Lawyers or Geopolitical Experts?

The turbulent nature of the geopolitical sphere has led clients to rely on their lawyers to navigate the complex interplay between law, business strategy, and geopolitics. For businesses, geopolitics means the shifting political and economic forces between states that directly affect trade, investment, supply chains, and regulation. It is the intersection of international politics and commercial decision-making.

Traditionally, a commercial lawyer’s role encompassed advising on contracts, regulatory compliance, disputes, and mergers and acquisitions. However, sanctions, political instability, and shifts in global regulations have prompted Big Law to establish practices dedicated to geopolitical advisory. Clients now expect their lawyers to explicate how geopolitical dynamics will affect the law, its enforcement, and business operations.

Furthermore, in light of client expectations, law firms continue to reshape to accommodate client demand. For example, in February, Hogan Lovells introduced the ‘Geopolitical Risk and National Security Initiative’. Similarly, Linklaters introduced its global risk advisory practice back in November 2023.

Geopolitics bears a heavy weight on businesses, and currently, there are numerous tensions that increase costs, restrict market access, and expose companies to regulatory and reputational risks. For instance, tariffs and trade wars, such as that between the United Statesand China, can restrict market access and raise trade and supply chain costs. As a result, corporations rely on their lawyers for advice in relation to deal structuring and cross-border M&A.

Moreover, in June 2023, the UK government broadened the scope of its Russian sanctions to include advice from UK lawyers. Specifically, the restriction that UK lawyers are prohibited from advising Russian businesses in numerous transactions that may serve to benefit the Russian economy.

As a result, law firms have adjusted operations and studied risk assessment strategies to navigate compliance. A recent example of the application of such a sanction is the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation fine of HSF Moscow in March 2025. This was because, during the process of winding down HSF Moscow, the firm made payments for matters such as audit fees to Russian banks under sanction.

This highlighted the importance of sanctions screening and due diligence on the part of English lawyers, all to ensure compliance. Conclusively, these examples emphasise the vitality of geopolitics in legal transactions.

Student re-focus

In the advancement of their risk advisory practices, law firms have looked beyond lawyers to the expertise of market and risk analysts, trade economists, former policymakers, and diplomats. This illustrates that commercial lawyers are not entirely expected to become geopolitical experts themselves, but rather coordinators who combine legal interpretation with geopolitical risk input into legal advice.

As prospective lawyers, the rise of geopolitics in commercial practice presents a challenge as well as an opportunity. It indicates that while expectations are increasing, there lies an opportunity to develop and illustrate skills that would distinguish one candidate from another. Be sure to expose yourself to news analysis and interdisciplinary knowledge such as international relations, political science, and economic and trade developments.