| Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the opening of registration at: http://www.rulg.com/cisforum/index2.asp for the 10th ECA (Europe-Caucasus-Asia) Legal Forum in Tbilisi to be held on 17-20 June at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. The registration for the 10th Forum will close on 1 June. The 10th Forum is hosted by BLC Law Office, with a special Workshop on Legal, Governance and Anticorruption Reforms presented by BGI Legal, as well as with active participation of the Georgian legal community and the Georgian International Arbitration Centre (GIAC). The Forum is the main platform in our economic region for the wide-scale gathering of leading business lawyers. It is held annually in different cities of the region chosen by the delegates. From the first Forum in Kiev in June 2006, the Forum has evolved into an informal network of managing and senior partners of national law firms from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, bringing them together with partners of international law firms from around the world, as well as with senior corporate counsel from multinational and national companies and the representatives of professional media and the legal industry. The Forum Program is posted at http://www.rulg.com/cisforum/forum_program.asp. The Forum is conducted in English and Russian with the simultaneous English- Russian translation. As always, a separate cultural Guest Program will be offered for the Guests of the Forum Delegates on 18-19 June, and the registered Guests will be included in all Forum's social events. We encourage you to bring your families and friends to participate in the Guest Program to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to explore the ancient historic gem of a country – Georgia! Our Social Program includes cultural tours, showcasing ancient traditions and local crafts, as well as contemporary art, and savoring the most delicious food and wine in the world! You can glimpse here what's awaiting you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ixuQmksThw Apart from our extremely busy regular Work and Social Program, this 10th Forum will focus on two remarkable achievements. The first is celebrating the Forum's 10th anniversary and honoring our veterans and the dedicated service of the Organizing Committee. The second is our Forum going global and joining the IBA family, with the main session of the Forum – the Interactive Audience Panel - dedicated to discussing the new life of the Forum. As we announced earlier, after more than 10 years of developing an idea into a successful institution, this anniversary Forum will be the last one in its current format, and the last one for our RULG team. At the 9th Forum in Vienna a year ago, I shared with the Delegates my two-part vision for the future of the Forum. The first part is aimed at preserving our principles and traditions, but also further developing our institution and bringing it, together with our legal community, into the global orbit of the legal profession under the auspices of IBA. The second part is generational change in the leadership of the Forum and forming a new Organizing Committee from the new generation of partners and corporate counsel. This vision will materialize in Tbilisi, where we will pass the torch to the IBA and the new Organizing Committee! At this time we invite all law firms and corporate counsel, who would like to volunteer their services to the new Organizing Committee, to send us at general@rulg.com your CV and your ideas for the new life of the ECA Forum. The current Organizing Committee, together with IBA, will evaluate the candidates and invite winners to serve at the new Organizing Committee. We will keep you informed on the logistics as our preparations progress, but at this time, we ask you to please register and reserve your hotel. The Forum's main hotel is beautiful and modern Radisson Blu Iveria, famous for its spectacular 360° views of our ancient city. The alternative hotel is a brand new stylish Rooms Hotel, which is a 7-minute walking distance from Radisson Blu Iveria. We were able to negotiate excellent special rates for you, and the reservation information is available at Forum's Registration page at: http://www.rulg.com/cisforum/index2.asp While making your reservation, please read carefully the terms and conditions specified by the hotel. All dealings with the hotel are the responsibility of individual delegates. If you would like us to recommend a more economic option near the Forum's main venue, or recommend a local travel agency to help organize your trip, please let us know during the registration and we will be happy to help. We look forward to hosting you on 17-20 June 2015 in Tbilisi! Co-Chair of the ECA Legal Forum, Irina Paliashvili, RULG-Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A. | |