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The IBA’s response to the situation in Ukraine
This handbook is designed as a reference guide for any officer within the SPPI. Regardless of how long you have been participating in the IBA, you will inevitably have questions about policies and procedures and this tool can be your first stop in quickly obtaining answers.
Our aim is to provide support for your term in office so that it is as productive and rewarding as you wish it to be. For any queries, please contact rebecca.ruler@int-bar.org .
The principal objectives of the IBA are:
The IBA works towards these objectives in three main areas of activity:
The IBA is governed through a two-tier management structure.
The Management Board has responsibility for the management of the business of the Association as a whole, including its finances and other particular functions. The Management Board is subject to the general direction of the IBA Council.
The IBA Council has ultimate responsibility for the Association with the following particular functions:
For more detail regarding the governance of the Council, please see the IBA Constitution, which may be downloaded from the IBA website here.
The election of the IBA Officers is based on the recommendations of the Nominations Committee. More information concerning the process of nominations and elections, and the duties of the IBA Officers, can be found in the IBA Constitution, from the IBA website here.
The IBA Officers consist of the following positions:
The IBA President is the most senior officer of the Association, elected biennially by the Council, chairing and reporting to the Management Board and the Council. The President is the Association’s principal representative and spokesperson and has the principal responsibility for setting the agenda and developing strategy for the Association as a whole.
The Vice-President works closely with the President and his/her principal functions are to deputise for the President, to attend meetings of the Management Board and to perform such tasks as the President or the Management Board may invite him/her to perform.
The Secretary-General’s principal responsibility is the membership, both organisational and individual. He/she is also responsible for developing and enhancing the relationship between the Association and the Member Organisations (in consultation with the President and Vice-President) and for all procedural and constitutional matters.
The LPD Secretary-Treasurer and LPD Assistant Secretary-Treasurer are also the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer of the IBA respectively. They form, with the IBA Finance Director and Executive Director, a Financial Planning Committee (chaired by the IBA Treasurer). The committee is responsible for preparing the Association’s budgets, reviewing accounts, recommending long-term financial planning and reporting to the Management Board.
The Chair and Vie-Chair of the Legal Practice Division and the Section on Public and Professional Interest are also classified as IBA Officers. The SPPI Officers are supported by the SPPI Council and Advisory Board who are appointed Officers. For a full list of Officers see here. Information concerning their respective duties can be found in the relevant Division By-Laws.
The IBA Foundation Inc is a US-based charitable foundation engaged since 1986 in a wide variety of international charitable endeavours related to the rule of law, including continuing legal education and equitable access to the legal system and, particularly in more economically disadvantaged parts of the world, infrastructure improvements, competent legal services and legal services administration.
*Details of how to apply to the Foundation can be found here.
The Constitution Committee advises upon the interpretation of and changes to the IBA Constitution.
The Credentials Committee gives opinion as to:
the eligibility of an applicant for full organisational membership; and
whether sustaining Member Organisations should be invited to designate a representative Councillor under article 5.1.1 of the constitution.
The Nominations Committee receives and makes recommendations to the IBA Council concerning persons for election as senior IBA Officers.
The Computers and Database Committee advises on computers and database matters relating to the IBA membership and the IBA office.
During your work with the Association, you may see acronyms sometimes used to describe entities within the Association:
AAG Academics Advisory Group
AF African Regional Forum
ANLBS Alternative and New Law Business Structures
APF Asia Pacific Regional Forum
ARF Arab Regional Forum
BIC Bar Issues Commission
BLI Business Law International (publication)
CCF Corporate Counsel Forum
CLI Competition Law International (publication)
CLO Council Liaison Officer
CLInt Construction Law International (publication)
CMF Capital Markets Forum
EF European Regional Forum
FBA Forum for Barristers and Advocates
GI Global Insight (publication)
IBAGEI IBA Global Employment Institute
IBAHRI IBA Human Rights Institute
IBA International Bar Association
ICP International Construction Projects
JERL Journal on Energy and Natural Resources Law (publication)
JF Judges’ Forum
LARF Latin American Regional Forum
LGBTI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Committee
LPD Legal Practice Division
MOs Member Organisations
MOR Member Organisation Representative
NARF North American Regional Forum
PEC Professional Ethics Committee
PPID Public and Professional Interest Division
SEERIL Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources & Infrastructure Law
SLC Senior Lawyers’ Committee
SPPI Section on Public and Professional Interest
UKELG United Kingdom Energy Lawyers’ Group
WIG Women Lawyers’ Interest Group
YLC Young Lawyers’ Committee
How are the contact details of officers shared online?
Committee Officer pages, available on each Committee website, provide details and contact information for each Officer within the Committee and any Subcommittees of that group. The information available is the officer’s position, name, firm name and address, and email address and can be used by the Committees to create their own email distribution list for Officers, or used by existing / potential members to reach out to the committee’s leadership. By accepting appointment as an officer, officers agree to their contact details being made available on the IBA website through the committees.
How can officers communicate with each other?
Conference calls
The IBA will provide each Committee with dial-in details for Conference calls as and when required. To request a dial-in number for a conference call please contact the IBA Divisions Department divisions@int-bar.org with at least 2 days’ notice.
In-person meetings
Committee Chairs are encouraged to organise regular meetings with their fellow Officers and Council Liaison Officer at the IBA Mid-Year Council Meetings and/or the IBA Annual Conference. Please contact the Divisions Department at divisions@int-bar.org to request a meeting room or for information on officer retreats.
How can a committee add content to its committee pages?
A Website Officer for the committee will usually be appointed and this person will liaise with other committee officers and the IBA Web Editor to help keep committee pages up to date in showing, for example, links to any committee conferences, projects and publications. Updates will be made by the IBA Web Editor.
See further information about committee pages and the role of the Website Officer under the tab 'Officer roles and responsibilities' in this guide
The IBA continues to invest in improvements to the web platform, both in functionality and usability. We are always keen to hear ideas on how the site can be improved and all input is welcome.
The IBA monitors the entire website, including committee sites, for appropriateness and consistency on an on-going basis.
Only events/activities/projects planned/organised together with the IBA can be promoted as a committee event, and only those will be communicated and promoted to the committee membership.
For any publications-specific emails (such as calls for articles or book publishing updates), please contact your IBA in-house editor, or, if you are unsure who this person is, editor@int-bar.org.
The IBA’s rules around the transfer of personal data to IBA officers have not changed since the introduction of GDPR. All communication with membership continues to go through the Divisions (or other relevant departments) at the IBA. This is so that the IBA can monitor emails sent to members and oversee email communications under UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) to monitor the level, frequency and relevance of communications with members.
By this method, the most up to date member data is used.
