ACADEMIA

Leading legal experts in the computing and communications technology field will reveal some of the latest developments in this area and their anticipated effect on the legal landscape at the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Conference, taking place in San Francisco, between 14 and 19 September 2003. The session entitled ‘Technology and communications call on the future’, will provide an overview of the various strands of technological developments in leading computing and communications technology companies in California and the rest of the world, and their potential influence on new products and services over the next five years. The session will then move on to consider how these developments are already leading to changes in legal advice and practice and their likely impact within the same five year-time frame. Specific issues that will be addressed are: • Developments in Chip Design – Cadence Design Systems Speaker – Peter Chen, Head of Intellectual Property, Cadence Design Systems • The Server Market – Hewlett Packard Speaker – Jim Shaughnessy, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Enterprise Systems Group, Hewlett Packard Company • Computing on Demand – IBM Speaker – John M Lutz, Vice President, e-business on demand sales, Americas and Global • The Future Shape of the Software Industry – SAP Speaker – Peter Graf, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Alliances • Developments in Databases and Knowledge Management – Oracle Speaker – Sanjay Prasad, Chief Patent Counsel, Oracle Corporation • Trends in Networking – Cisco Speaker – Michael Stevens, Cisco • Adapting the Law to the Future Computing Landscape: The Framework for a Possible Global Convention for Liability Speaker – Professor Christopher Reed, Professor of Electronic Commerce Law, Queen Mary & Westfield College, London The session will be co-chaired by Christopher Rees of Herbert Smith and Stephen Johnson of Kirkland and Ellis. Over 3,000 leading lawyers from the world’s major jurisdictions will participate in the IBA Conference 2003, San Francisco. Attendees will not only benefit from extensive networking opportunities, but can expect to receive the most up-to-date and substantive information relating to cross-border practice of law from some of the most recognised and highly respected experts in their fields. To find out more about the Conference, please visit www.ibanet.org/sanfrancisco, or contact Emma Hands, Senior Marketing and Public Relations Executive, by tel: +44 (0)20 7629 1206 or by email: emma.hands@int-bar.org