Scholars, researchers and legal professionals interested in issues about East Asia and legal professions are welcome to attend this IRC’s five sessions at the LSA/RCSL conference 2007 (Berlin, Germany):

1.      Paper Session: Legal Education  1308 (25 July 2007 Wednesday 12:30-2:15 p.m.  HU / 08);

2.      Roundtable Session: Legal Professionalism in East Asian Context  1508 (25 July 2007 Wednesday 4:30-6:15 p.m.  HU / 08);

3.      Paper Session: Lawyers in Transition II  2307 (26 July 2007 Thursday 12:30-2:15 p.m.  HU / 07);

4.      Paper Session: Judiciary in Transition  4408 (28 July 2007 Saturday 2:30-4:15 p.m.  HU / 08); and

5.      Paper Session: Lawyers in Transition I  4508 (28 July 2007 Saturday 4:30-6:15 p.m.  HU / 08).

The project is concerned with the development of the legal profession - and the similarities and differences between ideas of what constitutes a 'legal profession' -  in  East Asian societies  (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan) and the 'West'. It embraces both broad sociological approaches to the professions in the global world, their development in specific social, economic, political and cultural contexts, as well as detailed empirical analysis of their trajectories within individual societies.

This is a project organized by the International Research Network on East Asian Legal Profession (IRN-ealp), an informal network formed in June 2004.  This is a network of scholars throughout the world which aims at facilitating intellectual exchange among scholars, and enhancing deeper understanding of the legal professions in East Asian societies and their interaction with the society.  It provides a base for intellectual exchange, for example through organizing forum/symposium or panel(s) at international conferences, workshops, seminars, publications, and research projects.  Anyone interested in joining  is welcome by contacting one of the following:

Dr Kay-Wah Chan (Macquarie University, Australia) (kaywah.chan@law.mq.edu.au)

Professor Yoshitaka Wada (Waseda University, Japan) (wadabruins@yahoo.co.jp);

Professor Carol Jones (University of Glamorgan, Wales, UK) (cagjones@glam.ac.uk).