GDPR also requires that any form of mass email or any systematic processing of a member’s personal data resulting in emails being sent, would require that the email’s recipient can access the IBA marketing preference centre so they can opt out of receiving further emails. They should also have access to the IBA Privacy Policy. Emails from committee officers, which are sent from their email addresses will not contain these and are not linked to the preference centre, which is a breach of GDPR.
For example, most emails sent to the full committee or entity should go through the Divisions Department. Please send the content of the email and who the email should go to and the Divisions Department will coordinate the mailing for you.
Any requests to promote activities by an entity other than the IBA or one of its constituents must be assessed by the IBA Marketing Department.
Only events/activities/projects planned/organised together with the IBA can be promoted as a committee event, and only those will be communicated and promoted to the committee membership.
Officers do have the possibility to receive information on their committee’s membership, and for this to happen, are required to sign a data transfer agreement laying out the conditions of use of that data, if they request access to their committee’s membership data, before the data is released to them.
IBA policy remains that the lists of members supplied to officers do not include contact information such as email and phone. This policy is to protect the IBA member’s personal data from misuse or being passed to third parties.
To comply with GDPR, the IBA passes member data to committee senior officers and conference chairs upon the signature of a data release form that outlines the IBA terms of transfer of the data. These conditions are:
All Committee Chairs (both Co-Chairs must sign and return forms to receive data) and Membership Officers are sent the data release form to sign and return at the start of their term. This will allow for lists of new Committee members to automatically be sent in the beginning of each new month and/or allow us to provide the full list of members immediately when it is requested.
If the form has not been returned, only the basic list of members (gender, firm, location) will be shared.
When a request for a list is received and we do not have a signed data release form from the Senior Officer requesting the information, we will send the form asking that it be signed and returned before the data can be shared.
The IBA will not send multiple follow-up emails chasing Committee Officers to sign and return forms.
Committee membership lists and individual committee members can always be searched using the Membership Directory Search, which can be accessed by all members through their MyIBA account.
The directory can be searched using any or all of the following criteria and will produce a list of all members who fit the criteria selected:
Committee ← by searching using the Committee field only will produce results for everyone who is a member of the committee selected
The contact information for individual members who show in the search results can be viewed and they can then be contacted on a person-to-person basis.
Members have the option to hide their profile in the members search, effectively opting out.
The membership directory and the results are protected by a security system to prevent automated scraping of the data. Data security measures of this kind are required under Data Protection Legislation and GDPR.
IBA committee discussion forums provide a platform for sharing and discussing committee or practice area related information and topics. The following types of content are permitted on these forums:
The following types of content are not permitted and will not be approved for posting on the forum:
To request a discussion forum on your Committee’s webpage please contact the Divisions Department at divisions@int-bar.org.
Committees are encouraged to organise Open Committee Business Meetings at the time of the IBA Annual Conference and/or their specialist Committee Conferences to meet with members and those interested in the Committee.
To organise a meeting please email the IBA Divisions Department at divisions@int-bar.org who will assist in scheduling the meeting, allocating a meeting room and ensuring that your members are informed of such meeting taking place.
The Section on Public and Professional Interest (SPPI) promotes an interchange of information and views among its members about the public and professional interest activities of the legal profession throughout the world; to support and promote those activities; to facilitate communication among its members and to be active in the Section through its committees and other groupings; and to undertake such related projects as may be approved from time to time by the SPPI’s Council.
There are two principal officers of the Section: the Chair and Secretary-Treasurer. The duties of the officers can be found in detail in the SPPI by-laws which can be found here.
The Principal Officers of the SPPI may co-opt up to seven other members of the Council. Three of the seven other members should be individual members of the IBA having a longstanding involvement and experience of senior positions in the Association; three of the seven other members shall be a current (for that two-year term) or immediate past Chair or Co-Chairs of an SPPI committee; and one the seven other members shall be a representative of the Legal Practice Division (LPD).
An SPPI Council member is appointed to each committee as Council Liaison Officer (CLO) to encourage and support committee activities, and to help provide guidance to the committee officers regarding the policies of the SPPI/IBA, give support to the officers in the committee and increase the effectiveness of the individual committees.
The CLO will work together with the Head of Divisions and other staff in the IBA office, as well as the SPPI Officers, and will assist in supporting the committee in the following ways:
The CLO will report on each committee’s activity at each meeting of the SPPI Council, so that the entire SPPI Council will be aware of the exciting work being done within the committees and to ensure that good ideas are replicated and connections between committees are being made where applicable.
All SPPI Committees are listed on the SPPI homepage
Some committees find it useful to establish subcommittees. Within the SPPI, a subcommittee must address a specific substantive area of law (i.e., not serve as conference organising teams or publications teams). Subcommittees do not have separate membership lists on the IBA database. Subcommittees do not have a separate budget and must apply to the parent committee chair for any funds required to perform its work. No funds will be made available without this approval.
With the prior approval of the parent committee and notification of the Head of Divisions Administration subcommittees may engage in any activity, including producing publications, organising specialist conferences and holding meetings at the annual conferences.
All officer positions of subcommittees are for a two-year term, and nomination of officers follows the same process as committee officers.
A committee may have project-based work it feels would be best accomplished through the formation of a Working Group, which consists of a selection of people collaborating to achieve a specific goal within a pre-determined timeline. Working groups only exist for the duration of the project, and following the conclusion all officer positions will reach completion as well.
Subcommittees and working groups as well as their officers will be noted on the parent committee website and officer titles will be listed in the IBA online directory.
Subcommittees and working groups must:
An advisory board is meant as an idea-engine, a group of valued volunteers who have rotated off the governing committee and wish to stay connected to the entity, and all those committee members, who wish to and can bring helpful resources of time, talent, and treasure to the committee. Members of an advisory board should be willing to take on specific tasks to support your activities, or provide informed input as you plan new activities.
When setting up an advisory board, or planning succession of advisory board members, please note the following criteria that apply:
In ordinary circumstances each committee or entity is expected to have the following officer positions. Officers may serve for one two-year term in each position. In only very exceptional circumstances an officer may continue for a second term. This should be discussed with the SPPI Chair and the committee’s CLO. All committee officers are expected to attend the twice-yearly meetings of the SPPI Council, Committee and Other Entities’ Officers.
By accepting the appointment as an officer of any IBA committee, subcommittee, working group or advisory board, all officers automatically agree to their contact details being published on the IBA website, as part of the officer listings on the committee webpages.
Information on external communication by officers can be found further down under Media>Spokesperson.
The responsibilities of each position are detailed below:
It is most likely that the Chair (and in the case of Co-Chairs, at least one Co-Chair) will have reached this position through the ladder structure for committee officers.
