International Bar Association Conference Singapore 14th- 19th October 2007

Anne-Marie Hutchinson and Rhiannon Lewis attended the 50th Anniversary conference of the IBA in Singapore which was attended by over 3500 international lawyers.

Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE is current Chair of the Legal Practice Division Family Law Committee and Chaired the family law session.

The Family Law session, held on 18th October was addressed, as keynote speaker, by Judge Albie Sachs of The Constitutional Court of South Africa. Justice Sachs, a renowned human rights activist and a primary drafter of the South African Constitution , spoke of his commitment to the upholding of the constitutional right to family life and of the importance of an all-embracing constitution in a multi-cultural society.

The session was addressed by speakers from Lebanon, Japan, Switzerland, South Africa, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. who spoke on the international aspects of the family, its changing forms and the right to marry. There were equally erudite presentations on forum shopping, the international divorce jurisdiction ,international asset protection and asset tracing.

Dawson Cornwell solicitors are delighted to announce that the firm attended the full conference as market visit participants of The UK Trade & Investment and The Law Society Of England and Wales mission.

The firm was represented by partners Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE and Rhiannon Lewis. UK Trade and Investment is the Government organization that assists UK companies to succeed in an increasingly global market. The Law Society represents more than 1200,000 solicitors located in over 75 countries all over the world.

The next IBA conference will be in Buenos Aires 12th October – 17th October 2008 at which a number of sessions of interest to family lawyers will be held. The main family law session will be chaired by Anne-Marie Hutchinson.