I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of our colleagues from around the world who have directed their thoughts, prayers, good wishes and contributions for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Over 100 Section members in the Gulf coast region are among those victims. Please join American Bar Association efforts to assist hurricane victims in the coming days and weeks.  Volunteer lawyers will assist with insurance claims,

home repair contracts, wills and other documents, and related issues.  To learn more about these opportunities, visit the ABA homepage at www.abanet.org. Your time and resources are needed. I hope you have taken advantage of the opportunity we are offering to join one or more of the Section’s more than 50 substantive and regional committees and register for their listserves at no charge. As I have mentioned, if you aren’t a committee member you are getting less than half the benefits of membership in the ABA Section of International Law (ABA International). This has never been more true, as the committees are focused heavily this year on enhanced substantive communications with members, and many committees now offer newsletters and/or active list serves providing substantive information of great value to committee members. If you haven’t yet joined a committee, you can take a look at committee resources by clicking here, and then sign up for one or more committees. This Fall will be an active time for ABA International. Our Fall programs are right around the corner so don’t forget to register for these dynamic events. Links to many of these programs are set forth later in this newsletter. The big event of the season will be our Fall Meeting in Brussels – early bird rate ends September 22nd. The Fall Meeting will present over 40 CLE programs split into six program tracks presenting a rich pistache of programs for every type of international practitioner – Dispute Resolution, Finance, Antitrust, Trade Law, Commerical/Business and Public International Law. There will be two big receptions and a dinner, and two of these events will be held in palaces. For more information or to sign up, click here. We look forward to seeing you in Brussels. Preceding the Fall Meeting, there will be a 40 person delegation to The Hague. Register immediately, as space is filling-up. The Hague agenda includes a meeting with senior leaders of the International Criminal Court, briefings on the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal and Hague Conference on Private International Law, and two receptions. Preference will be given to early bird registrants for the Fall Meeting. Register here. I am pleased to report that our much anticipated Year-in-Review issue of The International Lawyer will be published later this month. Watch for this issue in the mail. It contains concise descriptions of important international legal developments in dozens of subject areas including antitrust, environmental law, trade, commercial dispute resolution, litigation, immigration, health law, securities, anti-money laundering and transnational legal practice, among many others. Although the ABA year has just started, the Nominating Committee, under the leadership of Immediate Past Chair Ken Reisenfeld, has already started its consideration of candidates for ABA International’s top officer positions. If you wish to propose someone for nomination, please email intlaw-chairnom@abanet.org. ABA International continues to be the gateway to international practice and the international community for the 400,000 members of the ABA. We are pleased that you are among them. Michael H. Byowitz, Section Chair

Two Section members - Michael Scharf, Director of the International Law Center at Case Western Reserve Univeristy in Cleveland and Lelia Sadat, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis – together with Ruth Wedgwood, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC and Section Council-At-Large member, were interviewed for an article titled “Warming Trend: U.S. Position on Darfur Suggests It May Have Found a Way to Live With the ICC” in the September 2005 issue of the ABA Journal. Keep an eye out for this article.

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES

Next week, many of the top officers of ABA International (Chair Michael Byowitz, Chair-Elect Deborah Enix Ross, Vice Chair Jeff Golden, Finance Officer Aaron Schildhaus, Secretary/Laiason Officer Darrell Prescott, Membership Officer Gabriel Buckley, Josh Markus, Section Delegate to ABA House of Delegates, and Technology Officer Michael Burke) will participate in the annual ABA Section Officers Conference (SOC) in Chicago. The SOC is the part of the Association in which ABA Sections, Divisions and Forums meet to advocate the collective interests of the Sections, consider and act upon matters of concern to the Sections, and promote communication, cooperation and coordination among the Sections and with other parts of the Assocation. This year’s theme is “Leadership, Professionalism and Service: Common Goals for the Common Good.”

Just Published!  International Litigation Strategies and Practice This new book focuses on the strategy and practice of international litigation. Twenty-three seasoned contributors offer their firsthand insights to make this volume an essential resource for practitioners involved in any international litigation.

Part One discusses the essentials, including finding the right lawyer for the job overseas, communicating with foreign clients and lawyers, understanding the differences and similarities between civil law and common law systems, avoiding ethics traps, and introducing the U.S. legal system to your foreign clients. Part Two addresses the strategic decisions and practice tools necessary to successfully initiate, defend, and conclude a transnational case. Issues covered include international mediation, selection of forum, provisional measures, defense strategies, anti-suit injunctions, obtaining evidence abroad, and enforcing foreign judgments in the U.S. Part Three covers special problems and tribunals. This material introduces you to specialized international fora and problems so that you can assess whether they merit further evaluation. Twenty-three seasoned contributors offer their firsthand insights to make this volume an essential resource for practitioners involved in any international litigation. International Litigation Strategies and Practice is the fifth title in the International Practitioner's Deskbook Series, which is comprised of practical guides to subject matters frequently encountered by international practitioners. To learn more about other Section publications, click here.