The role of Chair will include:
Senior Vice-Chairs and Vice-Chairs act as deputies for the committee chair if he / she is unable to act or is not available. In addition, their responsibilities may include:
The Secretary-Treasurer’s duties may include:
For more information on committee communications, please see the Publications and committee websites section below. The Communications Officer’s responsibilities may include:
General information
Committee Officer pages, available on each Committee website, provide details and contact information for each Officer within the Committee and any Subcommittees of that group. The information available is the officer’s position, name, firm name and address, and email address and can be used by the Committees to create their own email distribution list for Officers, or used by existing / potential members to reach out to the committee’s leadership. By accepting appointment as an officer, officers agree to their contact details being made available on the IBA website through the committees.
A full list of committees and other equivalent IBA entities can be viewed here.
While IBA staff provide technical support for the update of committee webpages, it is entirely the responsibility of the committee Website Officer to provide current information to IBA staff and to ensure that outdated information is removed by reviewing the page on a regular basis.
The website officer position should not be combined with other positions if possible
It is not recommended, except for very small committees (ie under 100 members), that this position be combined with other positions. The IBA website has undergone significant development, to keep up with current technology and to make the website a portal for all IBA communication as is fitting given the current use of the internet as a primary media and research resource. Therefore this is an important role that will continue to grow in significance.
Some committee Chairs express that they find it difficult to fill this role.
Two suggestions to assist:
Information on Website Officer role
A Website Officer for the committee will be appointed to help keep committee pages up to date in showing, for example, links to any committee conferences, projects and publications. Updates will be made by the IBA Web and Multimedia Editor.
The Website Officer should familiarise themselves with, and ensure that their fellow officers are aware of, their committee pages. The pages typically feature the pictures and names of the Co-Chairs, a brief description of the committee and a link to the full officer list; further information about the committee; tabs for recent information on such things as committee conferences, publications, projects, and joining the committee (the exact configuration of tabs may depend on the committee in question).
The Website Officer duties may include:
Discussion forums and officer spaces
Each committee can host a discussion forum and/or an officer space on their committee pages. Discussion forums enable participants to share knowledge and debate issues online. Officer spaces provide committee officers a secure environment in which to discuss committee business.
Please contact Lara Bird (lara.bird@int-bar.org) for further information on discussion forums and officer spaces.
Articles
Committee members are welcome to submit appropriate articles to their Publications Officer and/or Website Officer for inclusion on the site. Please see 'Publications and committee websites - Committee news, articles and updates' in this guide.
While IBA staff provide technical support for the update of committee webpages, it is entirely the responsibility of the committee Website Officer to provide current information to IBA staff and to ensure that outdated information is removed by reviewing the page on a regular basis.
Film
It may be possible for committees to post film relating to their committee to their web pages, for example, information about forthcoming conferences. This should be discussed in the first instance with the IBA.
This position is not mandatory but is encouraged.
The Membership Officer’s duties may include:
Download further information on the Diversity and Inclusion Officer role here.
Other positions within the committee are subject to the approval of the SPPI leadership and the role must be clearly defined. For database purposes, you may be asked to modify a proposed officer title into a category already existing.
Every committee and other entity must complete a committee activity plan each year, laying out their plans for that year. The SPPI Administrator will provide a template for your convenience in planning. It is the responsibility of the committee chair(s) to ensure that the completed activity plan is delivered to the SPPI Administrator by the specified date. These are then used by the SPPI Officers to review activities by all committees and other entities and to coordinate activities and priorities across the Division.
The Association’s annual budget is prepared by senior members of staff in the IBA office, with the consultation of and under the supervision of the IBA Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and Division Officers.
The IBA office costs are spread across all component parts of the Association. Staff time based on time sheets submitted by all staff is allocated to each specific activity (e.g. specialist conference, specific marketing campaign, journal production etc.) which in turn is allocated to the relevant division.
The Treasurers discuss the budget in December when there is a clear picture of how the Association has fared financially in the current year, given the reliance on income such as membership dues, conference and journal income and sponsorship. Following the Treasurers’ meeting, the budget is submitted to the February meeting of the IBA Management Board. Once approved by the Management Board, it is distributed to the IBA, LPD and SPPI Councils at the IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meetings.
The Management Board agrees the percentage share of costs between the two divisions. This is reviewed annually to ensure a fair and proportionate allocation of costs.
When are the IBA accounts prepared?
Annual audited accounts are submitted to the IBA Council at the Mid-Year Leadership Meetings for approval each year. IBA accounts staff also prepare quarterly accounts which are made available to the IBA Treasurers and the Management Board. Half-yearly accounts are circulated to the LPD and SPPI Councils and Committee Officers.
The SPPI budget is prepared based on the projected expenditure for all planned activity during the following year, to be submitted by the committee and other entities’ chairs by November of each year, as well as a fair allocation of funds determined by the SPPI Officers and the IBA Treasurer. Considerations include whether or not the committee or other entity is a ‘status’ one i.e. of extreme importance to a specific group of members such as the Women Lawyers’ Interest Group even if perhaps there is no major activity or conference planned, or a ‘content’ one, i.e. Law Firm Management Committee, which is extremely active and gets involved in various projects and conferences on a regular basis.
The size of each committee’s membership and recent activity within the committee are taken into consideration when deciding the amount allocated. It is the responsibility of the committee chair(s) to ensure that a completed business plan for each calendar year is submitted to the London office as soon as practical after the Association’s Annual Conference, and no later than mid-November.
Failure to submit the business plan on time could result in funding for a proposed activity the following year not being available. The business plan must include a clear statement and timeframe for the activity with an indication of the resource (human and financial) required for completing the project.
All proposed committee and entity expenditures are subject to the policies contained within this document and to decisions of the SPPI Secretary-Treasurer. Proposed committee expenditures must be approved by the committee chair or co-chair.
All committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines.
General activities which may be covered by the committee budget includes, but is not limited to, costs related to the following:
Scholarship
Please see the Scholarship section under Young Lawyers Initiatives below to find out how to organise this with the IBA office.
Speaker expenses for the IBA Annual Conference
For guidance regarding the specific rules concerning speaker expenses during the annual conference, please see contact Head of Divisions Administration, Astrid Wargenau. Note that reimbursement for travel and accommodation is not offered to lawyers in private practice.
One officer’s retreat per year
The committee budget will cover the cost of one officer’s retreat per year. The committee budget will cover meeting room hire, any audio visual requirements, coffee breaks and a working lunch (sandwich/buffet) at the meeting venue. Prior to entering into any agreement with a venue, the IBA Divisions Department must be notified of the following:
No reimbursement for accommodation and travel is made to any committee officer attending retreats. Please note: Retreats are organised by the Committee and not the IBA Office. Reimbursement will be made following the retreat upon submission of a receipt to the IBA by the committee chair or a nominated officer. Further information can be found in the officer retreat section below.
