IBA highlights showcase sessions for 2015 conference
The International Bar Association (IBA) has unveiled its showcase sessions for the 2015 conference, taking place in Vienna, Austria.
Interesting among these, are the LPD SHOWCASE on Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, presented by the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee; and the IBA SHOWCASE on combating judicial corruption.
The LPD showcase is an exceptional session expected to bring together the originators of the UN Global Compact and the UNGPs, former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and former UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie, to discuss their vision of the UNGPs and the positive role that lawyers can play in their implementation.
Other equally interesting sessions include the PPID Showcase titled, “blurred lines – what it means to be a lawyer in the 21st century.” This session presented by an assortment of committees namely, the Bar Issues Commission, the Section on Public and Professional Interest, the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, the Judges’ Forum, the Multidisciplinary Practices Committee, the Professional Ethics Committee and the Regulation of Lawyers’ Compliance Committee, will focus on what it means – or should mean to be a lawyer and what distinguishes the legal profession from all others.
Discussions will address how best to maintain key attributes of providing access to justice, independence, confidentiality and freedom from conflicts of interest. Speakers and discussants will examine the ‘blurred lines’ given the many different regulatory approaches that now exist to permit the ‘practice of law’ by non-lawyers, accountants, listed companies, legal service providers, multidisciplinary firms and many other alternatives.
The IBA annual conference is the largest gathering of the international legal community in the world, with more than 180 working sessions covering all areas of practice relevant to international legal practitioners.
The conference is an opportunity for lawyers to generate new business with leading firms in the world’s key cities.
With more than 1,000 international companies coordinating their regional activities from Austria, Vienna as the hub for Central and Eastern European business, is believed to be a fitting and inspiring setting for the 2015 Conference. Over 300 international companies have their CEE headquarters in Vienna and it is the seat of several international organisations such as OPEC and the third United Nations Headquarters.