At the end of last year, the HCCH announced that its website now features “e-country profiles” for several conventions, including the Service and Evidence Conventions. That doesn’t mean that lots of country profiles are now available; it means that there is now a place on the HCCH website where states can, if they want, publish profiles that will aid foreign practitioners and authorities.

So far, it seems that no states have published profiles of their practices under the Evidence Convention. Two states, the United States and Latvia, have published profiles of their practices under the Service Convention. The American profile is well-done and explains the United States’s liberal practice under the Convention. I assume it was put together by the excellent lawyers in the Office of International Litigation in the DOJ.

I hope more states will take advantage of the opportunity to provide practical guidance to foreign practitioners. I do not, though, expect these e-profiles to be a substitute for consulting with qualified local counsel, especially on Evidence Convention matters. I always recommend to my clients that, budget permitting, we bring local counsel on at the outset. This is useful in the preparation of the letter of request, because while I have a sense of what works and what doesn’t work in various jurisdictions, I cannot advise on any foreign jurisdiction’s law. It also is useful in terms of practical preparation. If there are proceedings in the foreign jurisdiction, then you’ll need local counsel anyway, and it’s better to have advice up-front to prepare for possible disputes.