Mandarin Mashup July 25, 2012
- Wanted: Temp Attorneys With Foreign-Language Skills - Wall Street Journal
By JENNIFER SMITH
Unemployed lawyers looking for work in a lousy job market might want to brush up on their Korean or Chinese.
As international business disputes proliferate, law firms are bringing in flocks of attorneys with a flair for languages, although the jobs are almost always temporary.
This spring Apple Inc.'s lawyers brought on dozens of Korean-speaking contract attorneys and document reviewers to help grind through a last-minute document dump from Samsung Electronics Co., the Korean manufacturer with which it is locked in an epic patent battle over smartphones.
In fact, law firms and corporations that used to hire translators fluent in languages such as Japanese, Hebrew or Spanish now figure they can get legal skills in the bargain.
"For legal matters, translators and attorneys with foreign-language skills are probably in the same price range—you get more bang for your buck," said Michael Reichwald, president of Yorkson Legal, a New York agency that supplies law firms and corporations with foreign-language-proficient lawyers and paralegals.
News of the Apple arrangement came from U.S. International Trade Commission filings by Morrison & Foerster LLP and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, which are representing the company in two separate patent infringement investigations before the ITC. The filings contained signed agreements that said the temporary legal help would abide by protective orders concerning the cases.
A spokeswoman for WilmerHale declined to comment. Representatives at Morrison & Foerster didn't respond to requests for comment.
It is unusual for law firms to bring on dozens of contract lawyers at one time, said Eric Elting, director of legal business at TransPerfect Legal Solutions, company supplies lawyers who speak Chinese and Russian, among other languages. Such mass hires typically happen, he said, when law firms have to plow through a lot of documents in a short period of time. Mr. Elting said it appeared that Apple had brought on "so many at once because they felt Samsung was throwing them so much very close to the deadline," for evidentiary hearings this spring.
Such temporary gigs can be a bright spot in an otherwise grim job market for both new and experienced attorneys alike.
"It is a blessing to be able to work and to be able to use my Mandarin Chinese and keep my language skills up," said Paul Dirkmaat, a bilingual document reviewer in Washington, D.C., who graduated from George Washington University Law School in 2010 and has yet to find a permanent job as a lawyer.
Mr. Dirkmaat lived in China for two years, majored in Chinese and worked as a summer associate at the Chinese firm Tiantong & Partners while in law school. Unable to find a legal job after graduation, he delivered pizzas before starting work as a contract lawyer.
He says he has been quoted anything from $45 to $70 an hour for the pay. Bilingual temp attorneys with additional qualifications, such as patent expertise, could get as much $85 to $100 an hour, while regular contract attorneys might pull in anywhere from $20 to $40 an hour.
The rise of the global economy—and the tilt toward Asia—has increased demand for lawyers who are fluent in Asian languages or who can help translate on deals or disputes in emerging economies, such as Brazil or India, said Belina Anderson, a commercial litigator whose practice includes French comparative law and legal translations.
But even the biggest law firms typically can't afford to retain an army of bilingual lawyers just in case litigation pops up in one country or another.
So they often turn to staffing agencies. Fluent temp attorneys and document reviewers can help winnow down mounds of foreign-language material during trial preparation, flagging the relevant files for the firm's senior litigators.
Staffing agencies might bill law firms anywhere from $75 an hour to as much as $150 an hour, depending on the contract lawyer's expertise and other skills, such as knowledge of engineering. While such projects may be extended for some time, few contract attorneys jump from temp work for a law firm into full-time work.
It isn't just patent work driving the boom. Automotive litigation has spurred demand for lawyers and document reviewers who speak Japanese and Korean, legal staffing agencies say.
Another source of work: corporate bribery investigations under the Foreign Corruption Practices Act. "We've been asked to do more on the Russian side for FCPA matters," Mr. Elting said.
Bribery cases also supply most of the bilingual work for Mr. Dirkmaat, the D.C. document reviewer, who sometimes works for TransPerfect.
As most junior lawyers know, document review can be exceedingly tedious. But at least when he reviews Mandarin documents, Mr. Dirkmaat said, "the potential is there to learn new vocabulary, and it helps me stay focused more than it might in English."
Write to Jennifer Smith at jennifer.smith@wsj.com
- Two teachers from China to spend year at Natick schools - MetroWest Daily News
When she vacationed in China last year, Kennedy Middle School Principal Rosemary Vickery noticed many Chinese spoke English.
Returning to the United States, she said she noticed comparatively few Americans speak Mandarin.
"It's starting to become more (popular)," said Vickery, who serves on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Global Education Advisory Council. "Middle schools are starting to offer it."
This fall, Natick will launch a Mandarin program at the high school and Kennedy and Wilson middle schools, as two teachers from China join the faculty for the year.
Nancy Yulan will teach at the middle schools as part of an exchange program with Mianyang Dongchen International School in Sichuan Province. Natick High School teacher Joseph McFarland will travel to China and teach at Mianyang Dongchen.
Sheng Wenjuan will teach at Natick High School through a fellowship she was awarded from the U.S. Department of State to participate in the 2012 Teachers of Critical Languages Program.
"It's to expand our student and staff understanding of this global world we live in," Assistant Superintendent Karen LeDuc said.