One annual committee officers’ dinner or lunch
If a committee wishes to hold an offices’ dinner sample menu needs to be submitted to the Head of Divisions Administration (Astrid Wargenau) beforehand.
Since the majority of Officers’ dinners are held around the time of the Annual Conference, the IBA is unable to provide administrative support for these events, which we recommend be undertaken by the Secretary of the Committee or another Officer. The Committees cannot contract an agent to undertake these tasks as these costs would not be covered by the IBA.
Based on reasonable costs in the city where the conference is located, the IBA Divisions Department will fix a per-person cost, which will be reimbursed for the committee’s current officers, current Council Liaison Officer and past chairs ONLY
Please be advised that spouses, partners, past officers other than chairs, and officers from other committees (unless the lunch or dinner is a joint event) will not be reimbursed.
Committees can apply for overspend if can't find a restaurant within budget due to location of the event at which they have selected to host their dinner/lunch alongside (usually the annual conference or specialist committee conference).
Committee dinner tickets at the annual conference
Where applicable, a committee chair may request a maximum of 5 complimentary tickets to a social function (lunch or dinner) organised by the committee during the IBA Annual Conference. These tickets are for use by keynote speakers. No complimentary tickets will be offered to lawyers in private practice.
Attendance at meetings of other organisations
The committee budget may provide a contribution of £350 towards the expenses of attendance for a committee officer attending a meeting of another organisation with which his/her committee has links or wishes to establish links. The contribution will be sent once a short written report of the meeting has been submitted to Rebecca Ruler (Rebecca.ruler@int-bar.org).
Attendance at meetings of any world organisation (such as any part of the United Nations) at which the officer will be representing himself or herself as part of the IBA must be confirmed, prior to attendance, with the Head of Divisions Admistration (astrid.wargenau@int-bar.org).
Reimbursement of committee officers’ office costs (i.e. postage, courier, telephone)
Note: no reimbursement for accommodation or travel is made to any committee officer attending IBA meetings. This includes IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meetings, the annual conference, specialist conferences organised by the committee, and committee retreats.
The exceptions are as follows:
All committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines.
You may receive information about the amount allocated to the committee budget for the current year, or the current status of your committee budget, by writing to the SPPI Administrator. No under-spend by a committee or section will be carried over to the following year.
Committees and entities are requested to ensure that the Head of Divisions Administration is made aware of any planned expenditures prior to the expense being incurred. This helps the IBA staff monitor anticipated expenditures in order to prevent accidental overspend.
Subcommittees/working groups do not have budgets and must fund activities through the relevant committee budget. Subcommittee/working group officers may claim for reimbursement of office expenses incurred during the course of the year only with the express agreement of the relevant committee chair.
The Public and Professional Interest Division (PPID) Activity Fund was launched in December 2009, following discussions at a senior level within the Division and the IBA as a whole. The objective of the fund is to provide financial assistance to the division’s committees, allowing projects and activities to be launched which would not otherwise be possible. The key criteria are that all such projects or activities must promote public interest and professionalism, and raise the stature and visibility of both the PPID and the IBA. As such, projects which will benefit a wide range of individuals or groups are encouraged over those which will benefit or be of relevance only a small group.
In 2007 the IBA’s Management Board took the decision to place, on an annual basis, part of any year-end surplus which may arise into an “Special Projects Fund”. The monies in this fund can be used to augment the Association’s work, over and above those items contained in its usual expenditure budgets.
All requests for reimbursement of budgeted expenses must be made in writing to the Head of Divisions Administration and accompanied by relevant receipts and documentation. Failure to produce the supporting documentation will mean that the IBA is unable to authorise the claim. All claims should be made during the current financial year, and by 31 December at the latest. It will be difficult to reimburse claims made after the end of the financial year.
With the exception of the annual committee officers’ lunch/dinner, all committee social functions must be self-financing. No committee officer is authorised to commit IBA funds to underwrite any event. The conferences and sponsorship departments are happy to work with committee officers to ensure that the cost of events will be covered through tickets and registration fees, and to ensure that the IBA faces no financial liabilities.
The SPPI Officers will retain the authority to make exceptions on ad ad-hoc basis to the above stated policy at their discretion. Any requests to deviate from the policy should be submitted in writing from the committee chair to the Head of Divisions Administration who will submit the request to the SPPI Officers for their review and consideration.
Committee news and publications are produced in electronic format online as standard, which carries no additional cost to the committee. If a printed newsletter is required, newsletter printing and postage costs will be charged to the respective section or committee budget. Please note that newsletters for sections or committees with fewer than 500 members are only distributed electronically and are not printed in hard copy.
Publication costs should be confirmed with the Editorial Assistant (editor@int-bar.org) and the Head of Divisons Administration (astrid.wargenau@int-bar.org).
If a committee wishes to hold an officer retreat, the IBA will cover the cost of the meeting room hire, AV and tea and coffee refreshments. A light sandwich lunch (considered a working lunch) will also be covered by the IBA. The IBA will sign a contract and pay in advance the costs of the above only if requested however it is usually easier an officer takes care of payment and IBA reimburses after the meeting.
If a committee wishes to hold an offices’ dinner sample menu needs to be submitted to the Head of Divisions Administration (Head of Divisions Administration) beforehand, and a per-person amount will then be set.
Prior to entering into any agreement with a venue, the IBA Divisions Department must be notified of the following:
No reimbursement for accommodation and travel is made to any committee officer attending retreats. Please note: Retreats are organised by the Committee and not the IBA Office. Reimbursement will be made following the retreat upon submission of a receipt to the IBA by the committee chair or a nominated officer.
The IBA will not sign contracts that deal with accommodation for the retreat guests nor will the IBA be the guarantee for these room costs or pay deposits.
Since the majority of Retreats are held around the time of the Annual Conference, the IBA is unable to provide administrative support for these events, which we recommend be undertaken by the Secretary of the Committee or another Officer. The Committees cannot contract an agent to undertake these tasks as these costs would not be covered by the IBA.
The IBA will gladly circulate information regards the retreat to the Committee Members if they are open for member participation also.
If a committee wishes to hold an offices’ dinner, the IBA will pay up to a maximum of £120 per head, including drinks. A sample menu needs to be submitted to the Head of Divisions Administration beforehand, and a per-person amount will then be set. The IBA will sign a contract and pay in advance the costs of the above only if requested however it is usually easier an officer takes care of payment and IBA reimburses after the meeting
Since the majority of Officers’ dinners are held around the time of the Annual Conference, the IBA is unable to provide administrative support for these events, which we recommend be undertaken by the Secretary of the Committee or another Officer. The Committees cannot contract an agent to undertake these tasks as these costs would not be covered by the IBA.
