Events
The American Branch stages a major conference – International Law Weekend – which runs for several days
in New York each October, and biennial International Law Weekends on the west coast and in the Midwest.
These educational conferences bring together practitioners, academics, government officials, and members
of international and nongovernmental organizations. One distinctive feature of the American Branch is
that Branch members and students associates are entitled to free admission to these conferences. The
material below highlights International Law Weekend, International Law Weekend – West, International Law
Weekend – Midwest, other Branch programs, and the biennial conferences of the London-based International
Law Association.
International Law Weekend
Each October, the American Branch presents International Law Weekend (ILW) in New York City.
This two-and-a-half day conference features over 30 panels, and many of the world’s leading
international lawyers participate. John Bellinger, the Legal Adviser to the U.S.
Department of State, spoke at the ILW 2008 luncheon, and the Belgian Mission to
the United Nations hosted the Weekend's annual gala reception. In 2009, the
speaker was Lucy Reed, President of the American Society of International Law
and an international arbitration specialist at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
LLP, and the British Mission hosted the annual reception. Recent ILWs have
attracted approximately 800-1,000 registrants.
Attendance at ILW, as at all American Branch conferences and programs, is free for members of the
American Branch and for the Branch's student associates.
International Law Weekend - West
Every other year the American Branch holds International Law Weekend – West. This two-day conference
began in 2001 in Malibu and has been held in subsequent years in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, and Santa Clara,
California. Its most recent stop was Salem, Oregon in March 2009.
The next ILW-West will take place February 25-26, 2011 at Southwestern Law School
in Los Angeles.
International Law Weekend - Midwest
Biennial Conferences
Registration is now open for the ILA's biennial conference in The Hague, August 15-20, 2010.
Much of the work of the ILA occurs at its biennial conferences, where members from all national
branches interact, ILA committees hold working sessions, and numerous international law experts speak.
The 2008 ILA conference, hosted by the Brazilian Branch, was in Rio de Janiero. Following the August 2010
conference in The Hague, the Bulgarian and Japanese branches will host conferences, in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
The ILA accepted the American Branch's invitation to hold the 2016 conference in the United States, which last
hosted a biennial conference in 1972.
Other Programs
The American Branch sponsors occasional talks and programs, especially in the Washington, DC area,
and cosponsors numerous events. See the Calendar of Events. For example, the Branch has recently staged
two International Law Career Panels for students as well as the substantive panels, "Treaties in U.S. Courts"
and "A World of Free Trade Agreements."
If you are interested in hosting an event or have suggestions for future events, please contact
Rachel Smith, the American Branch’s Program Director, at
programdirector@ila-americanbranch.org.
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