Rapporteur
Sokunvannary Tep, Tep & Partners Law Office, Phnom Penh

The International Bar Association (IBA) is the world’s largest international organisation of law societies, bar associations and individual lawyers engaged in transactional law. The IBA Annual Conference is the leading conference for legal professionals worldwide to meet, share knowledge, build contacts and develop business. It also serves to advance the development of international law and its role in business and society to provide members with world-class professional development opportunities to enable them to deliver outstanding legal services.

This year, the IBA hosted around 6,000 lawyers from more than 120 jurisdictions. The IBA Annual Conference presented informative and engaging sessions covering current topics of significance to lawyers throughout the world. The Annual Conference working sessions are complemented by a full social programme which provides the opportunity for delegates to meet and establish or maintain business contacts and friendships with peers of the legal profession worldwide.

The IBA also offers annual opportunities for young lawyers from around the world to apply for scholarships, which recognise outstanding individuals in the legal profession with the aim of providing interactive and educational opportunities to the growing international legal community. This year, scholarships were awarded to 29 scholars selected by respective committees of the Section of the Legal Practice Division and Section of Public and Professional Interest Division. I was privileged to be awarded the scholarship by the IBA Law Firm Management Committee (LFMC).

There were many working sessions and social functions happening in parallel. However, as the award winner of LFMC, most of the sessions I attended were the main sessions organised by the LFMC, while I also took some time to learn other topics during the conference.

Below is the key summary of all the working sessions I attended during the Annual Conference.

1. Summary notes of LFMC sessions

Business Development Superpower and How to Harness Them – Part 1 on ‘Data-driven business development’

In this session, the panel focused on data-driven business development and shared best practices on collecting, assessing and using information from a variety of sources to drive better business development practices.

Law firms have access to more data (referrals, contact information, opportunities, activities etc) than ever before. However, most fail to harness that information and use it to further their business development strategy. The panel emphasised that:

• internal and external data are important as they influence decision making in the firm;
• data-driven thought leadership where decisions are made is based on data collected rather than based on mere opinions; and
• in order to collect data, we need to understand clients’ priorities, needs and their budget. By doing so, we can lead our data-driven strategies and can more easily anticipate future risks indicated in the table below:

However, future risks vary by sectors, so we should adjust to what the clients are most concerned about on the horizon. In addition, in order to boost share of client expense, to provide diverse lawyers or standout lawyers, innovative approaches, brand affinity and to obtain client feedback, we should be the industry expertise and provide collaborative teams to clients.

• The other way to collect data is through feedback from clients, for example, such as setting up a ‘client listening programme’ to actively engage in feedback conversation to increase client understanding and service expectations.
• Data is the new oil. However, it has to be refined to make it valuable.
• In successful client relationship management, there are some components to consider: measurable improvements in client experience; demonstrable impact on share of client spending; quantifiable gains against industry leaders and peers; and utilisation of adoptable (and adaptable) tools by staff.
• The other way to make data more valuable is to collect industry-focused data. The data should inform strategy integration, accountability, knowledge, engagement, investment and resourcing, marketing and business development.
• Data can also be used to deepen client relationships so, therefore, firms need to be clear about what they want to use data for from the management level, otherwise it is just collected for the sake of it.

In summary, in relation to using data efficiently, law firms shall:

• establish governance process to collect data and drive action;
• ensure that the data is used to create campaign advocating;
• be storyteller in using data; and
• use data to drive strategies.

Business Development Superpower and How to Harness Them – Part 2 on ‘Social media: the part it plays in strategy’

In this session, the panel discussed how social media platforms (such as LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram and WeChat) work for lawyers, and how these tools can be used to grow existing client relationships, garner new clients and develop a reputation.

Key points and actions for lawyers to make use of social media platforms for business development and strategies are provided as follows:

• LinkedIn is frequently used by in-house counsels, around 80 per cent of them, so we should post on it at least once a week. Instagram is for slightly younger audiences.
• There are four lawyers’ social media archetypes:

-    the firm cheerleader, whose post has no value to clients;

-    the self-promoter, whose post has no real value to their outside audiences;

-    the artist, whose post is original and somewhat gives value to clients; and

-    the value adder, whose post provides information which is valuable to clients.

• Having a strategy is important prior to using social media because we can:

-    think through as to the purposes of using social media;

-    have a clear idea who the audience is;

-    think about our position and what to convey; and

-    how you position your firm.

