The Law Society will this week seek to ‘dispel myths’ surrounding liberalisation of the legal market as thousands of lawyers from around the world gather for the International Bar Association conference.

Around 6,000 legal professionals are in Boston, Massachusetts to debate issues affecting the legal profession across the world.

More than 800 delegates from England and Wales, from City and regional firms, in-house and academia, have travelled across the Atlantic.

The Law Society is strongly represented, with chief executive Desmond Hudson and chief of corporate affairs Patricia Greer both on main stage panels.

Hudson will speak about non-lawyer ownership models, which have been embraced in England and Wales but strongly opposed by jurisdictions such as the US and Germany.

A Society spokesman said: ‘We will be dispelling some of the myths around ABS. We will continue to demonstrate that ABS is a market liberalisation but most definitely not deregulation.’

The Society will also have its own stall at the conference and will seek to promote domestic firms on the international stage.

Allen & Overy partner Michael Reynolds is the current IBA president and will oversee the conference.

The Gazette will be reporting daily on all the key sessions – you can follow our coverage at www.lawgazette.co.uk.