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Dear Members, Was that a champagne cork popping? It should have been. For the first time ever, our Section of International Law is more than 20,000 members strong! At the ABA half year mark, ABA International has 20,261 members based in 90 countries. That is an increase in membership of more than 15% since the start of this ABA year; it is an increase of nearly 80% in the last four years (February 2004: 11,229 members). An inspired strategic re-focus, initiated by former Section Chairs Don DeAmicis and Josh Markus and followed through by my predecessors Ken Reisenfeld, Mike Byowitz and Deborah Enix-Ross, seems to be paying significant dividends. Congratulations to them and their leadership teams for the success of their collective vision. Much of our recent growth is in the law student and young lawyers categories. The progress here is particularly gratifying given our special efforts to reach out to both groups this year by, among other things:
The contribution of our new student members has been nothing short of extraordinary. Here are two examples reported to me just in the past week alone. Carrie Lyons writes, "As Chair of the National Security Committee, in summer 2007 I sent out the Section’s call for proposals notice for the 2008 Spring Meeting to the entire committee listserve to encourage Committee members outside of the steering committee to get involved with the Committee. In response, a law student from the University of Alabama, Matthew Krell, contacted me to suggest a topic for a program proposal, namely a mock Supreme Court program concerning the case of al-Marri v. Wright. The case concerns the legality of the Military Commissions Act and the continued imprisonment of the Guantanamo detainees and was expected to reach the Supreme Court. I worked closely with Mr. Krell to develop the program proposal, which was submitted under the sponsorship of the National Security Committee. Unfortunately, the proposal was not selected for presentation at the 2008 Spring Meeting. However, as a result of Mr. Krell’s hard work and good idea, I asked Mr. Krell on behalf of the National Security Committee to submit an article for the 2007 Year in Review concerning al-Marri v. Wright. Mr. Krell wrote a good article and the National Security Committee submitted it as part of our Year in Review contribution. Mr. Krell’s article should be published in the 2007 Year in Review." And Division Chair Russ Kerr draws our attention to a very special PowerPoint presentation put together by local law students attending a 9th Circuit conference for law students to highlight a book drive, a follow up project from the Section's ILEX trip to West Africa, for a Sierra Leone law school. Do click here and have a look at the students' slideshow. Recent strategic planning has focused not just on recruitment but also on how as a Section we can more cleverly facilitate the active involvement of law students and young lawyers. ABA International continues to be committed to ensuring that around the world the legal profession overachieves by getting, and keeping, more than its fair share of the best and brightest graduates – a result we also aim to achieve as a Section. Los Angeles was a great success for the Section of International Law, and not just because of the two Pathways programs and young lawyers panel (click here) that formed a part of our agenda there. Our three CLE programs and evening reception were well attended thanks to our program chairs, who put together dynamic panels to make them interesting and informative. I would particularly like to thank those Section leaders who assisted in making the 2008 Midyear Meeting a success: Qiang Bjornbak, Marcelo Bombau, Gabrielle Buckley, Mike Burke, Jack Coe, Russell Kerr, Bart Legum, Bob Lutz, and Salli Swartz. We are now eagerly anticipating the upcoming 2008 Spring Meeting of ABA International at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, which will take place April 1 – 5. You won’t want to miss what will be a spectacular meeting. We are expecting more than 1,500 participants from around the world including practitioners, corporate counsel, academicians, and officials from U.S. government and international institutions. I am pleased to report that at least 40 firms have already agreed to sponsor the meeting, which will include more than 70 CLE programs on numerous international law topics of interest to a wide-range of attorneys. Many lawyers will be able to complete an entire year's CLE requirement (or more) at this one event, including difficult-to-get ethics credits and 3.5 hours of transitional (bridging the gap) credits. We have organized these programs into eight separate tracks, each with a program in every time slot, that will appeal to practitioners in nearly every possible international practice area, including: Public International Law, Dispute Resolution/Litigation, Regulatory Law, Trade/Customs, Transactional, Corporate Counsel, Law Practice and Young Lawyers. Brochures have been mailed, and you should have received yours already. The agenda, which will be updated periodically, is also available online at www.abanet.org/intlaw/spring08/agenda/agenda.html. Don’t delay — sign up for ABA International’s largest conference of the year. Be sure to make your hotel arrangements now, as the Grand Hyatt Hotel will be sold out quickly. Please visit the Spring Meeting web site at www.abanet.org/intlaw/spring08 and register today or, for more information, call the Section office at +1 (202) 662-1660. Short month, long Chair's Message. If you have made it this far, you are to be congratulated. However, I encourage you to keep scrolling and read on. There is a lot more reported below, all of which gives further evidence of your Section's commitment to: "International Law, World Class."