• A lawyer can differentiate themselves and stand out on social media by:

-    consistently engaging with clients through their posts; and

-    sharing content driven and quality posts.

• In the world of social media, in order for a post of a lawyer and that of a firm mesh with another, the law firm should:

-    empower lawyers to do branding, create good content, make content to a high enough standard that the employees want to repost and that they become employer branding promotion;

-    designate a branding manager to create content.

• The most important thing a lawyer needs to know about using social media is:

-    LinkedIn has become a content platform (not just a PR platform), so when we do a post, make sure it is valuable to the audience;

-    choose one or two types of post/content and become known for it; and

-    LinkedIn is where your potential clients are, so invest in time with your potential clients.

• Social media is not a one-way transaction when firms create content that attracts comments and interaction:

•    firms should use social media to show their unique brand by:

-    sharing unique insight and the practice area they are active in;

-    investing in brand marketing, such as using visuals; and

-    avoid using conventional wording etc.

• Besides LinkedIn, there are other platforms that lawyers might consider as runner-up in terms of having value:

-    website;

-    email list; and

-    TikTok.

• To produce a compelling post is to:

-    keep it short and punchy;

-    make it linked to what you are doing;

-    audience-centric, who and what they want to get; and

-    authenticity.

Pricing legal services

In this session, the panel looked at profitability of a law firm from the pricing perspective to win work and to reflect efficiency while maintaining billable work as it is a main source of profit. The panel also looked at proper budget management.

The panel provided some insight of pricing in relation to profitability and budget management of the firm as follows:

• To price our services, we should:

-    discuss with clients to check on their expectations;

-    create a pricing tailored programme;

-    make sure partners have a common message in pricing which is ‘profitability’;

-    consider cross-functional approach to pricing by taking comments from other functions such as finance, IT, etc, or other functions which are involved in delivering the services to clients;

-    collect data to price cost on jobs involved; and

-    look at budget and profitability of clients.

• If there is a request from clients on discount, we should:

-    consider if it is acceptable or not based on volume, relationship and if it is good for us to do so; and

-    check with clients how other firms charge that would make us change our fee structure.

• Firms should also start using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for billing as it will improve our work, client relationship and make billing most effective.

Do clients fit into strategy?

The short answer is ‘yes’.

Law firms are increasingly thinking about their strategy and how to stand out in a competitive market. In this session, the panel discussed how we design our strategy considering our client’s perspective, how we can invite clients into our strategic planning, how we can deliver what our clients really need and are looking for, and how can we figure out how our clients’ needs will continue to develop in a fast-changing world.

The panel highlighted the key points below.

• We should talk to general counsels to get their feedback to understand their concerns, priorities and needs.
• In building client relationships, we need to have associates align with what we are doing.
• When you listen to clients and act upon that, they would be willing to provide feedback that would also bring growth to the firm. For example, office expansion to other jurisdictions as your clients need you there.
• In the conversation with clients, to an extent, there should be transparency to share our strategic thinking.
• Clients also want to know what we are doing and where, taking into account concerns of clients geographically.
• We should also start using readily available AI tools to increase productivity and efficiency of work for clients.
• On to the future, firms should work in partnership with clients in choosing clients and being agile, etc.

Small/medium firms – creating sustainable profitability

Small and medium sized law firms are often disproportionally affected by geopolitical events and economic instability, they tend to have smaller cash reserves, find it more difficult to attract and retain talent in times of labour shortage, and lack the non-lawyer expert input that international firms would tend to receive.

In this session, the panel addressed challenges of small and medium sized firms and how to overcome them for sustainable profitability by highlighting the following points:

• In an increasingly competitive environment, to increase profitability depends on many factors which varies from firm to firm.
• There are six drivers of profitability in a law firm:

-    pricing: being cheap isn’t a strategy. Firms should focus on value;

-    productivity: firms should consider universal time keeping for analysing productivity;

-    realisation: it is the realisation in recording, billing and collecting fees;

-    cost management: it is about how well we manage costs of the firm such as facilities, etc;

-    compensation: firms shall also take into account of attrition cost for example; and

-    leverage that firms have such as (a) staffing leverage and (b) work leverage.

• The most challenging matter for small and medium sized firms is finding talent. In attracting and retaining talent, firms shall:

-    compensate them fairly;

-    have regular appraisal to keep them encouraged; and

-    become flexible and understand their needs.

