Welcome letter of the President

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends, Sehr geehrte Kolleginnen und Kollegen!

Herzlich Wilkommen bei der AIJA, herzlich willkommen in München! It is a pleasure to invite you to Munich, Germany to participate in the 54th International Young Lawyers’ Congress organized by AIJA, where we expect over 600 participants! The event is a unique learning and networking opportunity for all career-building lawyers working on the international scene, and it is also essential for enhancing cooperation and friendship between young lawyers from all over the world.

According to our statutes, the “official definition” of youth – somewhat surprisingly for some – applies to anybody who is under 45 years of age. The age limit enables personal and career development, guarantees networking and business generation and also ensures that we can learn from each other in a very efficient and enjoyable way.

In AIJA’s more than half a century of history, this will be the third time that the annual congress returns to “München”, after 1965 and then 1988, the year before the Berlin Wall, “die Berliner Mauer”, came down in Germany and the democratic changes in Central Eastern Europe started. Since then the world has undergone signifi cant economic, technological and social changes and the pace of our lives and the demands of our profession have dramatically changed and continue to change. The instability of the global climate, together with the increasing violence and terror attacks which have blighted the world over the past 12 months, make it our duty to communicate openly with each other. AIJA is an incredible organization which helps this to happen. AIJA contributes to making the world a better place through the friendships built here among different cultures and nations.

I encourage you to join our congress, which is open to non-members and members alike. Participating will benefit you in many ways! It is challenging for the young generation after the economic crisis, and it is essential to obtain new skills and adapt ourselves to an ever changing legal and business environment. Clients search for the best lawyers who are also business-minded, are persuasive negotiators and public speakers, and who are also well-connected to foreign lawyers too. AIJA’s social and scientifi c programs provide a unique platform for networking, for learning and sharing and for obtaining the requisite skills. Please spread the word so that more young lawyers can get involved!

München will offer a great setting for the cutting-edge scientific and unique social program that the Organizing Committee and the Work-Coordinators, with the help of other volunteering AIJA members, have put together.

The congress hotel is ideally located within the beautiful English Garden, which is among Europe’s biggest city parks, with a lake at its center. It cannot be a surprise that some of the famous beer gardens are conveniently located a few steps away. What more can you ask for from a congress hotel in the month of August?!

Come and join us to experience the “AIJA Spirit” and to make this a congress to remember!

 

Orsolya Görgényi, Budapest, Hungary
President of AIJA