One of Bermuda's top lawyers has initiated the first ever international all women lawyers conference.

The conference, which will be held in London in March, is being organised by the International Bar Association Women's Interest Group, founded by Diana Kempe QC of Appleby, Spurling & Kempe in Hamilton.

Mrs. Kempe is also the first woman president of the IBA and this conference is her brainchild.

Organisers have pulled together an impressive array of speakers and participants including US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Rt. Hon.

Clare Short, UK Minister for International Development.

Other key participants include Cheryl Carolus, South African High Commissioner to the UK, Carol Sergeant, Director of the UK's Financial Services Authority, CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour and Judge Rosalyn Higgins from the International Court of Justice at the Hague.

Mrs. Kempe, who will also be speaking at the conference, said: "The purpose of the conference is to bring women lawyers together from all over the world to learn, network and explore the many diverse issues facing women in the legal profession today. The topics covered in this two day conference are comprehensive both geographically and in the extent to which they cover the wide spectrum of legal practice.'' She believes people should have a balance in their working lives as well as in their personal lives and for this reason is a strong advocate of lawyers participating in human rights and pro bono work, where a lawyer does not charge a fee. This is reflected in some of the sessions at the conference such as Women's Rights as Human Rights, Privatisation, Economic Development and the Alleviation of Poverty and Women and Debt. But other broader issues will also be tackled with sessions such as Leadership Ethics in the Management of Legal Practice, Banking, Finance and Capital Markets, Young Lawyer Skills and Estate Planning.

Shazadi Beg, a special adjudicator in London dealing with refugee appeals and one of the speakers, said: "This conference is different because it encompasses a whole range of issues and interests right across the board, not just the concerns of women from the developed world.'' She plans to ask lawyers attending the conference to donate part of their fees to help the work of the IBA's Human Rights Institute.

She will also ask them to volunteer part of their free time to help in training lawyers for those parts of the world where that advice and assistance is most needed.

"We are looking for lawyers to support the work of the international community of lawyers in working to provide access to justice, including pro bono work and the setting up of legal aid systems,'' she said.

The conference will be of particular interest to lawyers from around the world who are in-house counsel, private practitioners, barristers and advocates, legal academics, the judiciary and consultants and practice managers. Morning plenary sessions will be followed each afternoon by six participatory working sessions which will be facilitated by leading specialists in their fields.

Mrs. Kempe said, "It is aimed at inspiring and challenging all those who attend. We have people attending from all over the world, from developed and developing countries as far apart as India, South Africa, the US and Europe.'' The World Women Lawyers Conference will be held at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel in London on March 1st and 2nd. Further information can be obtained from Diana Kempe at Appleby, Spurling & Kempe in Hamilton.

Aiming to inspire: Lawyer Diana Kempe.

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