IBA Annual Conference Copenhagen 2026
4 Oct - 9 Oct 2026
Session information
A matter of purpose: how values and meaning impact next gen lawyers on their career decisions
Thursday 8 October (1615 - 1730)
Committee(s)
Academic and Professional Development Committee
(Lead)
Judges' Forum
Description
More than 50 per cent of lawyers under 40 identify meaningful work as essential for their career, confirming that values and purpose now play a central role in new lawyers’ career decisions.
This session will explore how purpose-driven lawyering is impacting the attraction and retention of talent, and also how this requirement of purpose is influencing firm culture, education, leadership and client relationships. It will invite participants to reflect on how meaning and impact can coexist with excellence, performance, and profitability.
Session / Workshop Chair(s)
| Helena Abdo | Lobo de Rizzo Advogados, São Paulo, Brazil; Membership Officer, Academic and Professional Development Committee |
Speakers
| Johannes Hedegaard | Bruun & Hjejle, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Professor Martin Hogg | University of Galway School of Law, Galway, Ireland; Treasurer, Academic and Professional Development Committee |
| Alexandra Skov Jakobsen | Plesner, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Yash Jangid | Chambers of Yash Jangid, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India; Asia Pacific Regional Forum Liaison Officer, Academic and Professional Development Committee |
| Justice Ngozika Okaisabor | Court of Appeal, Abuja, Nigeria; Member, Judges' Forum Advisory Board |
| Hin Han Shum | Squire Patton Boggs, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong SAR; Communications Officer, Young Lawyers' Committee |