Bar Associations and the Pandemic Response

A joint initiative between  LAWASIA and the American Bar Association (ABA)

LAWASIA and the American Bar Association (ABA) are launching an exciting collaborative initiative to tackle the most pressing issues facing legal communities in Asia. With more than 75 years of combined experience promoting rule of law and fostering cross-jurisdictional exchange of knowledge, LAWASIA and the ABA are bringing together lawyers and bar associations from across Asia and the United States in a four-part dialogue series examining how organizations have responded to the pandemic to survive and thrive when we arrive in the post-pandemic era.

Each action-focused dialogue will result in a report distilling lessons learned into actionable steps for bar associations to effectively respond to the pandemic while still protecting the rule of law.  

The inaugural session, Bar Associations and the Pandemic Response, will explore topics from client access to ways in which bar activities or bar independence have or have not been undermined. The session will also consider, where bar associations have been able to overcome challenges, those factors that enabled their success. Subsequent sessions in the series will  consider challenges and responses from the legal community related to: “Fake News” and Doxing Laws; Emergency Orders and Executive Powers; and What’s Next: Bar Associations and the Pandemic Response, Revisited. 

Program Details:

SESSION 1: Bar Associations and the Pandemic Response:

This session will provide an overview of how bar associations’ work has been impacted by the pandemic response from governments, including anything from client access to particular ways in which bar activities or bar independence have or have not been undermined and, where bar associations have been able to overcome challenges, a brief outline of the factors that enabled their success. At the end of the workshop, participants will come away with a better understanding of the issues faced by their colleagues, and will leave charged with considering what responses might be applicable to their jurisdictions. 

Watch webinar recording

READ THE ACTION REPORT HERE

Speaker Panel

Moderator: 

• Mr Alberto Mora, Associate Executive Director Global Programs, ABA | UNITED STATES

Opening Remarks:

• Mr Reginald Turner, President, ABA | UNITED STATES
• Mr Chunghwan Choi, President, LAWASIA | SOUTH KOREA 

Speakers:

• Saliya Peiris, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka | SRI LANKA
• Eugene Sohn, Member of International Committee, Korean Bar Association | SOUTH KOREA
• Juliet Sorensen, Member of the ABA Task Force on Legal Needs Arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic | UNITED STATES
• Lisa Sam, Vice President, The Law Society of Singapore | SINGAPORE

Webinar Details

Date: Wednesday 15 September 2021

Cost: Complimentary

Time: 

• 06:00 - 7:30 (Eastern time)
• 15:30 - 17:00 (Sri Lanka)
• 18:00 - 19:30 (Kuala Lumpur / Ulaanbaatar)
• 19:00 - 20:30 (Seoul)
• 20:00 - 21:30 (Sydney / Melbourne)