Membership

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. If you want to expand your legal business, you need to be engaged with people throughout Asia.

The IPBA has close to 1500 members in nearly 70 jurisdictions worldwide and a track record of over 30 years of successful annual conferences around the world. With 24 specialist committees, one sub-committee, and one ad-hoc committee from which to choose, the IPBA has representatives in the entire spectrum of business and commercial legal work. We are 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.

Taking place in a different city every year, the highlight of the IPBA calendar is undoubtedly the Annual General Meeting and Conference. With 600 to 1000 delegates, the conferences are small enough so that everyone can enjoy the events and sessions without feeling like just part of a crowd.

In addition to the Annual Conference, the IPBA holds regional events on an annual basis, such as the IPBA Arbitration Day and the IPBA East Asia Forum as well as one-off events on trending topics of commercial law.

As part of a well-respected organization, IPBA members are frequently offered generous discounts at events organized by other associations and entities throughout the Asia-Pacific. You can be assured that events carrying the IPBA name have the same high quality as IPBA events. Check out calendar of events for more information.

As a member, you will also appear in the IPBA online Membership Directory, 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 the Annual Conference and locally organized IPBA events, and may submit substantive papers that will be considered for publication in the IPBA Journal, our professional publication issued quarterly.

Recognizing the importance of the role of corporate counsel in Asia-Pacific legal affairs, the IPBA has taken steps to further welcome the participation of in-house corporate counsel as members, speakers, and conference participants. In light of company budgetary constraints, the IPBA has reduced both membership fees and the Annual Meeting and Conference registration fees for corporate counsel, to make it easier to participate in IPBA activities.

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 2011 Kyoto/Osaka Annual Conference, and at every conference since then.