FROM THE CHAIR

Deborah Enix-Ross Dear Members:

I'd like to wish a very happy, prosperous and healthy New Year to everyone! This promises to be a very exciting year for the Section, as we aspire to surpass our considerable achievements of 2006. Here is an abbreviated list of the many activities we have planned for the coming calendar year:

International Legal Exchange (ILEX) Trip to West Africa: March 3 – 13, 2007
ABA President Karen Mathis will join members of the ABA International leadership in a groundbreaking trip to Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. We plan to meet with leaders of the Ghana Bar Association, representatives of the Special Court of Sierra Leone, and government officials in Liberia. The trip will focus on rule of law issues confronting the emerging democracies of Sierra Leone and Liberia; and strengthening democratic institutions and the legal profession in Ghana.

First-Ever Regional Meeting – Buenos Aires, Argentina: March 14, 2007
Our South and Central American members — and our members doing business in the region — will greatly value this opportunity to gather in Buenos Aires on March 14 for ABA International's first-ever regional conference. The event, entitled “ The South American Legal Environment: Legal Practice, Reality and Trends in Changing Scenarios,” will focus on topics essential for the legal profession in this dynamic corner of the world. We are very grateful to our Section friends in Argentina for making this event happen.

Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C.: May 1 – 5, 2007
We expect to see 1,500 international lawyers and judges at what promises to be our most successful Spring Meeting ever. We are bringing together hundreds of legal experts from around the globe to present over 80 sessions you can't afford to miss. Take advantage of six special tracks of programs on key issues of particular appeal to your practice and interest areas: Corporate/Transactional, Customs/Trade, Dispute Resolution/Litigation, Public International Law, Regional Law and Rule of Law. Each of these tracks has a substantial number of programs throughout the meeting. My thanks go to Michael Burke, Lisa Savitt, and James Klotz for serving as co-chairs of the Spring Meeting.

Leadership Retreat and ABA Annual Meeting: August 8 – 13, 2007
On August 8 and 9, ABA International leadership will gather a short distance from San Francisco in California's Sonoma/Napa Valley for a retreat dedicated to long-range planning. This will be followed by the ABA Annual Meeting, which will take place August 10 through 13 in San Francisco. The Section will have its headquarters at the historic Westin St. Francis on Union Square, in the heart of San Francisco's shopping district.

Fall Meeting, London, United Kingdom: October 3 – 6, 2007
London, here we come! With Chair-Elect Jeff Golden, Bart Legum, Adam Farlow and Lord David Hacking leading the charge, ABA International will gather for a seasonal meeting the first time ever in the United Kingdom. We promise a full program, complete with ample opportunities to enjoy all of the history, scenery and entertainment that London has to offer.

So mark your calendars and plan to join us at all of these exciting meetings!

Deborah Enix-Ross, Section Chair

ON THE POLICY FRONT

In December, ABA International posted to its web site a new Blanket Authority Initiative comprising comments on the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security proposed regulation “Revision and Clarification of Export and Reexport Controls for the Peoples' Republic of China: New Authorization Validated End-User.” Click here to read this Blanket Authority Initiative, which is valid through March 14, 2007.

ABA INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

For updates on programming and events, visit our Section calendar on-line at www.abanet.org/intlaw/calendar/home.html .

February 9-11, 2007
ABA/Section Midyear Meeting
Miami , FL

Click here to register access the Section schedule and to register today www.abanet.org/intlaw/midyear/home.html.

March 3-13, 2007
International Legal Exchange (ILEX) trip to West Africa

We will visit the nations of Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia. For additional information, please contact Christina Heid at heidc@staff.abanet.org.

March 14, 2007
The South American Legal Environment: Legal Practice, Reality and Trends in Changing Scenarios Buenos Aires , Argentina

Mark your calendars for the first-ever ABA International South American regional meeting.

May 1-5, 2007
ABA International Spring Meeting, The Fairmont Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Mark your calendars for ABA International's Spring Meeting May 1-5, 2007 in Washington, D.C., at the Fairmont Hotel. Our Spring Meeting Co-Chairs — Michael E. Burke, James Klotz and Lisa J. Savitt — have already been hard at work, assisted by a large and very active Planning Committee, designing a must-attend meeting not only for ABA International members, but for the entire international legal community. The meeting will serve as an important outreach to practitioners from around the world as well as in-house counsel, academics, and officials from international institutions. Don't miss what we expect to be a spectacularly successful meeting. For more information visit the Spring Meeting website at www.abanet.org/intlaw/spring07.

Don't miss your chance to sponsor and have your organization listed in the 2007 Spring Meeting Brochure! For available opportunities click here.

August 8-12, 2007
Leadership Retreat and ABA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA

In making your plans for next summer, please make sure to put us on your calendar for the 2007 ABA/Section Retreat and Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. A leadership retreat will take place August 8-9, and the Annual Meeting will take place August 10-12.