2. Summary notes of non-LFMC sessions

Digitisation of insurance: technology and trends

This session looked at the current trends in insurance markets, focusing on how digitisation is impacting the way the insurance industry manages risk and services clients. This joint session of the IBA Insurance Committee and its International Commerce & Distribution Committee examined how ongoing developments in areas such as big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain and insurtech are impacting product design, underwriting, distribution and claims in a variety of product lines. The panel brought together both industry representatives and lawyers in private practice for an insightful discussion of these technologies and trends, and how law and regulation are responding.

Keynote speech address: technology futurist and specialist in generative AI solution

The keynote speech was delivered by Zack Kass who has worked at the vanguard of AI for the last 14 years, most recently serving as the Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI. He is responsible for OpenAI’s approach to sales, partnerships and customer success; and he has personally orchestrated transformational AI strategies at some of the world’s largest organisations and governments.

In addition to his industry experience, Zack possesses a unique ability to demystify complex concepts and help executives design a future-proofed business. Zack has an unwavering optimism about the potential of AI. His mission is to inspire responsible and safe adoption of AI that moves the world forward, highlighting the path towards an AI-driven future where businesses flourish and all humans benefit.

In the keynote speech, Zack addressed the following points:

• Where are we going with AI? There are four phases of AI development:

-    Phase 1: Enhanced application;

-    Phase 2: Agent-Powered Applications (eg, AI booking your air tickets, etc);

-    Phase 3: AI-powered operating system; and

-    Phase 4: AGI (artificial general intelligence) – AI can improve itself and will unlock a new level of potential that is faster and better.

• Risks:

-    ideocracy;

-    job displacement;

-    widespread misinformation; and

-    existentialism.

• AI does not beget progress:

-    compute deficit;

-    energy deficit;

-    bad policy;

• Upside of AI:

-    scientific breakthrough;

-    worker productivity and job satisfaction;

-    luxuries bigger than staples; and

-    deflation.

• We will achieve AGI by 2030.
• How can we prepare for the rapid growth of AI?
• The question is no longer when you should adopt but what you should adopt – so start using AI.
• Prepare for tremendous changes.
• Optimise the humanistic qualities:

-    vision;

-    wisdom;

-    courage;

-    curiosity; and

-    empathy.

• Regulating AI should stand on principles of importance, discrete, economic importance, explainable and alignment.

A recording of Zack Kass's full keynote address is available to watch here.

The emerging legal and regulatory framework for digital assets – Part 1

Digital assets have posed challenges to existing legal and regulatory frameworks. To resolve these challenges, initiatives are taking place at national and international levels that are meant to provide legal certainty for financial transactions involving these types of assets. For instance, work on the substantive law aspects of digital assets is being conducted by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) with the objective to develop a future legal instrument containing principles and legislative guidance in the area of private law and digital assets; the Hague Conference on private international law is considering work on the law applicable to digital assets; and the Financial Stability Board published a proposed framework for the international regulation of crypto-asset activities with the main goal to promote the consistency and comprehensiveness of regulatory, supervisory and oversight approaches to crypto-asset activities and strengthen international cooperation and coordination. This session intends to provide an overview on the current state of these projects.

In this session, the panel highlighted the emerging issues of digital assets as follows:

• Regulatory risk:

-    acquisition issues; and

-    how to resolve when there is a dispute.

• International Monetary Fund's (IMF) perspective on digital asset and business development companies (BDCs):

-    benefits of BDC: financial inclusion, free and accessible; cross-border payment; and monetary sovereignty.

-    However, some countries prefer cashless while other only want to use cash.

• How to regulate digital:

-    think about who in the transaction; and

-    what store those digital assets.

• Other risks such as anti-money laundering (AML).

The emerging legal and regulatory framework for digital assets – Part 2

Innovation in digital assets continues at a rapid pace, yet their status under the security laws of most jurisdictions is still the subject of litigation and emerging regulation litigation.

In Part 2, the panel discussed the considerations around which, if any, digital assets are correctly characterised as securities, the regulatory regime for intermediaries, and recent regulatory enforcement actions as follows:

• Digital assets: we should be clear about what are they and what is their relevance for capital market.
• There should be an overview of regulatory and legal framework application to digital assets to determine whether they may be securities or commodities.
• There should be overview of regulatory and legal framework applicable to digital asset intermediaries such as:

-    exchange;

-    custodians and custody chains; and

-    impact of ‘staking’ on custodians.

