From the Secretary-General, March 2012

Dear IPBA Members,

 

After a year of political and economic turmoil in 2011 which was further beset by several major natural disasters, we are looking forward to a benign and less dramatic year. But elections in major countries are certain to affect the political outlook of the world, and as the world tries to move ahead of the economic perils of the various monetary crises in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, there is bound to be more drama in 2012.

 

In times of economic turmoil and uncertainty, businesses, including law firms, tend to tighten their belts and cut back on what would be considered "unnecessary" costs. Certain to be included in such cutbacks are funding for attendance at international conferences such as the 2012 IPBA Annual Meeting and Conference in New Delhi, India held from 29 February to 3 March 2012. As I write this, the conference has yet to happen, but as you read this, the conference would have already concluded. So I may have more to say on the conference in hindsight later. Despite the economic downturn of the world economy, as of this writing, the Host Committee for the Delhi Conference had announced that 775 individuals have registered for the conference. (The Host Committee has since reported that there were almost 900 delegates in attendance.)

 

The annual conference is the highlight event for the IPBA each year, and much planning goes into the organization and hosting of an annual conference. Each Host Committee retains a conference organizer to assist in the planning and preparation of the conference, but each Host Committee member shoulders a vast workload during the two to three years prior to the conference as the annual conference is being planned. Various officers of the IPBA, most notably the Program Coordinator and Deputy Program Coordinator, get involved in the details of the programs to be presented at the conference. The Secretariat provides its able assistance. Many council members chip in long hours on the phone and on e-mails.

 

Knowing the work that it entails, it amazes me that each year there are numerous jurisdictions that offer proposals to host the annual conference. To date, the next annual conference is scheduled for Seoul, South Korea in April 2013. That will be followed by one in Vancouver, Canada in May 2014. The annual conference for April 2015 will be decided at the Mid-Year Meeting to be held later this year in New Zealand. The Nominating Committee of the IPBA will be reviewing proposals in the next several weeks and months to offer its nomination to the IPBA Council in New Zealand. Several jurisdictions are expected to submit proposals for the annual conference, and the nomination for the 2015 annual conference should be a heated one.

 

During my many years of involvement with the IPBA, several of you have asked me when the annual conference will be held in Hawaii. Over the years, the Hawaii members of the IPBA have often discussed this issue and have felt that the infrastructure of large law firms in Hawaii is inadequate to support a major undertaking like an IPBA annual conference. Citing various other reasons, we have managed to hold off serious calls for an annual conference to be held in Hawaii. Most recently, at the Kyoto Annual Meeting and Conference in 2011, our fearless then-President asked the Hawaii members to consider submitting a proposal for an annual conference in Hawaii. Since one of the members who would be on the Host Committee (yours truly) was to be tied up for the next two years in a key position with the IPBA (Secretary-General), the Hawaii members again managed a reprieve.

 

So Hawaii will not be the venue for the annual conference in 2015, either, but if you have any thoughts on which jurisdiction you would like to see host an IPBA annual conference in the future, please feel free to contact me or any of the officers of the IPBA. An annual conference may be coming to your (my?) jurisdiction soon.