Membership Benefits
Contact Suresh Divyanathan or Mitsuru Claire Chino if you have any questions regarding membership!
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Membership Committee Chair |
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Membership Committee Vice-Chair Mitsuru Claire Chino Itochu Corporation 2-5-1 Kita Aoyama Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8077 Japan Tel. 81-3-3497-4046 Fax 81-3-3497-4039 E-mail: chino-m@itochu.co.jp |
What is the IPBA?
The Inter-Pacific Bar Association ("IPBA") is an international association of business and commercial lawyers who live in, or otherwise have a strong interest in, the Asia-Pacific region. It was established in April 1991 at an inaugural conference held in Tokyo attended by more than 500 lawyers from the Asia-Pacific region.
Why You Should Join the IPBA
1. Asia - the Economic Growth Engine of the World
Asia is the fastest growing region in the world, covering 30% of the world's land mass, yet with 60% of the world's population. In the last decade, China's average GDP growth was 10.5% per year. India averaged over 7% growth a year, while South Korea averaged more than 4% a year in the same decade. If you want to expand your legal business, you need to be engaged with people throughout Asia.
2. IPBA - the Pre-Eminent Bar Association in the Asia-Pacific
The IPBA has over 1,450 members in more than 60 jurisdictions worldwide and a track record of 20 years of successful annual conferences throughout the Asia-Pacific. IPBA members aren't just practitioners in the big cities. The IPBA has a wide network of members throughout the Asia-Pacific from Shandong in the north to Guangdong in the south of China; from Kolkata to Bangalore in India; and even outside of the Asia-Pacific from Cyprus to Chile, London to New York. With 21 legal committees to choose from, the IPBA also has representatives in the entire spectrum of business and commercial legal work. The IPBA is a close-knit organization so you will always be able to make new friends, whether in the same area of law across the world, or from your own neighborhood across different practice areas.
3. The Annual Conference and Member Get-Togethers
Taking place in a different city every year, the highlight of the IPBA calendar is undoubtedly the Annual Meeting and Conference. In 2010 the Annual Meeting and Conference was held in Singapore on the theme "Climate Change & Legal Practice". With keynote speakers including Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, the 2010 Singapore Conference also featured 20 legal panels and sessions and attracted over 1,000 attendees. The 2011 Annual Meeting and Conference took place in Kyoto/Osaka from April 21st to 24th and was highly successful despite the tragic events in northern Japan earlier in the year. Over 800 lawyers from around the world attended the 29 panels and sessions in Kyoto on the conference theme, "Innovation". The Annual Meeting and Conference is moving on to New Delhi in 2012 and Seoul in 2013. Apart from the Annual Conference, the IPBA sponsors other regional events, including an annual Asia M&A conference in Hong Kong and IPBA Leadership Committees in most major jurisdictions also organize annual local seminars and sometimes even golf tournaments so that local members keep in touch even if they can not travel to attend the Annual Meeting and Conferences.
4. Conference and Seminar Savings for IPBA Members
As members of a well-respected organization, IPBA members are frequently offered generous discounts at other legal seminars and conferences organized throughout the Asia-Pacific. in 2010, IPBA members were offered over US$1,400 in cumulative savings for conferences and seminars held that year.
5. Make Yourself Known Through Our Membership Directory, the IPBA Journal, and Speaking Opportunities
As a member, you will also appear in the IPBA directory of members, an important reference source for potential referrals among IPBA members (and now also potential referrals through APEC, as noted below). Also as a member, you are eligible to be considered as a speaker at an Annual Conference and may submit substantive papers that will be considered for publication in the IPBA Journal, a professional publication issued quarterly in partnership with Lexis-Nexis.
6. Corporate Counsel Participation
Recognizing the importance of the role of corporate counsel in Asia-Pacific legal affairs, the IPBA has taken the steps to further welcome the participation of in-house corporate counsel as members, speakers, and conference participants. For example, in light of company budgetary constraints, the IPBA has recently reduced both membership fees and the Annual Meeting and Conference registration fees for corporate counsel to further encourage their participation.
7. IPBA and APEC Cooperation
In 2010, the IPBA and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ("APEC") forum concluded a memorandum to bring both organizations closer together to help promote trade and cross-border investment in the Asia-Pacific. The first act in this new are of cooperation is for the IPBA members' directory to be made available to all APEC officials as well as private parties who are interested in finding legal resources within the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the first joint session between APEC and the IPBA was held at the Kyoto Annual Conference.
How to Join the IPBA
You can now sign up for IPBA membership or renew your IPBA membership online! Use the online registration form on this web site, or e-mail the IPBA Secretariat at ipba@ipba.org.