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Martin Solc Becomes First Central European President of IBA

Martin Solc Becomes First Central European President of IBA

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Kocian Solc Balastik is reporting that, at the International Bar Association conference in Washington, firm Founding Partner Martin Solc has been elected President of the IBA — making him the first Central European ever elected to the global organization’s highest post. His new role will take effect on January 1, 2017. 

The IBA brings together 201 national bar associations, including the Czech Bar Association, and, directly or through membership of law firms, more than 100,000 individual members. Solc, who has been IBA Vice President since 2015 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 25, 2015), will take over from the current president, US lawyer David Rivkin. Solc’s election was decided and announced by the IBA Council on Thursday, September 22, 2016, following a vote of bar associations and individual members.

Based in London, the IBA is the largest global organization of lawyers. It was founded in 1947 by a group of 37 national bar associations shortly after the founding of the United Nations and intended by its founders to be — according to KSB — "in a kind of analogy, a UN for the legal profession." The IBA annually organizes more than 60 conferences, with the annual conference regularly attended by more than 5,000 lawyers. This year's conference in Washington was opened by a speech of the president of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, and speakers included former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"I very much appreciate the confidence in me that the IBA Council has expressed by its choice," said Solc of his election. "I consider my election as president of the organization to be a recognition of my more than twenty five years of work for the IBA as well as confirmation that Czech and Central European advocacy is seen as an active part of the global profession."

According to an announcement released by KSB, Solc intends, in his position as President, and in addition to promoting the idea of the rule of law, "to implement certain changes in the functioning of the organization, for example, increasing the availability of conferences and seminars to a broader audience through online access." The IBA, according to Solc, should also "form a working group to focus on security issues and data managed by lawyers with the aim of establishing global standards in this regard."

"I heartily congratulate Martin on behalf of myself and also on behalf of the Czech Bar Association, in respect of this historic success," commented Martin Vychopen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Czech Bar Association. "No representative of Czech advocacy has ever held such a high post in our field. Martin, within his current position in the IBA, has not forgotten where he came from, and I think that thanks to him, Czech lawyers internationally also have a very good reputation. I believe that he will succeed in his post, leaving behind an indelible positive footprint."

Czech Republic Knowledge Partner

PRK Partners, one of the leading Central European law firms, has been helping clients achieve their business objectives almost 30 years. Our team of lawyers, based in our Prague, Ostrava, and Bratislava offices, has a unique knowledge of Czech and Slovak law and of the business environment. Our lawyers studied at top law schools in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland and elsewhere. They also have experience working for leading international and domestic law firms in a number of jurisdictions. We speak your language, too. Our legal team is fluent in more than 15 languages, including all the key languages of the region.

PRK Partners has one of the most experienced legal teams on the market. We are consistently rated as one of the leading law firms in the region. We have received many significant honours and awards for our work. We represent the interests of international clients operating in the Czech Republic in an efficient way, combining local knowledge with an understanding of their global requirements in a business-friendly approach. We are one of the largest law firms in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Our specialised teams of lawyers and tax advisors advise major global corporations as well as local companies. We provide comprehensive legal advice drawing on our profound knowledge of local law and markets.

Our legal advice delivers tangible results – as proven by our strong track record. We are the only Czech member firm of Lex Mundi, the world's leading network of independent law firms. As one of the leading law firms in the region, we have received many national and international awards, in some cases several years in a row. Honours include the Chambers Europe Award for Excellence, The Lawyer and Czech and Slovak Law Firm of the Year. Thanks to our close cooperation with leading international law firms and strong local players, we can serve clients in multiple jurisdictions around the globe. Our strong network means that we can meet your needs, wherever you do business.

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Our work is not only “business”: we have participated on a longstanding basis in a wide variety of pro bono projects and supported our partners from the non-profit sector (Kaplicky Centre Endowment Fund, Tereza Maxová Foundation, Czech Donors Forum, etc.).

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