The Annual Conference IBA (International Bar Association) 2014 was held in Tokyo from October 19 to 24 and over 6,000 lawyers from around the world joined as participants and receptions and sessions in various practices were held during this period. Our firm contributed as a Platinum Sponsor and our Of Counsel, Akira Kawamura, who is the Immediate Past President of the IBA, served as Chair of the Conference Host Committee. The following attorneys of our firm also served as speakers and co-chairs for the following sessions.

Date	Attorney	Session
Oct 20 Monday	Yukiko Imazu	Fear of flying or just worried about your co-pilot? Working cross border and in association with lawyers from other jurisdictions
	Yoshimasa Furuta	Govern the ungovernable – best forms of law firm structures
	Ko Hanamizu	International real estate fundraising: Who is raising what? Who would fund my project?
	Koji Fujita	Life after BEPS: is there anything left in international tax planning?
	Takashi Toichi (Secretary, Current Legal Developments Subcommittee)	Corporate governance: proxy advisers and executive compensation (Part 2: Executive compensation: initiatives around the world)
	Etsuko Hara	The Goldilocks question: is government regulation of franchising, licensing and　distribution in Asia too much, too little or just right?
Oct 21 Tuesday	Hideki Thurgood Kano	Are companies underestimating the special abilities of people with a disability in the workplace
	Yuichiro Nukada (Young Lawyers Liaison Officer, Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises Committee)	Buoyant infrastructure: managing water-related risk in major infrastructure projects
	Tatsu Katayama (Senior Vice-Chair, Capital Markets Forum)	Start-ups and capital markets: ‘JOBS Acts’ around the world – stimulating growth or blowing a bubble? (served as Co-chair)
	Yusuke Nakano	Around the (cartel) world in 80 ways: what to expect when dealing with diverse jurisdictions
	Akira Kawamura (IBA Immediate Past President; Chair, Conference Host Committee)	More for less: efficiency, charging structures and client relationship management
	Yuichiro Nukada	Professionalism and compliance
Oct 22 Wednesday	Takashi Toichi	Interim periods in acquisition agreements
	Junichi Kondo	What makes a successful corporate and M&A lawyer?
	Hideki Thurgood Kano	Who's on top? The evolving roles of Japanese, Chinese, Korean and other Asian multinational employers
	Tu Jinning	Licence to kill – the effects of insolvency on IP licence and similar agreements
	Hiroshige Nakagawa	Making free trade agreements work for you
	Yuichiro Nukada	Targeting the Asian market: setting up or taking over a sales and distribution network in Asia
	Hiroki Wakabayashi	Tiered dispute resolution clauses: best practice and enforcement of obligations to negotiate in good faith
Oct 23 Thursday	Hitoshi Ishihara	Is Skype the limit? Are phone bills a thing of the past?
	Hideki Thurgood Kano	Age Issues in the Workplace
	Naoyuki Kabata (Vice-Chair, Banking Regulation Subcommittee)	Lender liability: present and future
Oct 24 Friday	Taro Tsunoda	Current legal developments in M&A
	Masaakira Kitazawa (Member, Conference Host Committee)	Is there ground for one to feed the other? Interaction between international and local firms
	Wataru Higuchi	What's my name, and does it matter – securities law considerations for listed investment funds