Washington Legal
The IBA Annual Conference is a “traveling” venue that is hosted in different cities around the world. Notably, each location entrusts the largest legal forum with its own spirit, topics and cultural offering. On 18-23 September more than 6,000 delegates came to the US capital, Washington DC, on the eve of the presidential elections and hot political debates.
With it being held in the heart of US politics, the conference program stood out for its unprecedented number of showcase sessions with Attorney General Loretta E Lynch, Ge- neral Colin L Powell, US Secretary of State (2001 — 2005), The Rt. Hon. Arlene Foster MLA, first Minister of Northern Ireland, Robert S Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2001 — 2013) and others.
The conference program stood out for recently widely discussed topics of corruption and money laundering, cyber security and cybercrimes, rule of law, law firm management and the challenges of digitalization.
And traditionally the IBA’s “legal week” is the perfect time for business development and networking, personal meetings and negotiations, getting the contacts of colleagues from another jurisdictions, learning novelties from leading publishers and service providers.
The number of Ukrainian delegates grows year on year, including regular attendees, a new generation of participants who won IBA scholarships, bar representatives, and newcomers pursuing international contacts. Ukrainian law firms were present in the guise of Avellum, Aequo, Asters, Arzinger, Antika, Sayenko Kharenko, Vasil Kisil & Partners, GOLAW, FCLEX, Integrites, RULG Ukrainian Legal Group, etc.
Key speakers
Opening the conference IBA President David Rivkin noted in his introductory remarks that the rule of law is an ancient and universal concept. He noted that at the beginning of 2016 the IBA Council adopted the IBA Practical Guide for Business Lawyers on Business and Human Rights and this a substantial step forward for the development of the legal profession.
Another important message from the president, which was explicitly reflected in the program of the conference, was the issue of judicial corruption. No doubt, the problem is striking for many emerging countries, including Ukraine. The IBA Judicial Integrity Initiative has published appropriate report and launched the IBA Judicial Anti-Corruption Compact. “By publishing the Compact and its signatories on the websites of our member bar associations and the judiciaries, we hope to change the expectations in many countries that corruption is the only way to succeed in judicial proceedings”, he said.
At the Opening Ceremony the keynote speech was delivered by Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. She addressed global trends from the widespread backlash against globalization and the growing gap in trust in institutions, issues of corruption and its macroeconomic consequences as well as unethical behavior in the private sector. Surprisingly, the speaker paid great attention to the issue of Ukraine and explained that the government asked the IMF to assist in developing a comprehensive diagnostic study of corruption. Another area of the IMF’s efforts, according to its managing director, lies in increased fiscal transparency and anti-money laundering. “So in both areas — public corruption and unethical behavior — the rule of law plays a key role in creating incentives. A credible threat of prosecution is critical”, she said, “What we need is a culture of values, not just compliance”.
Special inclusions
A groundbreaking interest of the delegates was attracted by the special session dedicated to Brexit. This news excited the world, while its real consequences are hardly understandable for both business leaders and policy makers. Jack Straw, former British foreign secretary, explained Brexit by the “lack of emotional attachment to the idea of a union” and attempts to take back control over migration.
The importance of extending jurisdiction beyond the borders regularly appears on the IBA agenda since application of these laws recently led to a number of corruption scandals. When discussing the “USA’s long arm of justice” the issue of defining extraterritorial reach was of great importance. For example, the FCPA is not always defined as extraterritorial, and the US jurisdiction is not usually involved. Among recent cases are charges of corruption against FIFA officials, indicated by the US, but who were not US citizens.
The issue of cybersecurity is gaining momentum worldwide, and was addressed at the session dedicated to management of cyber threats. As international research revealed, two thirds of FTSE350 companies suffered from cyber breaches within the last 12 months. According to Philip Celestini, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the reported value of losses for the first quarter of 2016 evaluated at USD 209 million. Moreover, a huge number of cyber attacks remained unknown, while the risks are constantly evolving. The problem entails the necessity to adjust corporate internal regulations with these challenges. Another important impact occurred in the approach of investors and due diligence requests within transactions.