September 27, 2005
Section Outreach Breakfast a the International Bar Association Annual Conference
Those of you who will be attending the IBA meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, should be sure to attend this Breakfast at which top leaders of the ABA (President Mike Greco, former President Jerry Shustack and Executive Director Bob Stein) and the Section of International Law (Chair Mike Byowitz, Immediate Past Chair and IBA Liaison Kenneth Reisenfeld, Vice Chair Jeff Golden, Publications Officer Sallie Swartz and Membership Officer Gabriel Buckley) will discuss ABA and Section activities, technical legal assistance projects, upcoming conferences, meetings and programs, and policy initiatives of interest to practitioners and bar leaders from around the world. The discussion will also focus on collaboration efforts between the ABA, the Section and IBA on issues such as the United Nations, corruption, and legal services. For more information, click here.
Prague, Czech Republic

September 28-30, 2005
The World Trade Organization at 10 and the Road to Hong Kong
Co-sponsored by the Washington International Trade Associate (WITA), this program will comprise of panels covering 16 key areas. The goal is not to create a survey of all the different areas of negotiation; rather, to provide the opportunity for a focused discussion of the most critical issues and solid, constructive proposals to reaching a positive result speedily. Time for each panel segment will be split evenly between (a) initial presentations that summarize the key issues and outline specific proposals for resolving them, (b) brief comments by the other panelists, and (c) discussion among the panel and with the audience. The emphasis will be on discussion and debate, rather than lengthy exposition. Moderators will enforce time limits strictly.

The program will kick-off on Thursday, September 29 with a breakfast open to symposium registrants with two Members of Congress offering their views on the WTO and WTO negotiations. For a more detailed agenda regarding on the WTO symposium and to register please click here.
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC

October 6, 2005
Live From the SEC
For the sixth year, ABA International, in conjunction with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, will broadcast live from the SEC. Join us as a video or teleconference site! For more information and to register for Live From the SEC, click here.
Securities & Exchange Commission and locations throughout the world.

November 11, 2005
60th Anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials
Learn more about the profound impact on international jurisprudence of the trials of Nazi war criminals by the Allied countries at the end of World War II. Featuring first-hand accounts from former prosecutors who participated at Nuremberg (including former Section Chairs Whitney Harris and Henry King) and discussion by legal experts of the impact of this watershed event on efforts to try the perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and the establishment of the International Criminal Court. This is an opportunity that you will not want to miss. For more information about the Nuremburg Program and to register, click here.
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC

November 14-15, 2005
National Institute on Economic Sanctions
Nine panels of experts will review all aspects of economic sanctions, from agency jurisdiction, compliance programs and enforcement to the future of sanctions and the extraterritoriality of U.S. sanctions. This is the premier conference on economic sanctions in the world and should be attended by all lawyers with interest in the area. For more information about the Economic Sanctions Program and to register, click here.
Capitol Hilton, Washington, DC

UPCOMING ABA INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

2005-2006 Calendar of Events

Exceptional Long Distance Learning Opportunities
The 21st Century Lawyer: International Fundamentals & Hot Topics
The Programs Committee is presently working on the 2005-06 CLE teleconference series, building on the great success of our teleconferences last fiscal year which drew over 1,000 registrants on over two dozen “hot” international practice topics – stay tuned for program updates.

for ABA International’s Spring Meeting April 5-8, 2006 at the Waldorf-Astoria. 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 spectacular meeting.

		The Annual Meeting will have a distinct Asian flavor with many programs of mutual interest to US lawyers and the many Asian lawyers who are expected to attend. ABA International is planning on offering a strong slate of CLE programming, an international reception at the Army Museum of Hawaii on Friday evening, August 4, a dinner at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Saturday night, August
5, and a reception on Sunday, August 6, at a location to be announced. The Meeting will be family-friendly with no programs or events scheduled in the afternoons so that you may enjoy the many sights and activities available on the beautiful island of Oahu. Bring the family or at least your golf clubs, tennis racket, bathing suit and/or site seeing accoutrements. We are staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, a large hotel conveniently located at the end of Waikiki, and close to the beautiful new Honolulu Convention Center, where our CLE programs will be presented. Be sure to request the Ali’i Tower, where ABA International leadership and most members will be staying, and register as soon as possible since spaces in this tower are limited. You will also want to buy a CLE passport so you can attend all Section and ABA programming. This is a meeting you won’t want to miss, so please register now. Now is also the time to get great airfares.

Recently-updated webpages of particular interest include:

International Antitrust Committee homepage, and policy page.

Environmental Committee homepage, library page, and links page.

Export Controls homepage.

Transportation Committee library page, and links page.

Asia/Pacific Committee - Summer 2005

International Criminal Law Committee - July 2005

International Environmental Law Committee - June 2005

International Health Law Committee - September 2005

Immigration & Nationalization Law Committee - Summer 2005

Latin America & Caribbean Committee - June 2005

International Securities and Capital Markets Committee - July 2005