Dear Editor,

Cambodia's

integration into regional and global trade patterns and the influx of

foreign business operations in the Kingdom have undoubtedly created

many new challenges for our legal practitioners. Like it or not, it has

become vital that legal professionals achieve an acceptable level of

understanding of laws in jurisdictions other than in Cambodia,

including international laws and treaties, to which Cambodia may or may

not be a signatory.

Barriers of language and basic understanding

with respect to international business, financial operations and trade

have largely limited the capacity of Cambodian legal professionals to

draft contracts involving legal elements from abroad, to strategise and

to assess future risks for their clients.

In addition to a greater

understanding of other regional or international jurisdictions, our

legal professionals must adapt to a more competitive working

environment, integrate more sophisticated working tools, enhance their

legal knowledge and adopt more democratic mindsets to survive in

today's increasingly complex legal marketplace.

It will be no easy

task for Cambodian legal professionals to make these improvements. But

to survive in the always-on-the-go legal market and to retain one's

relevance as a lawyer, it is vital that they do so.

Vicheka Lay

Phnom Penh

Send letters to: [email protected] or

P.O.鈥圔ox 146, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Post reserves the right to edit

letters to a shorter length.