SAVE THE DATE for the 2007 Fall Meeting in London, England, October 3-6 at the Grosvenor House Hotel. Click here to see what this meeting will offer you!

ABA INTERNATIONAL CLE TELECONFERENCES

ABA International hosts CLE teleconferences every month. We need your suggestions and ideas for future events. For more information about the Section's CLE teleconference program, please contact Tally White at whitet@staff.abanet.org or by phone at +1 (202) 662-1672.

Register now for this month's teleconference program:

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Cybercrime, Privacy, and Ethics: Domestic and International Implications
11:30 a.m. EST

This program will present a detailed discussion of the domestic and international implications of cybercrime and related issues. The panel will give examples of how terrorists use the Internet to achieve their goals, discuss the laws in place for combating terrorists, and determine how these laws are balanced with privacy and ethical concerns. Issues that will be addressed by our panelists include: hacking and similar unauthorized access; identity theft; cyber-terrorism and information warfare; and the use of malicious software. Click Here for more information.

ABA INTERNATIONAL CO-SPONSORED PROGRAMS

February 17, 2007
UIA, 2nd Winter Seminar, Representations, Warranties and Indemnifications in M&A's - Pitfalls and Best Practices for Structuring as well as Litigating and Arbitrating them
Sestriere , Italy – (Site of the Olympic Winter Games 2006)

Seminar co-sponsored by the ABA, Section of Litigation , International Litigation Committee and the ABA, Section of International Law , International M&A Joint Venture Committee Ordine degli Avvocati di Turino

March 29-30, 2007
DirectWomen Institute and Awards Luncheon
Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York

The DirectWomen Institute and Awards Ceremony, an ABA Presidential Initiative, is designed to identify, develop, and support a select group of accomplished women attorneys to provide qualified directors needed by the boards of U.S. companies, while promoting the independence and diversity needed for good corporate governance. Click here for more information.

COMMITTEES

ABA INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE HOME PAGES
Check out all of our committee home pages — not only will you find more content, you'll find updated leadership rosters have already been posted. Recently updated home pages of particular interest include:

Customs Law Committee
Africa Law Committee
International Securities & Capital Markets Committee
Asia/Pacific Committee
China Law Committee
International Environmental Law Committee
NGO & Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee

ABA INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE NEWSLETTERS
ABA International offers no less than 18 substantive newsletters. Links to the most recent edition of several newsletters are set forth below:

International Mergers & Acquisitions Committee: December 2006 Newsletter
The International Employment Law Committee: Employment Lawyer Fall 2006 Newsletter
International Human Rights Committee: Weekly E-Briefs
Anti-Corruption Initiatives & Compliance Issues Committee: December 2006 Newsletter
International Health Law Committee: January 2007 Newsletter

If you wish to join any other committees, you can do so on-line, as well. To be active and get on the more limited steering group listserve, you will find the proper coordinates on-line.

ESSENTIAL INTERNATIONAL BOOKS

International Practitioner's Deskbook Series: Trade Remedies for Global Companies The field of international labor and employment law is developing rapidly and changing to fit the needs of increasingly global businesses. This book examines topics including employment contracts, hiring, wages and benefits, labor unions, workforce issues, discrimination issues, and dismissal from the following 13 countries: Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, and France.

The book provides helpful, practical guidance to international corporate lawyers who confront labor and employment problems in structuring corporate transactions. The focus of the book is on practical issues and the contributors are leading labor lawyers in numerous important jurisdictions.

International and Employment Law is the eighth book in The International Practitioner's Deskbook Series, which is comprised of practical guides to subject matters frequently encountered by international practitioners. Click here to order your copy.

IN MEMORIAM

Judge Edward D. Re
Former Section Chair Edward D. Re died in September 2006 at the age of 85.

Judge Re was the first Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade. He also previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, with jurisdiction over the Fulbright Program in the earliest years of that program. He also chaired the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.

Judge Re will best be remembered for leading efforts to create the U.S. Court of International Trade, which finally happened with the enactment of the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The new U.S. Court of International Trade—a national court located in New York City—had broader jurisdiction and more remedies than the U.S. Customs Court. In 1991, he retired after 23 years of federal judicial service and was named Chief Judge Emeritus of the U.S. Court of International Trade.

His vibrant energy, good humor, and intense passion for the rule of law were an inspiration to many. He was an immigrant from Italy and was fluent in several languages.

After retiring from the federal bench, he was named Distinguished Professor of Law at St. John’s University School of Law in New York. He had already been teaching at that school since 1947, having become a professor after serving in World War II as a Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Air Force. Judge Re taught Appellate Advocacy, International Law, and Remedies to hundreds of students. He authored many articles and books on appellate advocacy, legal writing, international law, and comparative law. He received 20 honorary degrees from universities in the United States and abroad.

He was chair of the ABA Section of International Law from 1965 to 1967.

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