Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024 - 27

FEATURE
Lori Middlehurst with a great view of the Sydney
Opera House.
ment in 1989 with
Baker McKenzie's Sydney
office left a lasting
impression. " It
was exciting to work
for an international
firm that offered associates
the opportunity
to create connections
across offices
and around the
world, " she says.
Returning to Baker
McKenzie's San Diego
office in 1990, Middlehurst
soon married
an Australian-born
fellow associate she
had met during her
secondment. By 1997,
both had moved inhouse
with Sun Microsystems,
Inc. in Palo Alto, California. In 2002 Middlehurst, then director
of Sun's employment law group supporting business operations in Canada
and the Americas, negotiated
a second transfer abroad - back
to Sydney to join her husband,
who had been promoted to a position
there.
" I sat down with my boss and said
I could handle the U.S. employment
law piece of my job remotely
and would trade the Canadian
and South American regions for
Asia Pacific, " she says. " He agreed
to give it a try. "
Now in Sydney for more than 20
years, Middlehurst became an
Australian citizen in 2006 and
qualified as a solicitor in New
South Wales in 2010. " Legal admission
opened up more choices
in the roles I qualified for, " she explains.
" Spending
time in other countries lets you see things from a different
perspective, " Middlehurst adds. " You can be more effective in advising
home office management on local problems, including such basics as
understanding the practical challenges of life in those locations and ensuring
compliance requirements are translated with local relevance for
employees. "
She's also found that reading helps bridge cultural differences. " Everywhere
I go, I ask people for book recommendations, including histories,
biographies, even murder mysteries. Reading provides a window on how
people think, a sense of who they are, and why certain people are important
in their cultures. "
IN-HOUSE OPPORTUNITIES
For Matthew Teismann, general counsel and board member of global
energy firm AGP International Holdings in Singapore, in-house practice
has been his path to working abroad for more than 20 years. International
internships - a 1996 legislative researcher role in the United Kingdom
and a 2001 summer job with an American-owned company in Thailand
- were instrumental to his career choices, he says.
" As a student, opportunities to actually work outside the U.S. on international
issues that seemed important triggered my interest in working
overseas, " Teismann says.
Recalling his first job in 2005 with Hyundai Heavy Industries in Seoul,
Teismann says, " I had no idea what I was getting into, but I learned more
in that job than in all of law school. "
After other roles with companies in Singapore and Monaco, Teismann returned
to Singapore, where he has worked since 2014. He calls it " an easy
place to live, including for my family. "
Teismann highlights the value of his U.S. legal training in his large-scale
transactional work. " These deals are complex and often governed by U.S.
or U.K. law. The ability to anticipate and address gray areas and uncertainty
in issues and risks, as well as familiarity with navigating multistakeholder
negotiations and document drafting, are reasons people
have hired me, " he says.
Legal skills alone, however, are
not all it takes to succeed abroad.
" Good EQ [emotional quotient]
and a willingness to try new
things also matter, " Teismann
adds.
Matthew Teismann during a riverside stroll in Singapore.
BUSINESS ROLES
For Yehonatan " Yoni " Cohen,
KPMG's head of contract negotiation
and strategy in Germany, the
keys to landing a fulfilling job
abroad were persistence and his
ability to adapt his legal skills to a
business role. After six years of litigation
practice with several firms
in California, Cohen moved with
his German-born wife to Berlin in
2012, expecting to stay a year.
" Opening doors in foreign countries is difficult, " he says, " but not insurmountable. "
In addition to nonprofit work that helped Cohen acclimate
to German business, language, and cultural norms while job searching,
he leaned into networking.
" I learned to modify my approach if people were not initially receptive, "
he says. " Reaching out, staying in touch, sharing information, and connecting
people who have interests in exploring business together are
very valuable skills. "
Through a series of referrals, Cohen landed his first job in global risk management
with KPMG in 2013 and discovered that his litigation skill set
was well-suited to international commercial work. " Legal training gives
MAY/JUNE 2024 * WASHINGTON LAWYER 27
Washington Lawyer - May/June 2024

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