Please be advised that spouses, partners, past officers other than chairs, and officers from other committees (unless the lunch or dinner is a joint event) will not be reimbursed.
The IBA publishes numerous section and committee newsletters, magazines and journals (below) as well as the bimonthly magazine Global Insight, online news analysis, filmed interviews and webcasts.
The IBA Content Department welcomes suggestions for articles and feedback from committee officers. The IBA’s section magazines and journals are as follows:
IBA Global Insight (IGI)
Business Law International (BLI)
Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law (JERL)
Competition Law International (CLI)
In-House Perspective (IHP)
Construction Law International (CLInt)
Dispute Resolution International (DRI)
Insolvency and Restructuring International (IRI)
The information below provides a summary of the IBA’s Terms and Conditions for publishing committee content and additional Guidelines for Newsletter/Publications Officers.
IBA committees should aim to publish up-to-date, relevant and interesting articles, in order to support, enhance and share their committee’s work.
Articles should typically cover legal and regulatory developments in members’ jurisdictions, or broader, thematic law-related topics. Committees may also publish session reports from IBA conferences.
Newsletter/Publications Officers in committees are responsible for gathering and submitting articles, and should liaise with the IBA Content team, who oversee all aspects of the publication process.
Each committee has an allocated IBA in-house editor who will get in touch. If you are not contacted, please email editor@int-bar.org
The IBA has a digital-first approach to publishing committee content. Articles should be posted online individually on a committee’s designated Publications webpage on a regular basis.
When a sufficient number of articles have been published online, the IBA Content team will send a tailored e-bulletin email to committee members, with links to viewing the new content online (members will need to login to view).
This approach enables new articles to be made available to members much quicker and for the committee’s webpages to be regularly updated with new, topical content, compared to the old newsletter format, which required a lengthy production phase.
In recent years, IBA committees have been encouraged to move away from printing hard copy newsletters for their members.
Where there is felt to be a need for hard copies in order to showcase the benefits of committee membership – for example, at a specialist conference – this can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but should be the exception rather than the norm.
Newsletters can only be produced by a committee once sufficient online articles have been uploaded: at least 10 (circa 24 pages). Newsletters will not be printed if they are under 24 pages long. Forums are not permitted to produce printed newsletters.
If Newsletter/Publications Officers wish to produce a hard copy newsletter ahead of an IBA specialist conference or the Annual Conference, they should discuss this at the outset with their IBA in-house editor, who will need to carefully set deadlines. The production process for newsletters is longer than for online articles. A period of 6–8 weeks should be allowed from the IBA Content team receiving the material.
Committee articles and newsletters are an exclusive benefit for members of committees and cannot be made freely-available online to non-members or to members of other IBA committees.
The IBA in-house editor will send a call for articles, by email, to all members of the committee, providing details of the committee’s Newsletter, Publications or Communications Officer, to which submissions should be sent.
The officer should review the submitted articles for suitability, accuracy and quality. Reviewed submissions should then be sent to the allocated IBA in-house editor, who will format/edit them to IBA house style.
Shortly thereafter, the IBA in-house editor will upload the article(s) to the committee’s online Publications page.
At intervals throughout the year, dependent on how much material has been published online, the IBA in-house editor will send an e-bulletin to committee members, notifying them of recently uploaded content.
The aim should be to have a regular flow of articles being submitted, produced and published online.
If it is agreed that a hard copy newsletter can be produced, this can feature a selection of articles already published online, plus new submissions received by the Newsletter/Publications Officer.
As stated above, the IBA in-house editor requires as much notice as possible to produce a hard copy newsletter – there is a production time of 6–8 weeks from the Content team receiving the articles.
E-news is the IBA's monthly e-newsletter covering IBA activities, the latest Global Insight magazine features and membership information. It is also circulated to all IBA members who have provided us with their email address, as well as non-member subscribers. It reports on IBA initiatives and activities and highlights forthcoming events, reports, conferences etc. This is an ideal medium for members of the profession to be informed about what is happening in the various committees, fora, working groups etc. Committee officers should let the Content Department know of any major committee initiatives they wish to include by emailing editor@int-bar.org.
The IBA website (www.ibanet.org) is a key channel for promoting the Association and its activities, with pages devoted to each committee or equivalent IBA entity (see full list of committees). Developing the IBA website’s content is a priority for the Association as it is clear that it can provide members and non-members alike with valuable information.
Only events/activities/projects planned/organised together with the IBA can be promoted as a committee event, and only those will be communicated and promoted to the committee membership.
The IBA is committed to a book publishing programme, working with leading co-publishers. Divisions and committees are asked to consider whether any of their activities or areas of expertise could lend themselves to a publication. We especially wish to play to the IBA’s key strengths of:
In order to help IBA staff consider the possible publication of a new book, we ask that the committee chairs/publications officers complete the IBA book proposal form (PDF), giving as much detail as possible. IBA senior staff will assess the proposal and decide how to proceed. If it is decided to support a book proposal then it will either be passed to a commercial publishing partner to assess interest in co-publishing or a decision will be made as regards the level of support a book can be given by the IBA on its own (in some cases this may be minimal).
It should be borne in mind that it can take as long as a year or even more to develop a book from start to finish. That is particularly important when considering the timeliness of the subject matter and ongoing appeal to the target audience.
The book proposal form should be returned to the Director of Content at editor@int-bar.org or FAO: Director of Content, International Bar Association, 5 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1LG.
The divisions team will send all committees housekeeping emails, usually in May. These emails contain important links and deadlines for committee sessions. Please ensure that you adhere to these deadlines as there are strict timelines in place.
The divisions team has created a webpage for Speaker FAQs and Session Chair FAQs. We highly recommend that you visit these webpages should you be participating on a session panel.
Should you have any questions, please email divisions@int-bar.org
SPPI Committees and Entities are strongly encouraged to hold a specialist conference each year outside of the IBA Annual Conference. If your committee is considering organising a conference, you should complete a conference proposal form.
No committee should hold a conference other than one relating to the particular field of law with which that committee is concerned. Ideally committee members should be canvassed by the committee chair, listing the proposed subject matter, venue and time of year, and asking if committee members would wish to attend such an event.
The IBA reserves the right to take the final decision on whether a conference may be organised, including matters of venue, time of year, and viability of a proposed topic. Conferences need to support themselves financially, and any decision on whether or not to hold a conference will ultimately be taken by the Deputy Executive Director, the Head of Conferences, the Head of Divisions Administration and the SPPI Officers.
