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Dear Members, The Section of International Law serves as your Gateway to International Practice. This entails a responsibility which is, at the same time, a pleasure: engaging with and maintaining a network of distinguished jurists and bar leaders around the world. To this end, ABA International's senior leadership just completed the 2008 International Bar Leaders Trip to Kyiv, Moscow, and Tbilisi. This trip gave us an opportunity to exchange ideas and information with our local hosts regarding issues of mutual interest and concern. Just as importantly, it enabled our Section to establish a framework for routine contacts and future collaboration with Ukrainian, Russian, and Georgian bar associations and legal institutions — including the judiciary, law schools, and relevant ministries — at a level comparable to those already existing between ABA International and similar bodies and institutions in other strategically important countries. It also gave us a better appreciation of the important work that our colleagues from the ABA Rule of Law Initiative and ABA CEELI are doing in this part of the world. ABA International owes its thanks to our hosts and to the members of the local planning committees in each city who devoted significant time and effort to ensure the success of our visits. It was, as you would expect for this time of year in the region, cold outside — but we were very warmly received. And special thanks go to ABA International Staff Assistant Jacqueline Powers, whose valiant efforts ensured the success of the trip. Other bar leader outreaches during the month of January included meetings with The Law Society of England and Wales, the Beijing Bar Association, the China National Bar Association, and the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations, representation at the Rentree du Barreau de Bruxelles, and an address to the Ankara Bar Association Congress. Another busy month! However, February beckons and with it the opportunity to meet up in sunny Los Angeles for the ABA Midyear Meeting (February 6–12). The Section is offering a terrific slate of programs — touching on the topics of balancing the demands of work and life, international trends in birthright citizenship, and emerging trends in alternative dispute resolution in China — and we will host a reception in honor of international and local bar leaders on Thursday, February 7, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. For more information, click here. Join us at this our next stopover on ABA International's global tour promoting: "International Law, World Class"
ON THE POLICY FRONT In January, the Section Council approved joint comments with the ABA Section of Antitrust Law on the Canadian Competition Policy Review Panel consultation paper Sharpening Canada's Competitive Edge. The Panel was created to review Canada's competition and investment policies and legislation. Click here to read the comments online.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT ABA-ROLI The ABA Rule of Law Initiative has several job opportunities available in Washington, D.C., and overseas. Click here for more information.
For updates on programming and events, visit our Section calendar on-line at www.abanet.org/intlaw/calendar. February 6–12, 2008 10:00am - 12:00pm: Work Life Balance Pays! Don’t miss the Reception in Honor of International and Local Bar Leaders: This ticketed event at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on February 7 will honor international bar leaders and is open to all meeting attendees. February 6, 2008 February 8, 2008 For more information, click here. Please RSVP to intlaw@abanet.org. March 31, 2008 April 1–5, 2008
2008 Spring Meeting, The Grand Hyatt, NYC –REGISTER TODAY! 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. Get a head start and register for the 2008 Spring Meeting at the Early Bird Discount Rate. This one-time rate expires February 22, so don’t delay. Click here to register and view the preliminary 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. May 6, 2008 May 8–9, 2008 August 6–7, 2008 August 8–10, 2008 August 28, 2008 September 24–27, 2008
ABA INTERNATIONAL CO-SPONSORED PROGRAMS March 8, 2008 April 27 – 30, 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. Click here for a full list of ABA International Co-Sponsored Programs
KEY UPCOMING DEADLINES International Law News Deadlines:
PATHWAYS TO CAREERS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW The Pathways to Employment in International Law National Tour kicked off 2008 programs this month. The first such program, the New York International Lawyers Forum, held on January 25, was a rousing success, with a turnout double that of last year’s event. If you are interested in being a speaker at any upcoming programs, please contact Angela Benson:
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. Mark your calendars for these upcoming teleconference programs: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Thursday, February 28, 2008
Chair-Elect Addresses International Criminal Bar Chair-Elect Aaron Schildhaus addressed members of the International Criminal Bar (ICB) at its third General Assembly on December 8, 2007, in New York City. Afterwards, ABA International sponsored a reception for ICB members. Created in 2002, the ICB is a unique nongovernmental association of lawyers and national and regional bar associations from all parts of the world that represents and advances the interests of counsel for defendants, victims and witnesses before the International Criminal Court. More than 100 individuals from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia registered to attend the event, including representatives of groups such as the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, the Inter-American Bar Association (La Federación Interamericana de Abogados), the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association, the Canadian Bar Association, Union Internationale des Avocats, and the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations. ABA International Hosts Program in Ghana In conjunction with the Ghana Bar Association, the Section organized a one-day program on January 9, on Alternative Dispute Resolution, in Accra, Ghana. More than two hundred attendees heard speakers from both the United States and Ghana address topics including recent developments in international litigation and arbitration, the growing use of ADR in commercial litigation in Ghana, drafting dispute resolution clauses in international agreements, enforcement of arbitration awards and the use of mediation to resolve disputes quickly, efficiently, and economically. The program was opened by Mr. Nii Ossah Mills, the President of the Ghana Bar Association, who noted this was the first time the Ghana Bar and the ABA worked together to produce a joint program, and past Section Chair Deborah Enix-Ross, who led the 2007 ILEX delegation to Ghana in connection with that country’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of its independence. The Honorable Georgina Theodora Wood, Chief Justice of the Ghana Supreme Court, gave an opening address and other members of the Ghanaian judiciary served as panelists. U.S. speakers included the Honorable James A. Wynn, Jr., Senior Associate Justice, North Carolina Court of Appeals and Chair of the ABA Judicial Division, H. Thomas Wells, ABA President Elect, and Edna Udobong, Co-Chair of both the Africa Committee and the ILEX Task Force. Special thanks go to our Ghanaian program co-chairs and Section members, Nene Amegatcher and Jacob Saah, for their invaluable assistance. Copies of the program and conference papers are available online at www.abanet.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=IC550555. Chair Addresses Ankara Bar Association At the invitation of the President of the Ankara Bar Association, Chair Jeff Golden addressed the 2008 Ankara Bar Association International Law Congress in Ankara, Turkey, on January 9, with remarks focusing on the rule of law and economic development.
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’ll also find updated leadership rosters. Recently updated Committee home pages include:
ABA INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE NEWSLETTERS ABA International offers no fewer than 21 substantive newsletters. Links to the most recent edition of several newsletters are set forth below:
ABA INTERNATIONAL BROWN BAG PROGRAMS Brown bag programs are free of charge. For more information, please contact Tally White at whitet@staff.abanet.org. Thursday, February 5, 2008 Thursday, February 21, 2008 Join a Committee today!
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