The 31st Inter-Pacific Bar Association (“IPBA”) Annual Meeting and Conference was held from March 7 to 10, 2023 in Dubai, UAE. This was the world’s first offline annual event held by a major international lawyers’ association after Covid-19. The senior partner of JT&N Ms. Yunyan ZHANG, as the vice-chairperson of the Women Business Lawyers Committee (WBLC) of IPBA, was invited to attend the event and serve as forum host.
In addition to the exciting opening ceremony and plenary sessions, the March 8 conference featured several parallel sub-forums on topics ranging from ESG to Greenwashing, from international climate change litigation to intellectual property protection, and from big data taxation to investor-state dispute resolution.
Ms. Yunyan ZHANG was invited to be the host of the afternoon sub-forum on March 8, titled “The Diverse Path of the Law - Twists and Turns to Success”.
Coinciding with International Women’s Day, Ms. ZHANG and several other speakers of the forum discussed and shared the different growth paths of female lawyers, their mental journey and insights on their career path as lawyers. And the speakers also provided direction and guidance for young lawyers from different perspectives. Ms. ZHANG has delivered speeches at the IPBA Annual Meeting and Conference for two consecutive years in the sub-forum with the topic of women lawyers’ professional development. It was hoped that through this international event for the legal profession, the voice of Asia, the voice of China and the voice of Chinese women lawyers would be heard by fellow lawyers and other fields around the world.
During that period, Ms. ZHANG, together with other members of the Belt and Road International Lawyers Association (BRILA), visited the Royal Advisor of Dubai and had a cordial discussion on the exchange and cooperation of the Belt and Road laws.
During the conference, Ms. ZHANG also attended many receptions and dinners organized by IPBA and various economic and trade offices, hoping to have face-to-face communication with all sectors through business perspectives, thereby updating them on China dynamics and attracting more investors to invest in China, as well as seeking new business opportunities for the Chinese lawyers.
Ms. Yunyan ZHANG ranked as a “Top 100 China Lawyer”. Due to her outstanding practice performance in the foreign-related legal area, Ms. ZHANG was awarded the personal third-class merit citation for lawyers, and the title of “Leading Talent of Foreign-related Lawyers in China” by All China Lawyers Association. She has also received many awards and honors from China Law and Practice, ALB, China Law Yearbook, Business Law, The Legal 500, and other well-known media/institutions.
As a vice-president unit of ADVOC and one of the first batch of members of BRILA, JT&N maintains an international practice network and close practice cooperation with law firms in more than 180 countries and regions around the world. JT&N is one of the leading large and comprehensive law firms in Asia, striving for optimal resource sharing and practice interaction on a global scale. JT&N has always been providing high-quality legal services of international standard to its clients and will keep contributing its strength to boost the international influence of Chinese lawyers!