Speakers:
Delegates
All committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines
If your committee is considering organising a conference, you should complete a conference proposal form.
No committee should hold a conference other than one relating to the particular field of law with which that committee is concerned. Ideally committee members should be canvassed by the committee chair, listing the proposed subject matter, venue and time of year, and asking if committee members would wish to attend such an event.
The IBA reserves the right to take the final decision on whether a conference may be organised, including matters of venue, time of year, and viability of a proposed topic. Conferences need to support themselves financially, and any decision on whether or not to hold a conference will ultimately be taken by the IBA and Division Officers.
It is essential that full co-ordination is maintained with the IBA. A proposal including date, venue and topic is to be submitted at least 10 months before it is proposed that the conference take place. Submission at the earliest possible time is encouraged, as conference slots (based on availability of staff) for popular times of year such as March-May are often filled as early as 12 months in advance.
A timetable of action dates will be prepared by the IBA, and regular conference calls will also be scheduled in order to discuss programme and topic / progress of speaker confirmations. The IBA will also prepare a marketing plan, which will be sent to the conference chair and organising committee for comments and suggestions.
The conference budget will be prepared by the IBA. Additional expenditure can only be added with the prior approval of the SPPI Officers, sought through the Head of Divisions Administration. As discussed in the budget section, income from the specialist conference is part of the overall income of the IBA and does not go into the section or committee budget.
The formation of a local host/organising committee is most useful and usually local committee members are glad to be invited to participate. Their role is to advise on local publicity, social programmes, the names of local dignitaries who should be invited, and sometimes, to find a sponsor(s) for social functions in conjunction with the IBA Head of Advertising and Sponsorship.The IBA may rely quite heavily on the local knowledge and experience of these committee members, so a level of commitment is needed. Members of the host/organising committee are acknowledged in the conference programme. [Please note: any organising committee or planning committee over 25 members shall not receive acknowledgement in the programme.]
The conference chair(s) is responsible for liaising with the assigned conference staff on the venue, the marketing plan, the timetable and the programme content. Furthermore, they are responsible for ensuring the IBA conference organiser receives all relevant programme copy, speakers’ details, and any other relevant information for the conference programme by the set deadlines. The conference chair and host/organising committee members are required to assist the IBA Marketing department with the successful promotion of the conference. The conference chair and host/organising committee members are expected to attend the conference in its entirety.
There are a number of options that committees wishing to organise conferences may follow, which are outlined below:
Conferences fully organised through IBA offices
With this option the full logistical and financial responsibility for the conference lies with the IBA office. There are many specialist conferences in the IBA calendar that employ this method of working and that have gained “must attend” status in the international legal community. These conferences follow the general rules below:
Conferences fully organised through IBA offices – with lower registration fees
This option is recommended for first-time conferences that have not as yet had a chance to establish a loyal following, or for conferences whose market require a lower registration fee. It is similar to Option A above but in attempts to offer registration fees at a slightly lower rate, consideration is given to the following:
Conferences jointly organised with another organisation
This option involves working together with another organisation. The tasks are split and the financial responsibility divided in accordance with the division of tasks. A typical division of tasks might be as follows:
IBA Conference Department
IBA Committee Officers
Co-sponsoring Organisation (or possibly members of the organising committee)
Note: this option can be confusing; the division of tasks must be clear from the outset. In order for this option to fall in with other organisations’ policies, some flexibility is required with both organisational policies and IBA staff time, which is often not included in the budget.
As noted above, only the IBA may agree that a conference can be jointly organised with another organisation. IBA staff will be happy to help, please contact the Conferences Director (julie.elliott@int-bar.org), with the relevant details.
Locally Organised Conference
This option is generally only approved for conferences taking place in locations where the registration fee must be kept to a low level eg. Africa. It requires minimal amount of IBA staff time, but does require dedication and time commitment from committee members / members of the organising committee and a local organisation who are responsible for all organisational and logistical arrangements. The IBA office is on hand to provide guidance and advice and retains responsibility for producing the conference programme (in order to provide the IBA branding) but everything else is the responsibility of a local organisation and a local host committee. All contracts, budgets and registration fees must be approved by the IBA.
This option does put a huge amount of responsibility and workload on the organisers and must be considered carefully before a commitment is made. However, this is an excellent option to keep registration fees to an absolute minimum. The financial responsibility and profit / loss would be discussed at the outset. Please contact Julie Elliott, the Conference Director, for more information.
The Conference Chair’s registration fees and the organising committee members’ registration fees are not waived except when exceptional circumstances prevail and with approval of the LPD Treasurer.
All committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines
All agreements to hold joint conferences must first be approved by the IBA. The IBA staff will be happy to liaise with the other organisation to determine the feasibility of a joint conference if you provide contact information to the Head of Conferences.
No financial agreements to share profit / loss can be made by conference chairs. A financial split will be agreed by the IBA for those conferences where the administration is either divided or handled by the other organisation. No financial split will be agreed for conferences where the IBA is handling all the administration. IBA sponsorship policy must be implemented at all conferences.
10 months prior to event (or earlier) - COMMITTEE TO ACTION
Committee meet or have a conference call to discuss roles for the conference and to put the conference to the IBA office for approval. It is crucial at this stage for a detailed list of proposed topics to be given to the IBA as this will be used as a main selling tool for marketing and sponsorship.
Successful marketing of an event is dependent on committees’ assistance in providing personal contacts, organisations or other data which may be used by the IBA marketing department to increase numbers and enhance word-of-mouth on the event .
So that the IBA staff can schedule it in, discuss locations and get approval.
9 months prior to event – COMMITTEE TO ACTION
Committee to agree topics and speakers (including reserve speakers)
8 months prior to event- IBA OFFICE TO ARRANGE CALL
Introduction made between all IBA staff members involved in the conference including marketing, divisions, conferences and sponsorship and committee members including conference chairs.
7.5 months prior to event - COMMITTEE TO ACTION
Speaker invitations to be sent out.
7 months prior to event - IBA OFFICE TO ARRANGE CALL
IBA staff to follow up with organising committee on their thoughts on marketing plan and the status of conference topics and speakers.
6.5 months prior to event - COMMITTEE TO ACTION
Committees to follow up on invitations to speakers and issue invitation to speakers on reserve list – also to finalise topic descriptions
6.5 months prior to the event – IBA MEETING
Marketing to have a meeting with conference organiser and sponsorship to see what is left to do for the conference programme. Review any problems or issues.
6 months prior to the event - IBA OFFICE TO ARRANGE CALL
Final conference call with conference chairs and host/ organising committee members to check progress of programme and confirm delivery of programme.
