Morning Keynote Address: A world without lawyers? The IBA report on the social and economic impact of the legal profession

Lawyers’ work touches almost every aspect of citizens’ lives. The legal profession plays an important role in upholding the rule of law, the laws of the land , seeking to limit Government excesses and defending freedom of speech . All essential elements in a strong democracy. Unfortunately, the value of the rule of law and of lawyers’ work is invisible and too often goes unnoticed. To remedy this situation, the IBA launched in June a landmark report giving visibility by measuring for the first time, in a comprehensive manner, the positive social and economic impact of the legal profession and of the Rule of Law. The report has also identified areas for improvement.

This Presidential session will offer an open debate about the role of lawyers and our contribution to society. The session will start with a short presentation by McKinsey of the main findings of the report followed by a conversation amongst the speakers and the audience.