MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Lynda G. Wilson, General Counsel for Civil Action Group, Ltd.
, a Minneapolis based company providing legal support services to lawyers, businesses and insurance companies nationally and internationally:
The recent article, Mexico Bars Lawyer After Suit, appearing in the L. A. Times on October 15th provides a cautionary tale for every U.
S. citizen doing business -- legal or otherwise -- outside the United States.
Having worked for more than three decades commencing lawsuits and gathering evidence for U.
S. lawyers abroad, my colleagues and I were not surprised to learn that St. Paul, MN trial lawyer Jeff Anderson has been unceremoniously tossed out of Mexico for attempting to speak publicly on their soil about sexual allegations against their Catholic Priests.
Mexico is a friendly ally. But Mexico is still a foreign country. With that in mind, the message to lawyers, business people, and all U.
S. citizens is simply this:
BEWARE.
When you leave the comforts of home and travel abroad, for whatever purpose, you're not, as Dorothy would say, in Kansas anymore.
Or, for that matter, in any of the other 50 states. Mexico, like every other country, has its own set of rules, regulations, laws, customs -- and penalties.
We do not know precisely what Mr.
Anderson attempted to say or do in Mexico. For all we know, his conduct could have been technically legal. But on foreign soil, 'legal' may not matter.
We frequently encounter cases where international laws are followed to the letter. Yet some authority in the foreign country simply decides, for whatever reason, to do things differently. Their playing field.
Their rules.
Sometimes Americans -- even lawyers -- cause their own legal problems overseas. Not long ago, two attorneys, skilled in their U.
S. legal specialties, decided to schedule depositions in Switzerland. A nice working vacation.
They assumed Swiss law, like American law, allowed depositions without direct supervision from the courts. They were wrong. And they spent their vacations in a Swiss jail.
We Americans ignore or fail to research international treaties, diplomatic channels and foreign protocol at our peril. Particularly in the current international climate, Mr. Anderson is a case in point.
While we should not hesitate to do business abroad, we do need to take extra precautions. If we do not know the rules, we need to consult with those who do, or face the consequences.
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