The Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) is accepting applications for its Scholarship Programme to enable practising lawyers to attend the IPBA’s 28th annual meeting and conference to be held in Manila, Philippines, March 14-16, 2018.  

The programme was established in honour of M.S. Lin of Taipei, who was one of the founders and a Past President of the IPBA. Its purpose is to bring to the AGM and conference lawyers who would not otherwise be able to attend and who would both contribute to, and benefit from attending.

During the conference, scholars get the chance to meet key members of the legal community of the Asia-Pacific region through receptions, lectures, workshops, and social events. The programme aims to provide scholars with substantial tools and cross-border knowledge to assist them in building their careers in their home country.

There are two categories of lawyers who are eligible to become an IPBA Scholar. Firstly, young lawyers - under the age of 35 with less than seven years of post-qualification experience. And, secondly, lawyers from developing countries. Applicants must be a citizen of and be admitted to practice in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Bangladesh, or the Pacific Islands.  

A full list of criteria for entry and instructions on how to apply is on the IPBA website. The deadline is September 30, 2017.

Preference will be given to applicants who would be otherwise unable to attend the conference because of personal or family financial circumstances, and/or because they are working for a small firm without a budget to allow them to attend.

The IPBA is an international association of business and commercial lawyers with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. It was founded in April 1991 in Tokyo and has since grown to a membership of over 1300 lawyers from 65 jurisdictions around the world.

The annual meeting and conference is a four-day event with sessions on a variety of subjects. This year it was held in Auckland.

Previous annual conferences have been held in Tokyo, Sydney, Taipei, Singapore, San Francisco, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Vancouver, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Seoul, Bali, Beijing, Los Angeles and Osaka/Kyoto.