> 00:19:46,200 lost students or young lawyers or just, you know, starting out 356 00:19:46,210 --> 00:19:48,920 in the field now, but also should those who are considering 357 00:19:48,930 --> 00:19:50,770 studying or practicing law abroad? 358 00:19:50,820 --> 00:19:53,600 Yeah. So, well, there's generally a 359 00:19:53,610 --> 00:19:56,400 lot of advice that I can give. I, I keep receiving advice, I'm 360 00:19:56,410 --> 00:19:59,140 sure I'm going to keep receiving advice myself for the next 361 00:19:59,150 --> 00:20:02,660 30-40, fifty years, but as far as what I can. 362 00:20:02,940 --> 00:20:06,310 Call them right now. I think my 2 main pieces of 363 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,970 advice would eat first, invest in yourself, study, devote time 364 00:20:09,980 --> 00:20:12,670 to studying languages. If you wanna do a cross-border 365 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,990 practices language, you know each essential you gotta have a 366 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,750 cross-border practice If you don't speak good English. 367 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,530 Now he doesn't have to be perfect you you don't have to be 368 00:20:22,540 --> 00:20:25,450 a native speaker, but good enough to have a conversation 369 00:20:25,460 --> 00:20:28,690 like good enough so that people feel comfortable talking to you. 370 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:34,670 So if it's in the US or Canada, then in English has to be you 371 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,450 know your sexual language. Now English is probably the 372 00:20:38,460 --> 00:20:41,210 business language out there in the world, even if you're going 373 00:20:41,220 --> 00:20:44,150 to Asia or Europe. So certainly I would tell them 374 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,870 to study English, but they besides Portuguese or French or 375 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,870 Mandarin, I mean, whatever language they learn, you'll 376 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,890 certainly tell them you'll multiply their opportunities. 377 00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:58,430 And the second one and probably the most important one if 378 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,850 anything is don't be afraid to stand up out of your call from 379 00:21:01,860 --> 00:21:05,360 soul. Yes, it's not easy to study law 380 00:21:05,370 --> 00:21:07,750 abroad. It's not set up across border 381 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,230 practice, but it based off it'll pay off in kind. 382 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,190 You need to study, you need to work. 383 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:17,350 If you have a chance to get out and then spend a semester abroad 384 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:22,370 or Jacob Masters degree abroad or if you can take your job and 385 00:21:22,380 --> 00:21:25,640 spend a few months, even a couple of years abroad, then 386 00:21:25,650 --> 00:21:26,910 those things are going to help you. 387 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:31,500 It's going to open your mind to new opportunities, new people, 388 00:21:31,510 --> 00:21:34,270 to new ways of life, and it's certainly going to give you 389 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,520 those new elements that you need. 390 00:21:37,140 --> 00:21:41,090 You're going to be working with clients who do business through 391 00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:43,510 multiple jurisdictions. You cannot be stuck with your 392 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,950 own mindset of your local culture and your local laws. 393 00:21:47,100 --> 00:21:49,340 Things are very different when you cross borders. 394 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:54,920 So certainly, you know, jiggly buffet step outside of your 395 00:21:54,930 --> 00:21:57,500 comfort zone. Don't be afraid. 396 00:21:57,510 --> 00:22:01,090 Just you know, how about it You're gonna land on your feet 397 00:22:01,100 --> 00:22:04,340 if you plan ahead, if you're organized, you're gonna land on 398 00:22:04,350 --> 00:22:06,250 your feet and things are gonna workout. 399 00:22:06,450 --> 00:22:09,950 Well, generally those two. I guess I could also mention if 400 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:14,600 you wanna be a lawyer, most of it involves networking. 401 00:22:14,660 --> 00:22:17,690 Now, it's certainly not the only thing that some people have the 402 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,830 misconception that, oh, I'm going to network and that's 403 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,950 gonna do it for me, that that's not really quite like that, but 404 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,570 it certainly helps. So try to build networks. 405 00:22:27,580 --> 00:22:32,250 Rarely join associations. You can join your local journeys 406 00:22:32,260 --> 00:22:36,250 association or if you do business in the US, you can join 407 00:22:36,260 --> 00:22:39,790 the American virus situation. You can go to conference, you 408 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,740 can connect without lawyers. Don't be afraid of just texting 409 00:22:42,750 --> 00:22:46,030 them, you know, emailing them say, hey, I just saw you on this 410 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:50,010 conference or I just saw your your LinkedIn profile. 