First-hand insight was presented during the interactive session on how small entrepreneurs can be successful in negotiations with multinational corporations. This is a particularly relevant story for the IT sector where the growth is predominantly stipulated by these sorts of deal-makers. Having shared his experience the Ukrainian entrepreneur Alex Zhukov, VideoGorillas (Los Angeles, CA), said that negotiations involving small and big are built on “manipulation of dreams”. “Every decision-maker in a multinational corporation has an own agenda. While surfing these individual agendas and helping insiders in reaching their internal goals, a small entrepreneur can shape business processes of big multinationals”, he said. Understanding these agendas determines successful sale to the insiders. Another challenging question on how to protect a small company from negotiation pressure, in particular, exclusivity or no-shop agreements. Mr. Zhukov explains this is especially risky when an entrepreneur is at the pre-revenue stage. The mindset of corporate counsels and their considerations became perhaps the most valuable for industry players when developing negotiation techniques. “The discussion with GCs revealed that they analyze not only great number of corporate risks, but also individual ones. And even more… I was especially surprised to find out that they even think ahead of possible changes in legislation in a number of years, when a contract may become the subject of litigation”, he concluded.
Networking is valuable
The IBA Annual Conference could be easily called a contest of creativity and hospitality. Apart from various arrangements for committees, law firms are willing to arrange receptions and parties, exciting entertainments and memorable souvenirs.
On 21 September the Ukrainian Bar Association, with the support of leading law firms, held a national reception called Open Ukraine at the Ukrainian Embassy in the US. Among the distinguished speakers of the reception was Bogdan Futey, retired attorney, US federal judge. The promotion of Ukraine within the IBA framework is already a good tradition and a very important signal for the global legal community. Vladimir Sayenko, UBA International Relations Officer, partner at Sayenko Kharenko, commented: “It’s a pleasure to see that this joint effort by the UBA and eight leading Ukrainian law firms to promote Ukraine and recent reforms in the country is becoming increasingly popular among the professionals attending the IBA. It is even a bigger pleasure to realize that more and more Ukrainian lawyers share the values of the global legal community and become its active members. We are grateful to the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington for hosting the UBA reception at its historical Forrest-Marbury mansion and contributing to its authentic Ukrainian atmosphere”.
Sergiy Oberkovych, GOLAW
The IBA is a unique platform to discuss and analyze the best achievements of the legal practice at international level, to share experiences, new project opportunities, innovative ideas as well as to network with peers. This year’s conference offered a great chance to discuss the modern challenges and issues facing the legal profession. Regardless of the fact that the conference program was quite extensive and included more than 200 substantive legal sessions and panels, GOLAW partners had an opportunity to generate new business and to develop a unique set of contacts with leading firms from major world jurisdictions. I was particularly pleasantly impressed to witness serious interest of some major US law firm’s clients to explore the new lucrative opportunities in Ukraine related to project finance, infrastructure and energy as well as the food and agriculture sectors. At the same time, the message was put across quite clearly that although Ukraine is on the right track, it still has to pass the ultimate test on its commitment to further strengthening the rule of law and solid democratic transformation, especially in fighting corrupt judicial practices.
A number of exquisite social functions helped us to rediscover the great history and culture of the US capital from a new angle. DC is remarkable place with great history and culture. Within the confines of the Annual Conference we had the pleasure to attend some notable places such as the World Bank, the US Supreme Court and a number of ambassadorial residences. The overall experience was more than positive regardless of our exhausting schedule and pursuits.
Alexander Stepanovski, Stepanovski,
Papakul & Partners (Belarus)
This is definitely the largest gathering of legal practitioners in the world. And this is a perfect opportunity to meet truly good contacts for business. As for the program, I concentrated on the sessions dedicated to corporate, M&A, transactional practices. This was logical as the corporate practice generates almost 40% of our revenue. Despite the fact that the panels are sizeable (6-10 speakers) and multinational, some practical useful insights are still present.
How does the IBA impact business? Personal meetings are a very valuable option. This time I managed to arrange numerous meetings. We are especially interested in meeting colleagues from European countries, the Baltic States and the US. It is noteworthy that we have already cooperated with some of them. The IBA offered a great chance for personal meetings, to enhance trust, exchange ideas and updates. Moreover, this is my second IBA and another opportunity to see Washington and outstanding places as all the receptions and parties are held around points of interest. I like the IBA for combining personal and business development, new knowledge and impressions in one single place.
