Jun 25, 2008: THIRD CIS LOCAL COUNSEL FORUM

We are pleased to announce that the third CIS Local Counsel Forum will take place in St.Petersburg, Russia on June 25-27, 2008, hosted by the leading Russian law firm of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners. The registration is now open at http://www.rulg.com/cisforum/index2.asp

The inaugural CIS Local Counsel Forum was held in Kiev in June 2006 and was the first ever wide-scale meeting of the international legal community with the best Local Counsel law firms from the CIS economic region, representing Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Since then the CIS Forum has evolved into an informal network of managing and senior partners of CIS law firms, meeting annually in different venues chosen by the Delegates. The second Forum was successfully held in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 20-22, 2007, hosted by the prominent Azeri law firm Fina LLP. 

The Forum meetings bring together leading business lawyers from the CIS economic region and from around the world, with an approximately equal split between representatives of the international legal community and of the CIS legal community. The delegates share the Mission of the Forum - "Bringing together the CIS and international legal communities with the aim of creating joint business opportunities and long-term cooperation". This Mission reflects the 21st century reality, in which global investors view the CIS countries as a broad and dynamic economic region with intertwined business connections and comparable legal systems. The motto of the Forum is "Know Your Local Counsel - Recognize an Opportunity". 

The Forum's website http://www.rulg.com/cisforum provides you with detailed information about the Forum, its Mission and Concept, a valuable database of the best CIS Local Counsel Firms (CIS Local Counsel Questionnaires), media coverage and comments from the delegates, as well as comprehensive information about the first Forum in Kiev and second Forum in Baku including the Program, Lists of Delegates and Guests, Bios and Presentations of Moderators and Panelists and wonderful pictures, which reflect the open and exciting spirit of the Forum.   

The Forum allows the Delegates to share, in an open and friendly spirit, the latest legal and economic news from their jurisdictions, and to establish important business contacts. The Forum meetings in Kiev and Baku demonstrated the huge demand among the CIS law firms for on-going communication and business cooperation, as well as the international legal community's tremendous interest in the CIS region. The Forum’s success is explained by the outstanding value it gives to the Delegates, in equal measures for both law firms and corporate counsel. The corporate counsel, representing major CIS and multinational companies, have a separate panel at the Forum, and their participation became possible to the large extent due to the kind support of the Russian Corporate Counsel Association and its President, Ms. Alexandra Nesterenko.

The draft Program of the third Forum is already posted on the Web site, and other information will be posted as preparations progress. We look forward to seeing you in St. Petersburg!