Pity the poor German delegate who experienced every conference-goer's nightmare. During an early morning session (seven o'clock, to be precise &150; the Yanks don't like to waste a minute of the day) on international alternative dispute resolution, Betty Murphy, the imposing chairwoman of the ABA's ADR committee, pointed to the Berlin-based lawyer and said, 'we're ready for your presentation'. This came as something of a shock to the bleary-eyed delegate (who shall remain un-named to spare his blushes), as clearly there had been e-mail breakdown between Atlanta and Berlin. Undeterred, Ms Murphy then announced to the bemused collection of mostly European delegates that she was going to force them to experience 'brash American networking'. Everyone had to stand up, give their names and then hand out business cards to those on either side. You can imagine how the English squirmed.