5.5 months prior to the event
Final programme due at the IBA office
4.5 months prior to the event – IBA MARKETING TO ACTION
Email blast sent out and programme sent to the printers
4 months prior to the event - IBA MARKETING TO ACTION
Mailing out
The selection and briefing of speakers is the responsibility of the conference chair(s). When selecting the speakers, the following must be taken into consideration:
The conference chair(s) is asked to ensure that the programme demonstrates a fair balance in firm, individual, geographical and gender representation in general. The conference chair(s) will be requested to correct any over-representation in any of these areas.
Speakers:
The conference chair may feel it is vital to the success of a conference that a speaker be present who requires reimbursement of expenses. Provided that there is an item in the conference budget to cover such an expenditure, maximum reimbursement can be as follows (example of the Annual Conference):
Speakers in private practice and corporate counsel speakers shall not be reimbursed except in extraordinary circumstances and with the approval of the SPPI Officers.
Do speakers pay the registration fees?
There may be occasions when exceptions to this policy are appropriate. Exceptions may include speakers who are in-house counsel or regulators. Speakers participating in conferences organised jointly with other organisations may also be exempt from paying a fee. It would, however, be highly unusual for exemptions to be made for lawyers in private practice and prior approval of the SPPI Officers should always be sought by writing to the Head of Divisions Administration.
For your assistance, we include some additional points that experience has proven to assist in timely delivery of the conference programme:
All committee events/activities/projects need to be communicated to the IBA office, prior these being executed or run, as part of the planning, to ensure they follow the correct approach and IBA guidelines
Committees are encouraged to hold open committee business meetings at the Annual Conference, to engage with current and potential members. Holding these in direct connection to a conference session is the best way to ensure that those interested in the topic of the committee’s work are present, and have an opportunity to connect to the committee and its leadership.
To schedule such a meeting and have it published as part of the official programme, please contact the IBA Divisions team (divisions@int-bar.org) and they will be able to assist you.
No committee events can be held at law firms at any time.
Should a committee wish to hold a breakfast meeting during the Annual Conference week, the following criteria will apply:
Please contact Astrid Wargenau (astrid.wargenau@int-bar.org) of the IBA Divisions team for further assistance should you wish to organise a breakfast. Your contact for sponsorship is Andrew Webster-Dunn (andrew.webster-dunn@int-bar.org).
All lunches and dinners at the Annual Conference are ticketed events, and the IBA Conference team assists in sourcing venues, pricing at a strict break-even, adding these as potential sponsorship opportunities, and advertising the events with all social functions. The IBA Conference Team will be onsite on the day of the event to ensure those with tickets
Please contact Helen Bakal (helen.bakal@int-bar.org) from the IBA Conference Team, if you are interested in organising a lunch or dinner at the Annual Conference. It is advisable to contact Helen well ahead of the conference, as this will allow for sufficient time to source for a venue, get the relevant quotes, and ensure the event is advertised when booking for social events becomes available for delegates.
Committees are not permitted to organise informal offsite receptions in the name of the committee, and furthermore, committee budgets cannot be used to cover any costs connected to these.
As the International Bar Association (IBA) continues to develop and expand its global network, we are receiving more approaches from organisations and law firms wishing to advertise with and become involved with the IBA through sponsorship.
There is a clear need to provide a consistent and streamlined approach to entering into sponsorship agreements, to ensure both cost-efficient use of resources, and the protection and enhancement of the IBA’s reputation.
Committee officers or those involved in the organising of a conference are NOT authorised to agree advertising and sponsorship benefits or costs with a potential advertiser or sponsor, all queries regarding sponsorship must be directed to the Head of Advertising and Sponsorship for the IBA.
In order to enable the IBA to manage and track future advertising and sponsorship arrangements, an online booking system has been created. All sponsorship agreements must be completed via the system by the advertiser or sponsor. The online system details the benefits and costs, as set by the Head of Advertising and Sponsorship. Benefits and costs can only be arranged and agreed by the Head of Advertising and Sponsorship; any arrangements made by officers will be amended to comply with IBA Policy.
Neither officers, nor representatives of the sponsorship department are authorised to agree, discuss or confirm speaking opportunities at an IBA conference as part of a sponsorship agreement. All requests for speaking opportunities must be passed on to the appropriate conference organiser. Speaking opportunities can only be authorised by the Council Liaison Officers, conference chair(s) and host/organising committee of the said event.
It is important to note that law firms are not permitted to exhibit or distribute books or leaflets at any conference; in addition, Officers cannot distribute leaflets regarding non-IBA events at an IBA conference.
Details of all advertising and conference sponsorship opportunities, Terms & Conditions and IBA Sponsorship Policies and Guidelines can be obtained by contacting the Head of Advertising and Sponsorship.
Permitted | Not permitted |
Sponsor social events at any Conferences | Sponsor programme sessions of any Conference |
Sponsor opening party of Annual Conference | Speak at social events as part of social event sponsorship |
Sponsor LPD & PPID lunches at Annual Conference | Be a headline sponsor of a Specialist Conference |
Sponsor final Gala Night of Annual Conference | Exhibit at Specialist conferences |
Use Annual Conference delegate list for mailings | Distribute promotional materials at Specialist Conferences |
Advertise in all IBA Publications | Be an Official Corporate Supporter of the Annual Conference |
Give funding to IBAHRI | Exhibit at Annual conference |
Inserts in delegate bags | |
Sponsor opening Ceremony of Annual Conference | |
Advertise on IBA Website in skyscraper Adverts | |
Be the Official Sponsor of a Committee | |
Be an Official Sponsor of IBAHRI |
Permitted | Not permitted |
Sponsor social events at any Conferences | Sponsor programme sessions of any conferences |
Speak at social events as part of social event sponsorship | Sponsor opening Ceremony of Annual Conference |
Be a headline sponsor of a Specialist Conference | Official Sponsor of IBAHRI |
Exhibit at Specialist Conferences | |
Distribute promotional materials at Specialist Conferences | |
Be an Official Corporate Supporter of the Annual Conference | |
Exhibit at IBA Annual Conference | |
Inserts in delegate bags | |
Sponsor opening party of Annual Conference | |
Sponsor LPD & PPID lunches at Annual Conference | |
Sponsor final Gala Night of Annual Conference | |
Use annual conference delegate list for Mailings | |
Advertise in all IBA publications | |
Advertise on IBA Website in skyscraper adverts | |
Be the Official Sponsor of a Committee | |
Give funding to IBAHRI |
For events organised by an IBA committee or other entity, the following is expected:
Committee officers are encouraged to identify possible co-supporting opportunities for events organised by other reputable organisations with which liaison is deemed a benefit for the IBA and its committees and other entities.
