Lessons from abroad

International matters have been thrust in our faces during the last week.

And as governments have rallied one another for support, their international connections have proved an invaluable network.People may not realise that the Law Society carries out a great deal of international work through the remit of its international directorate.

And one of that directorate's key projects is with the Arab states.

Delegates are sent to advise how best their legal systems can move forward.

Similar projects are going on in South America.

It is good work and it is important for us as solicitors to realise that we are not insular.

Our legal system is not necessarily the most just and our colleagues abroad can provide invaluable support and experience.Take the pro bono awards, which are sponsored jointly by the Young Solicitors Group and the Gazette.

This is now a significant annual event on the calendar with hundreds of names being pushed forward for awards and a few coming out on top.

The awards show that lawyers are not all that bad after all.

But I must confess that it was not our idea in the first place.

It was an inherited idea from the US lawyers.

It was their forward thinking that gave us the idea.Multi-disciplinary practices? That's another idea from the US.

Extortionate working hours? That's a worldwide problem, I suspect, although a number of my colleagues have departed for a rather warmer climate in Australia.

It may mean less pay but I hear the way of life is a tad more relaxed.

And such knowledge and experience derived from there may raise questions in our minds about our own working conditions.To that end, the London Young Solicitors Group organises an annual international weekend in London, to coincide with the opening of the legal year.

This year it is scheduled for 28 to 30 September.

But what is it all about - and, frankly, why bother?I have to admit there is an awful lot of socialising to be had.

But that's not so bad.

The aim of the weekend is to get our message far and wide.

We let people know that we are here and the group has strong, ever-present links with lawyers from all around the world.

In a business sense the potential for marketing has to be unique.

But last week brought a wholly different angle to the friendships that we have made abroad.

After the events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, a string of condolences were sent by our group to our US counterparts, many of whom we know personally.

We were able to reach out to them and try to help in any way we could.

International support is now even more important than ever.

Fortunately, Robert E Hirshon, the President of the American Bar Association, and Laura Farber, the chairwoman of the ABA's young lawyers division, will still be able to attend.

We look forward to speaking to them both.

Who knows how current events will unfold.

Fittingly, the opening welcome speech at the Inner Temple Parliament Chamber on 28 September will be given by Sir Sydney Kentridge QC.

He is well known for his international human rights work.

Cases he has dealt with include those involving Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

We look forward to his words of welcome.

The weekend culminates in the international young lawyers ball on 29 September.

UK lawyers will get the chance to meet others from China, America, Holland, Russia, Brussels, Switzerland, Italy, France, and many other countries.

There's bound to be a lot of fun but also many lessons to be learnt.Jill Greenfield is chairwoman of London Young Solicitors Groupl For more information regarding the weekend or the ball, contact Jennifer.James@edwincoe.

com (020 7691 4016) or Jill Greenfield on jyg@rpc.couk (020 7306 3448).

Ball tickets cost 6