411 00:22:50,060 --> 00:22:51,860 I just wanted that. I want to talk. 412 00:22:51,870 --> 00:22:53,130 I want to pick your brain. Why? 413 00:22:53,140 --> 00:22:55,480 Why not? I mean made their trees in well, 414 00:22:55,490 --> 00:22:58,450 they'll just say no. So what I mean, what's the harm 415 00:22:58,460 --> 00:23:02,070 in doing that, right? So I think those are some of the 416 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,300 insights that will share with. Absolutely. 417 00:23:04,310 --> 00:23:07,620 Thank you so much for those. To wrap up today's episode, I 418 00:23:07,630 --> 00:23:11,040 also wanted to ask you where do you see your practice heading in 419 00:23:11,050 --> 00:23:13,800 the next few years? And also also you see that 420 00:23:13,810 --> 00:23:17,220 there's some areas of cross-border work that you think 421 00:23:17,290 --> 00:23:19,440 will grow in importance as well as we. 422 00:23:19,450 --> 00:23:23,350 Move forward well, I cannot see myself any in two big 423 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:25,460 directions. I guess one of them is I want to 424 00:23:25,470 --> 00:23:28,970 continue growing my practice, my independent practice and really 425 00:23:28,980 --> 00:23:32,580 become like, we go to lawyer from this for these companies 426 00:23:32,590 --> 00:23:35,860 that need to do business abroad and they need to set up a 427 00:23:35,900 --> 00:23:39,870 corporate entity or get advice on compliance and tax issues. 428 00:23:40,790 --> 00:23:43,520 So I really want to do that, especially between Argentina and 429 00:23:43,530 --> 00:23:47,090 the US, which is where I come from, where I legally trained 430 00:23:47,100 --> 00:23:50,590 and where I feel most comfortable, surely would be 431 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,570 open minded to expanding that as well. 432 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,890 And you know, I want to publish more. 433 00:23:54,900 --> 00:24:00,370 I wanna connect with clients and not just clients in Argentina, 434 00:24:00,380 --> 00:24:03,330 US, wherever they might be and they may need help with those 435 00:24:03,340 --> 00:24:05,730 jurisdictions. And I guess the others, I would 436 00:24:05,740 --> 00:24:10,050 like to focus on areas that I think are growing very rapidly 437 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,250 and that goes kind of your second washroom. 438 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,810 I mean, I'm not falling into the cliche of saying technology and 439 00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:20,650 AI, but you know, it is that those areas are growing quite 440 00:24:20,660 --> 00:24:25,550 fast and you know, in a way dangerously fast because people 441 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,050 are not even able to keep up with all the changes that are 442 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:31,990 out there. So I wanna try to go into that 443 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:37,530 analogy, compliance and try to stay ahead of the game and be 444 00:24:37,540 --> 00:24:41,140 able to help my clients navigate those issues as well. 445 00:24:41,150 --> 00:24:43,330 There, there again, they're growing so fast, not just for 446 00:24:43,340 --> 00:24:46,480 lawyers, but, or even the people who work on those fields, even 447 00:24:46,490 --> 00:24:50,470 the people in AI or, or the tax standups, they, they are, are 448 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,850 having a hard time catching up. So if I can help them, then I'll 449 00:24:53,860 --> 00:24:56,630 certainly do that. And I guess that's also where I 450 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:58,210 see myself going. Amazing. 451 00:24:58,220 --> 00:25:01,650 Well, once again, thank you so much for taking time to come on 452 00:25:01,660 --> 00:25:03,710 the podcast and share some of your insights. 453 00:25:03,780 --> 00:25:07,000 Much, much appreciated and wishing you all the best in your 454 00:25:07,010 --> 00:25:10,120 career and looking forward to seeing what comes up next. 455 00:25:10,190 --> 00:25:12,680 Well, thank you and and thank you for having these podcasts. 456 00:25:12,690 --> 00:25:17,820 I've been listening to it for, you know, a few months now and I 457 00:25:17,830 --> 00:25:21,730 was found it very intriguing and, you know, very instructive. 458 00:25:22,530 --> 00:25:26,270 Thank you for, you know, for everyone who who shows up at 459 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:30,160 this show and and contributes, I think their their advice can be 460 00:25:30,170 --> 00:25:32,900 very helpful to some people who work. 461 00:25:32,910 --> 00:25:34,960 And it started. Thank you for having me. 462 00:25:34,970 --> 00:25:37,430 It's been a pleasure. I hope to be in touch in the 463 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:38,700 future. Absolutely. 464 00:25:38,750 --> 00:25:41,180 Well, thank you all for tuning in and we'll see you on the next 465 00:25:41,190 --> 00:25:41,640 one.