1. Attorney Abroad
As long as I can remember, I was fascinated by events abroad. On my first trip
to Slovakia in 1998, memories of reading about Prague Spring and wondering
what life was like behind the Iron Curtain surfaced as I carefully surveyed the
environment. I noticed everything from the cars, to the buildings, to the
vegetation, to how tiles were laid and doors were hung. Above all, I loved
speaking with the people. I relished working on the acquisition of the company in
Slovakia for U. S. Steel and was thrilled to be appointed General Counsel of
operations in Europe in 2010 and to be living in Kosice. People often ask me
what it was like to work abroad and there are not enough words to describe my
experience, but perhaps these three observations will be helpful:
Language: Although English is the language of international business and your
colleagues are fluent, that is only a start. Non-native speakers know fewer words
and usually don’t pick the optimal English ones. Expat attorneys will frequently
be reviewing translations of legal documents and should realize that, even with a
careful reading, they have at best a rudimentary understanding of the actual
document’s contents. I would read the translation, make notes and then spend
considerable time with the responsible lawyers. I asked the same questions
different ways, with different words even after I thought I understood. (Yes, I
occasionally didn’t probe enough and had to try again.) A painstaking review is
time consuming, but less costly than an ill-informed decision.
Tuition: Americans are taught that something is okay unless there is a law
against it. Although I had already worked on transactions around the globe and
spent considerable time studying civil law systems and the EU legal scheme, I
got my most poignant lesson early in my tenure from a policeman who stopped
my car one Sunday afternoon. He indicated in good English that I had made a
left turn at a particular intersection. I agreed. He advised that such a left turn
was illegal. I said there was no sign indicating a left turn was prohibited and he
replied that there was no sign saying it was permitted. That lesson cost me EUR
20, but helped me understand that in Central Europe my attorneys had been
educated to believe that unless the law provided for something, it was not lawful.
Understanding this helped me help my team find creative ways to solve our
problems.
Culture: It always seemed that much of my time was devoted to explaining to
American managers that the law is different in other countries. For example, in
the USA, violations of certain critical safety rules required termination, but Slovak
courts usually decided that penalty was too harsh and ordered us to reinstate the
employee with back pay. Some expatriate managers were reluctant to change
the American approach, but were willing to listen and employ disciplinary action
short of discharge except in the most grievous cases.
Americans are much more used to conducting business only by telephone and
email and rarely feel a need to have meetings in person. Although you can
follow that template abroad, I can attest that the level of attention your matters

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receive from your foreign counterparts increases dramatically after you
personally meet them.
Navigating the laws abroad by a US company requires maneuvering around
many hazards ranging from those posed by FCPA and OFAC to making sure
SEC filings are correct and communicating with headquarters. Despite every
challenge, and even with the hardship of being far away from family and friends, I
was grateful for every day I spent in Europe. I had unique experiences and
made friends I will treasure forever.