The teachers will stay with host families, but may eventually find an apartment in the Natick area. The district received a grant through Wenjuan's program to cover her housing and other expenses and is establishing partnerships with businesses and community groups to cover Yulan's stay, LeDuc said.
Natick was one of 16 schools throughout the country who will host a Chinese teacher through the fellowship. Seventy-five districts applied, said Daniel Cassiday, a program officer with the American Councils for International Education, which implements the Teachers of Critical Languages Program.
"They can really give the students a sense of what the culture is like beyond what they might get in a textbook or newspaper article," Cassiday said of the teachers.
Cassiday said the program was looking for districts se! eking to start or significantly expand a Mandarin program.
Seventh-graders will be able to take Mandarin at the middle schools, although Vickery said she hopes to add a unit on the language and Chinese culture to a sixth-grade class. LeDuc said district staff plan to organize community events as well.
"It will really expand what we're offering our kids," Vickery said.
(Brian Benson can be reached at 508-626-3964 or bbenson@wickedlocal.com.)
- Two teachers from China to spend year at Natick schools - Abington Mariner
When she vacationed in China last year, Kennedy Middle School Principal Rosemary Vickery noticed many Chinese spoke English.
Returning to the United States, she said she noticed comparatively few Americans speak Mandarin.
"It's starting to become more (popular)," said Vickery, who serves on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Global Education Advisory Council. "Middle schools are starting to offer it."
This fall, Natick will launch a Mandarin program at the high school and Kennedy and Wilson middle schools, as two teachers from China join the faculty for the year.
Nancy Yulan will teach at the middle schools as part of an exchange program with Mianyang Dongchen International School in Sichuan Province. Natick High School teacher Joseph McFarland will travel to China and teach at Mianyang Dongchen.
Sheng Wenjuan will teach at Natick High School through a fellowship she was awarded from the U.S. Department of State to participate in the 2012 Teachers of Critical Languages Program.
"It's to expand our student and staff understanding of this global world we live in," Assistant Superintendent Karen LeDuc said.
The teachers will stay with host families, but may eventually find an apartment in the Natick area. The district received a grant through Wenjuan's program to cover her housing and other expenses and is establishing partnerships with businesses and community groups to cover Yulan's stay, LeDuc said.
Natick was one of 16 schools throughout the country who will host a Chinese teacher through the fellowship. Seventy-five districts applied, said Daniel Cassiday, a program officer with the American Councils for International Education, which implements the Teachers of Critical Languages Program.
"They can really give the students a sense of what the culture is like beyond what they might get in a textbook or newspaper article," Cassiday said of the teachers.
Cassiday said the program was looking for districts se! eking to start or significantly expand a Mandarin program.
Seventh-graders will be able to take Mandarin at the middle schools, although Vickery said she hopes to add a unit on the language and Chinese culture to a sixth-grade class. LeDuc said district staff plan to organize community events as well.
"It will really expand what we're offering our kids," Vickery said.
(Brian Benson can be reached at 508-626-3964 or bbenson@wickedlocal.com.)
- Pimsleur Approach Offers Mandarin Advantage - PRLog (free press release) PRLog (Press Release) - Jul 23, 2012 -
MandarinChinese
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Pimsleur Approach, a leading provider of audio-based language-learning resources, empowers business professionals, entrepreneurs and travelers with the opportunity to master Mandarin, the fastest growing business language impacting corporations today.Why is it important to learn Mandarin?
Mandarin Chinese refers to a group of Chinese dialects indigenous to northern and southwestern China. For academic and instructional purposes, these dialects are consolidated into one language which is the basis of Standard Chinese, also referred to simply as Mandarin. Over the last several decades, China has established itself in the global community as a leader in industry.
"Learning Mandarin could allow professionals to pursue careers in diplomacy, as well as regular industry," reports Dan Roitman, CEO of Pimsleur Approach. "If a professional prefers to pursue higher opportunities in regular industry, many companies not only have factories and distribution centers in China, but some have outsourced their customer service centers to locations in China and they require management by personnel who speak both Mandarin and English."
China, Roitman explains, has also become much more open to tourists in recent years.
"In order to truly experience the rich cultural heritage and history of the country and its people, speaking Chinese will be a benefit like no other," Roitman states. "Mandarin is spoken by approximately one billion people - the advantages to learning Mandarin are great."
To best assist professionals and travelers in embracing Mandarin, Pimsleur Approach offers a logical way to learn Mandarin Chinese, with audio lessons that help to quickly master important Chinese phrases. In easy half-hour "bites" on CD, Pimsleur Approach's scientifically sequenced lessons can have users start speaking Mandarin Chinese in 10 days - guaranteed.
For more information on Pimsleur Approach's Mandarin Chinese learning approach and money back guarantee, visithttp://www.pimsleurapproach.com/ learn-chinese- mandarin.
About Pimsleur Approach
Pimsleur Approach was founded in 2000 and specializes in affordable, audio-based language learning courses. Developed by Dr. Paul Pimsleur, the company's audio-learning products feature 40 different languages and have been purchased by the FBI. Pimsleur's research of organic language learning stemmed from the way children learn to speak without knowing the formal structure of a language.
For more information, please visit www.pimsleurapproach.com.
Pimsleur Approach, (866)-204-7139, 1600 JFK Blvd. 3rd Floor, Philadelphia PA 19103
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