ABA INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR For updates on programming and events, visit our Section calendar on-line at www.abanet.org/intlaw/calendar. March 31, 2008
2008 Spring Meeting, The Grand Hyatt, NYC – Click here to register today! The Section invites you to a very special 2008 Spring Meeting in New York, April 1-5. We hope you will make plans to join us and take advantage of this unique opportunity to meet with international practitioners (both in-house and outside counsel), academicians, and government officials from around the world and to network with members of ABA International. The 2008 Spring Meeting main event will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. New York Lawyers will earn up to two years’ worth of general CLE credit (26 hours), up to three years’ worth of hard-to-get ethics credit (12 hours), and up to 3.5 hours of “Bridge the Gap MCLE” credits for newly admitted lawyers. Click here to register and view the Spring Meeting website. Interested in sponsorship or exhibiting opportunities? Contact Jessica Bowman at 202.662.1663 or Bowmanj@staff.abanet.org to see the opportunities still available.
Few regions in the world undergo such profound and constant change as Latin America. The Section of International Law Latin American & Caribbean Committee will be holding their second annual conference abroad this year in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 8-9, 2008. This program will focus on various legal aspects, which international practitioners need to know and understand when dealing in the region. Leading practitioners from throughout the Americas will examine foreign investment, trade, antitrust, investor-state arbitration, natural resources and other timely topics of interest. We hope you will be able to join us! A complete agenda and registration information coming soon!
Sponsored by the Section of International Law Europe Committee; International Energy and Natural Resources Committee; International M&A and Joint Ventures Committee; International Antitrust Law Committee This program will bring together key policy makers and the most important market players to discuss the main challenges and opportunities arising in the European energy market as a result of new regulations that are being planned, supply difficulties and the emergence of new markets. We hope you will be able to join us! A complete agenda and registration information coming soon!
Join us for the Section’s Gala Anniversary Dinner, Saturday, August 9, at the New York City Yacht Club!
Click here for more information on this program.
ABA INTERNATIONAL CO-SPONSORED PROGRAMS Click here for a full list of ABA International Co-Sponsored Programs. March 8, 2008
The Conference will showcase a plenary session and 39 panel sessions sponsored by 19 IPBA Committees, featuring 225 speakers from over 25 jurisdictions worldwide. Representatives from some of the world’s most respected law firms, including many who have been acknowledged as leaders in their field by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia, Who’s Who Legal, and Legal 500, are serving as moderators and panelists. Evening social programs include a gala at the world renowned Getty Center and an “IPBA in Hollywood” gala at Sony Pictures Studios. For accompanying persons, private functions have been arranged at the Getty Villa, Huntington Gardens, and Chanel’s flagship store on Rodeo Drive, among others. Register now at www.ipba2008.com.
PATHWAYS TO EMPLOYMENT IN INTERNATIONAL LAWPathways to Employment in International Law events bring experienced international lawyers together with law students and young lawyers to share career paths and options. We encourage members to join Pathways panels at their local law schools. If you are interested in being a speaker at any upcoming programs, please contact Membership Director Angela Benson at bensona@staff.abanet.org or by phone at +1 (202) 662-1664:
ABA INTERNATIONAL CLE TELECONFERENCES Mark your calendars for these upcoming teleconference programs: February 28, 2008
Last month's 2008 International Bar Leaders Trip to Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine caught the attention of the local legal news media. The below article, which is also available online in Russian at www.advgazeta.ru/arch/3/79, appeared in the Novaya Advokatskaya Gazeta on January 30: English Translation:
The American delegation was led by the Chair of the Section, Jeffrey Golden. Mr. Golden described the work of the Section of International Law and the projects that had been implemented by the Section. He also expressed the Section's interest in establishing direct contacts between the Section and the Chamber of Advocates of the City of Moscow and the Federal Chamber of Advocates. For their part, the representatives of the Russian chambers of advocates explained the organization of the advokatura in Russia to the members of the delegation, and also discussed the role of the Federal Chamber of Advocates, the tasks that lie before it, and various problems and future perspectives. The colleagues also discussed issues related to the situation with the legal services market in Russia. In concluding the meeting, the parties thanked each other for the interesting dialogue and agreed to continue their cooperation.