For events organised by other organisations and law firms and supported by the IBA, the following rules will apply:
The principal staff contact for handling all co-supporting agreements is the Head of Marketing for the IBA.
Contact with the international media is co-ordinated by the IBA Press Officer. Throughout the year, information about IBA and Division events and activities is disseminated, on a regular basis, to the media through press release and discussions with journalists.
The IBA office maintains a press list consisting of national and international legal journals, legal correspondents of national newspapers, television and radio reporters, bar association journals and relevant business publications. Suggestions for additions to the press list are actively encouraged, particularly in specialist areas of law.
Press releases may be prepared for:
These are sent out to the press list as well as the leadership of the relevant regional forum. In the case of conferences, a press release may be sent also to relevant specialist journals, along with an invitation for press registration to the event.
Contact is made with legal correspondents of national newspapers and news associations, television and radio stations, and news editors of legal journals on a regular basis to keep them informed of general IBA and Division news and forthcoming events. In addition, the media themselves are in frequent contact requesting information, seeking contacts on particular specialist or regional areas, and for general background information. In this respect the IBA is often contacted for expert commentary.
The IBA Press Office collects press cuttings whenever possible. However, as it is expensive to use an international press cuttings agency, the Press Office relies on Division Officers, Council members and committee and forum chairs to send copies of any press coverage of Division events.
The Divisions recognise their responsibilities as a resource in international matters of relevance to the general practitioner to co-ordinate and make the expertise of its members available to the media and to other organisations in appropriate situations.
Division Officers, Council members, committee and entity chairs, and in exceptional cases Division members will provide their expertise as speakers or their views in interviews in connection with matters covering international business law. The Divisions will act only as the co-ordinating organisation. All Divisions’ members furnishing expertise or views to the media or to other organisations must furnish such expertise or views ‘as their own views and not necessarily the views of either the Divisions or the IBA’.
No member has the authority to express any views as being those of the Divisions or on behalf of the Divisions, without prior approval of the relevant Chairs of the Divisions. However, officers are encouraged to note their position within the IBA (e.g. Chair of the X Committee).
The following Guidelines for External Communication of the IBA were approved by the IBA Council September 2005 and must be followed by all officers and members of the IBA.
Making submissions or representing the IBA in formal proceedings before courts, authorities or official bodies should, as a rule, be made in the name of the Association and must always be authorised by the President.
Press releases on matters of Public and Professional Interest Division policy/activity are to be issued only through the SPPI, BIC or IBAHRI Chair or Co-Chairs, and the IBA office.
Any other Division Officer, Council member, committee or entity officer, or member must submit any proposal for a press release on PPID policy position/activity to the relevant PPID constituent Chair for approval prior to the drafting, and distribution of a press release to the media or to any outside organisation or person as a statement of position of the Division.
The divisions encourage links with other international, national and specialist bar associations, and with professional, industrial and business organisations. It encourages the exchange of views on technical subjects and subsequent dissemination to members on such topics.
The SPPI encourages constructive media coverage of all conferences held under its remit.
Access
The media will be given open access to all specialist and annual conferences unless the session chair or any individual speaker objects. Speakers may be called upon to attend press briefings or give interviews.
The IBA retains the right to the intellectual property encompassed in the content of these meetings. In the event of all or any part of a meeting being declared confidential, every effort should be made to conduct a press briefing after the meeting to convey information from the meeting not sought to be kept confidential.
Press Releases
Press releases announcing SPPI events must be issued through the IBA Office in London. The normal timing for issue of a release is as soon as the programme becomes available prior to the event, and this may be followed by a second release issued a week prior to the event.
SPPI Officers, and committee and entity chairs may supply core copy for such a release to the Head of Marketing who will translate it into the general house style and add in details such as membership figures. If during a conference a particularly controversial statement is made, or if there is some other newsworthy element (such as a noteworthy speaker or exceptionally large attendance figures with a broad geographical spread), a press release can be issued immediately following the meeting. The content of this release will be prepared by the appropriate Division representative and signed off by the IBA Office before release.
One-day training courses are offered throughout the world as part of an ongoing IBA programme to assist young lawyers and junior members of the profession with their understanding of the fundamentals of international legal practice.
The course provides exposure to international legal business practice which, through the wealth of international talent and expertise within its membership, the IBA is in the unique and unrivalled position to provide to young lawyers throughout the world.
The IBA works together with the local bar association or law society to put together a highly interactive course focusing on topics relevant to the region.
The following list of topics provides examples of those addressed at past courses. To ensure appropriate depth of discussion, no more than 4 topics are covered in one day.
Other topics from other committees can, of course, be added on request.
To volunteer as a speaker for future training courses, please contact Astrid Wargenau (Astrid.Wargenau@int-bar.org) who will add you to the database of speakers.
For stand-alone training courses (i.e. those not attached to a specialist or annual conference) the IBA will contribute to travel and accommodation expenses incurred.
Please contact the Head of Divisions Administration, Astrid Wargenau (astrid.wargenau@int-bar.org).
Many SPPI committees choose to award a scholarship to encourage participation of young lawyers who may not otherwise be able to participate in IBA activities such as the annual conference.
All scholarships must be administered through the Divisions department, who will be happy to:
Annual Conference Scholarships are awarded through the evaluation of papers submitted by applications on a topic determined by the committee. The essay topic must be based on a session that your committee is organising at the Annual Conference and the chosen scholar will need to be involved in this session. The committee must designate a judging panel to review the applications and to decide which young lawyer should be awarded the scholarship. For more information on the rules and guidelines for scholarship competitions, please contact the IBA Divisions Team (divisions@int-bar.org).
The Annual Conference Scholarship award provides a contribution towards travel and accommodation costs to attend the conference and includes a waived registration fee. In addition, scholars receive two years’ free membership of the IBA, free membership of one committee of the LPD and one committee of the PPID, as well as membership of a regional forum of their choice. Scholars also receive a waived registration fee for either the next IBA Annual Conference or the next specialist conference hosted by one of the scholar’s chosen committees. These post-conference benefits are conditional upon receipt of a written report submitted to the IBA office within one month of the conference, which is considered for publication in the Alumni Newsletter.
Scholarships relating to specialist conferences, or other events apart from the annual conference, must be discussed and agreed with the Divisions Department Staff, to ensure the fairness and stringency of the selection process, as well as to confirm availability of funds in the relevant budget. Please contact the IBA Divisions Team (divisions@int-bar.org) who will be happy to assist.
Please contact the IBA Divisions Team (divisions@int-bar.org).
The IBA offers various educational programmes regarding legal issues on a global scale, including an LL.M in International Legal Practice, which feature a flexible distance learning format and support structure, so that jurisdictional boundaries pose no barriers to successful completion.