There was plenty of banter about Euro 2004 at the conference held by the International Bar Association and the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA) - whose cut-off age stretches the definition of 'young' to its absolute limit with a very non-discriminatory 45 - in Amsterdam last week. Unfortunately for Obiter, the president of AIJA just had to be Portuguese, while there seemed to be strangely little appetite to talk about England's recent cricketing triumphs over New Zealand. Conference highlights nevertheless included a Dutch speaker from a big four accountancy firm who sported a dazzling orange leather jacket. Whether this was for patriotic reasons or to prevent delegates falling asleep after a heavy lunch was unclear. There was also the enjoyable sight of one of the conference co-chairmen brandishing a yellow card to speakers who were overrunning their allotted time. Although not quite done with the flamboyance of Swedish referee Anders Frisk, it certainly provoked the same look of disbelief and confusion on those at the receiving end.