James M. Meyer is a founding partner of the law firm Harper Meyer. He concentrates his practice on the representation of U.S. and Latin American-based multinational corporations, financial institutions, manufacturers, franchisors, family offices and private high net worth clients in general corporate matters, commercial transactions, cross-border leasing, financing, and sales and acquisitions of capital equipment, including aircrafts and yachts. His experience in such matters also extends throughout the Caribbean. Jim currently serves as Chair-Elect of the International Law Section of the Florida Bar. He is a member of the Steering Committee for International Law Studies at Florida International University College of Law, as well as a member of the Citizens Board of the University of Miami.
Why did you become Board Certified in International Law? The principal reason for my decision to become Board Certified in International Law was a result of my observing and hearing about how much it benefited my friends and colleagues who were already working with me in the field of international law. I also believed that it would be helpful to me and anyone else in leadership roles within the Section to become Board Certified in order to better promote this important program.
What are some benefits you received from being Board Certified? The serendipitous benefit of becoming Board Certified was the fact that the required studying for the exam forced me to become better acquainted with and/or reacquaint myself with areas within the field of international law that I had not focused on in the recent past, if at all. It was an excellent, if not critical tutorial for issue spotting in my day-to-day practice. During my studies, I kept chastising myself for not having had taken on the challenge sooner. In fact, I found the studies so helpful to my practice, I made it a point to buy a copy of the Section’s International Law Desk Book (the primary board certification study guide) for each of the associate attorneys in my firm. Just to make sure that they are all absorbing the materials, once a month, a different associate gives a presentation to the other associates about a chapter in the book. In this manner, even if they do not qualify yet to take the exam, I know that they have exposure to this wonderful material. I will also be encouraging all of them, just as I encourage of our ILS members to take the exam as soon as they are eligible.
Any best tips or advice to ILS Members preparing for the Certification Exam? As I already mentioned, the recently published International Law Desk Book is an indispensable resource that should be heavily reviewed before taking the Exam. I also found that speaking with other ILS members who had recently taken the Exam was immensely helpful as well. The Bar also provides some excellent study tips with a thorough list of topics which are likely to appear on the Exam. A few hours of downloading materials from the internet based on that list should adequately supplement the other materials and allow for a successful run at passing the Exam on the first try. Of course, some good old-fashioned experience in the field doesn’t hurt either, which perhaps explains why the qualification standards are so extensive. Most importantly, please know that in the end, once you receive the Certification, you will say to yourself that it was all worth it. We all do.
To learn more about being Board Certified in International Law, visit https://www.floridabar.org/