From the Secretary-General, July 2010

As many of you know, the IPBA had a very successful Annual Meeting and Conference in Singapore from 2-5 May 2010, drawing over 1000 participants. Our theme was "Climate Change and Legal Practice" and the IPBA has the distinction of holding the first public conference of lawyers in Asia to address this critical issue and the challenges that it poses for humankind. Our distinguished speakers included former US Vice-President Al Gore, Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, chief justices of the Supreme Courts in the Asia-Pacific Region and many others. The many substantive programs were also very well attended with excellent presentations and spurred spirited discussions, and often addressed key subjects from differing legal practice perspectives. The social and recreational programs greatly enhanced the meeting and provided rewarding networking opportunities for all involved.

 

It is true that contrary to assurances given to the Singapore Host Committee, the conference hotel and meeting venue were not physically and operationally completed by the time that the Annual Meeting and Conference commenced. This was a source of frustration and inconvenience, notwithstanding the good intentions of most hotel and venue staff. But, this did not detract from the overall accomplishments of the Annual Meeting and Conference, and the warm and generous hospitality of the Singapore Host Committee and their partners who worked tirelessly toward making this meeting a successful and memorable one. We all extend our deepest and sincerest appreciation to them.

 

The accomplishments of the Singapore Annual Meeting and Conference continue the course that the IPBA has set in articulating its vision in its Strategic Plan: To be the leading association for business lawyers with an interest in the Asia-Pacific Region. Underlying this vision are the IPBA's core values, which the Strategic Plan articulates as: having respect for each other and building on the strength of our cultural diversity; creating friendships that bind our members; ensuring integrity in dealing with and for our members; striving for excellence in our performance; being non-political in eschewing politically partisan and ideological matters; and promoting the rule of law as a basic principle of private and public government.

 

Based on the Strategic Plan adopted in 2006, the Singapore Annual Meeting and Conference built upon the work of previous Annual Meetings in Los Angeles and Manila, and continues to strengthen and broaden the IPBA's organizational, membership, and program development capabilities. Our next Annual Meeting and Conference will be in Kyoto, Japan, from 21-24 April 2011. The theme will be "Innovation" and will center on exploring the legal and business implications of scientific, technological, and organizational advances in all areas of human activities. These are the bases upon which globalization continues to transform how we live, act, and interact. The Kyoto Annual Meeting and Conference will also focus on how to deal with current and future societal issues and challenges. As with Singapore's focus on climate change, Kyoto's focus deliberately expands beyond the traditional bounds of legal practice issues to identify and explore how law and legal practice are being shaped by, and are helping to shape, the nature of business and how business is and will be conducted in the future.

 

The Kyoto Annual Meeting and Conference will have added significance. The venue will be the historic Kyoto International Convention Center, where the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was concluded in December 1997. For the IPBA specifically, 2011 will be the 20th anniversary of the IPBA's first annual meeting and conference, which was held in Tokyo in 1991. The 2011 meeting will thus mark a signal accomplishment not only for the IPBA but also for the lasting ties that the IPBA has created and nurtured, binding lawyers throughout and beyond the Asia-Pacific Region to his major part of the world.

 

Similarly, planning has begun for the IPBA's subsequent Annual Meeting and Conference to be held in New Delhi, India from 29 February to 3 March 2012. As the Asia-Pacific countries continue to strengthen regional economic relationships, emerging economies of India and China have assumed a major role in helping to shape the dimensions of this regional economy. As part of the BRIC group, together with Brazil, Russia and China, India's own economic, trade, and investment reach extends beyond this region and is contributing significantly to the global economy. The IPBA 2012 Annual Meeting and Conference in India thus promises to be another important accomplishment that will build upon the Kyoto meeting and enhance opportunities for IPBA members.

 

The IPBA will also conduct a regional program on issues arising in doing business between Asian and European firms. This program, to be held on 18 October 2010 in Stuttgart, Germany, centers on "Asian Counterparts in Corporate Transactions - Asian and European Perspectives" and will explore how firms from both regions regard the challenges and opportunities in doing business with each other an in these two regions. This will be held in conjunction with the IPBA Council's Mid-Year Meeting from 15-18 October 2010 in Stuttgart. It will provide an important opportunity for the IPBA to involve our European members and help to strengthen our presence in Europe.

 

As we are constantly aware, the globalization of economic relations affects virtually all aspects of business and human affairs. The beneficial aspects of globalization have encouraged the expansion of business activities, the creation of wealth and the reduction of poverty, the economic and social development of developing countries, the emergence of the middle class in many countries, the creation and spread of opportunities for many, and among other benefits, the promotion of the rule of law in public and private dimensions of societies. At the same time, the "dark side" of globalization has emerged from many different fronts, including intense vulnerabilities of interdependent economic and financial systems, the rapid spread of economic turmoil globally through "contagion", increasing disparities of wealth and increasing inequality within and among countries, the spread of crime and corruption, the strains on pubic and private populations and rising expectations, and, among other problems, much broader issues such as climate change, regional pollution, increasing shortages of potable water, natural food sources, and other resources to meet basic human needs.

 

Many of these issues have not traditionally fallen within the boundaries of what we regard as "business law". Yes, as the changing nature of businesses, the evolving manner in which business must be conducted today, and the emergence of multiple "stakeholders" who are affected by business and the conduct of business and seek to voice their concerns all attest, so too the nature of "business law" has expanded far beyond its traditional bounds. This is intensified by the transnational and cross-border nature of business today. This has already given rise to major problems for business lawyers but has also created significant and rewarding opportunities for creative and effective approaches to help deal with these. The IPBA remains committed to continue to address these emerging dimensions of law and business and will continue to involve our members in pursuit of this critically important goal.