LETTER TO THE CHAIR: TRANSNATIONAL PRACTICE “Thank you so much for supporting and encouraging us to pursue transnational law practice in the United States. As you explained and commented in one of your last abanet emails, the Supreme Court of Delaware is welcoming international lawyers to the limited practice of foreign law under new Rule 55.2 since October of 2007. I want to share with all of you concerning my recent admittance to the Delaware Bar as a Foreign Legal Consultant. My admission was moved at the Delaware Supreme Court by Noel Primos, Esquire, a partner at the firm of Schmittinger and Rodriguez who generously introduced me to Justice Henry Dupont Ridgely at the admission ceremony. Because Delaware has recently adopted this new Rule, I was informed that I have become the first Certified and Licensed Foreign Legal Consultant admitted under Rule 55.2, authorized only to practice Dominican Law. I want to express my appreciation to the Transnational Legal Practice and Foreign Legal Consultant Committees for their enthusiasm, and perseverance in the proposal of regulating cross-border practice in the United States.” Nancy A. Parry
"To me, the most interesting part of your message was report of the apparent speed with which your application was reviewed and accepted by Delaware. I believe that Deleware adopted its FLC Rule only in October 2007 and you were admitted within three months. This is in marked contrast with many jurisdictions in the United States, in which the processing time is far longer. I am presently trying to assist a Mexican lawyer acquire FLC status in California and the District of Columbia. The California application was approved in a bit less than one year; the D.C. application has been pending for more than a year. These delays in many states have discouraged foreign lawyers from seeking FLC status. Your experience is heartening and I am grateful to you for sharing it with us."
ABA INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE HOME PAGES We invite you to visit all of our Committee home pages — not only will you find highly relevant and valuable information relating to your field, you will also find updated leadership rosters. Recently updated Committee home pages include:
ABA International offers no fewer than 21 substantive newsletters. Links to the most recent edition of several newsletters are set forth below:
Brown bag programs are free of charge. For more information, please contact Committees Coordinator Tally White at whitet@staff.abanet.org. Mark your calendars for this upcoming brown bag program: March 12, 2008 Join a Committee today!
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER (ILRC) The ILRC was established in December 1999 as a mechanism for providing technical legal assistance and support on a volunteer basis. The project represents the common commitment of UNDP and the American Bar Association (ABA) to advocate for the rule of law and democratic governance on a global scale. The ILRC identifies legal specialists for short- and long-term assignments such as drafting national legislation in country, devising support programs for enforcement mechanisms, implementing capacity development initiatives, which include training workshops, and conducting evaluations of programs designed to address legal substantive issues. The ILRC also conducts legal research and analysis on a wide variety of topics; facilitates the review of domestic legislation vis-à-vis international standards and best practices; serves as a repository for legal information; and provides other services upon request. The legal specialists are placed with UNDP offices worldwide. They are selected from a database of over 1,350 members whose background span from common law, civil law, and mixed jurisdictions. Legal specialists who participate in overseas assignments experience rule of law first hand and return to their communities with a deeper understanding of international norms and their impact. ILRC at a Glance (as of January 2008)
(59.4% of experts have more than 10 years of experience)
The ILRC only assists in staffing for short term opportunities. Registration comes at no cost and once a legal expert is registered with us, they are subscribed to our listserv. From there the legal expert will receive alerts for short term opportunities worldwide that include the terms of reference. We then short list the legal experts that express interest in the opportunity by responding to the alerts via email and then submit the most qualified candidates to it to the contractor. The ILRC is continually searching to grow and diversify the pool of legal experts that we can place on short term assignments. If you wish to register to become a legal expert with the ABA-UNDP/ILRC please complete the registration form at http://www.abanet.org/intlaw/intlproj/ilrc/registration_form.html. If you have any questions, please contact Jacqueline Gichinga, the Project Coordinator, at 202-662-1662 or gichingj@staff.abanet.org.
 Careers in International Law, Third Edition This third edition of a best seller is an essential resource for law students and lawyers interested in a career in international law, irrespective of age, experience, nationality, residence or practice area. The book's four parts cover foreign practice, private sector, public sector, and practice tips and methodology. Each chapter is written by an attorney who has made the transition to international law. The authors detail their paths and describe what their work truly entails, including the pros and cons of their positions. Topics covered include: strategies for starting and developing an international law practice; international in-house counsel careers; international law and the public sector; developing a small firm international law practice; networking; and more.
Click here to buy this book online.
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Section of International Law/ABA Annual Meeting
On January 30, 2008, the leadership of the Chamber of Advocates of the City of Moscow, represented by President G.M. Reznik, met at the Federal Chamber of Advocates with representatives of the American Bar Association Section of International Law. Also participating in the meeting were the President of the Federal Chamber of Advocates, E.V. Semenyako, and its Vice-President, Yu.S. Pilipenko.