• There should be private Law Remedies for investment losses in digital assets resulting from failed custodial arrangement or failure to comply with regulatory regime.
• EU Central Bank has no regulation in place, but they have some draft recommendations, engage with public consultation, etc.
• There are also other issues to be regulated such as:

-    blockchain to enable settlement of securities transactions;

-    digital bonds/shares; and

-    the role of traditional depositories cleaning system and central securities depositories (CSDs).

Dealing with data privacy in investigations         

• Company-owned devices versus ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD – ie, personal device);

-    for company-owned device, company can access information on the device without restrictions;

-    for BYOD, the company should have BYOD policy otherwise the company would consent to access to their device; and

-    getting passwords from employees: if it is employment related, not giving password is a crime in some jurisdictions. If it is non-employment related, consent is still required.

• Company email versus social media for work related matters:

-    IT policy: best practice is employer can collect those data for any communication done through other modes of communications for work purposes.

• Collecting unduly excessive data from emails and phone of employees by police:

-    in absence of clear process in place, you don’t really have power to bargain with the police.

Investment arbitration and insolvency – debate topics

Claims involving insolvency proceedings or brought by parties subject to those proceedings arise with increasing frequency under investment treaties and raise specific issues, including relating to jurisdiction, attribution, merits, causation/damages and procedure.

In this session, the panel was given hypothetical cases and asked to debate issues in relation to investment arbitration and insolvency:

• Jurisdiction/admissibility

-    Motion: A shareholder isn’t entitled to bring an investment treaty claim for loss resulting from harm caused by the host state to its insolvency subsidiary.

• Attribution

-    Motion: the conduct of a court-appointed insolvency administration isn’t attributable to the host state for purpose of established state responsibility.

• Merits

-    Motion: A host state that writes down the value of bonds in failing bank without compensating bondholders breaches its investment treaty obligations.

• Procedure

-    Motion: An insolvency party that relies on third-party funding to bring an investment arbitration should be ordered to post security for cost.

Morning keynote address: Former Prime Minister of Denmark (2011–2015) and Co-Chair of The Oversight Board

The keynote was delivered by Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011–2015. Helle steered Denmark through a difficult financial crisis while reducing child poverty and increasing spending on education. She also served as leader of the country’s Social Democrat party for a decade and was the first woman to hold both positions.

Following her term as prime minister, Helle was the Chief Executive of Save the Children, overseeing the work of 17,000 staff in 120 countries to reach around 50 million children every year in some of the most difficult and challenging contexts.

She was deeply engaged in highlighting the humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria and the Rohingya refugee crisis, and remains engaged in these geopolitical issues as a member of several foreign policy think tanks. This includes the US Council on Foreign Relations, the European Council for Foreign Relations, the International Crisis Group and the Atlantic Council International Advisory Board.

Helle is also a member of the Berggruen 21st Century Council. In 2017, Helle was a co-chair of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos and is on the board of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Today Helle uses her extensive political and international expertise to advise a range of businesses and not-for-profit groups.

Helle is non–Executive Director for a number of Boards, including Vestas, one of the world’s leaders in sustainable energy; DJE Holdings, a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organisations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations; Safelane, a global leader in clearing landmines and the explosive remnants of war; Carsøe, a leading manufacturer of retail, customised, OEM solutions for key suppliers of food processing equipment across the world; and VISTA Equity Partners, an American investment firm focused on financing and forwarding software, data and technology-enabled startup businesses.

In 2020 Helle was appointed Co-Chair of The Oversight Board created to help Facebook answer some of the most difficult questions around freedom of expression online; as well as Chairman for the Danish Football Union’s Governance Committee.

Also in 2020, Thorning-Schmidt was appointed by the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe to serve as a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development. Helle devotes much of her time to defending and renewing progress, social justice and democracy.

As a strong champion of women’s and girls’ rights throughout her time in government and at Save the Children, she remains passionate about women’s empowerment. Helle was previously a member of the European Parliament.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt can use her extensive background in politics, international relations and business to deliver inspirational and impactful talks.

In her keynote speech, Helle highlighted the importance of AI and the need of AI regulations to extent to which AI can still be used for the right and freedom of human kind, such as using social media to express their opinions.