Andy Kopon

Welcome to the Committee Chair Corner, a new feature of the IADC’s home web page. Every two weeks a committee chair will post a column addressing topics that are important to the committee and relevant to the IADC.

There are more than twenty-five substantive law committees and twenty standing committees. The committees are truly the “life blood” of the IADC. They are responsible for developing CLE programming for our Midyear and Annual meetings, producing our free Webinars, generating monthly newsletters and articles for the peer reviewed prestigious Defense Counsel Journal, and for developing special projects.

The IADC’s newest committee is the Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Technology Committee, chaired by Peter Pizzi. This new committee will help our members to understand and stay abreast of the legal developments in these rapidly changing and challenging areas of the law around the world.  Cybersecurity, privacy, and technology issues are complex issues that arise in numerous legal contexts. To paraphrase recent comments by the U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, new technology will continue to pose challenges for courts to understand and a challenge for lawyers to make sure they do a good job of presenting it to us.

To get the most value from your IADC membership, join one or more of the many substantive law committees and become active. By becoming active in an IADC committee you will reap many of the rewards of membership. I know that you will develop life-long professional and social relationships through your committee involvement. The committees hold monthly conference calls and everyone is invited to attend. Registering to become a committee member is simple. To join a committee, email Maria Juarez at mjuarez@iadclaw.org and ask to become a member.

This year I asked the committee chairs at the annual June “Fly-In” meeting at O’Hare to focus on the “Rule of Law” theme in addition to the many other matters that the committees address.

One of the IADC’s stated core values is a commitment to respecting the Rule of Law and improving social justice. The Rule of Law is a profoundly important topic that we as lawyers dedicate ourselves to almost everyday in our law practices. Our members represent clients around the world advocating to ensure fair treatment in the courtroom and other tribunals. Some of our members practice in regions where advocating for their clients can sometimes jeopardize their legal practice and well being. As an international association of lawyers representing corporate and insurance interests around the globe, it is important for us to remain vigilant in advancing our stated core value of respecting the Rule of Law and improving social justice.

Although the Rule of Law is a challenging theme because of its complexities, its relevance and importance to us as lawyers transcends national boundaries, and therefore, I have asked our committee chairs to develop CLE programming, special projects, newsletters, and articles focusing on the advancement of the Rule of Law.

The committees of the IADC are engaged in important work. I would like to express my deep gratitude for all of the hard work of the committee chairs, vice chairs, and committee members. Thank you.

Andy Kopon
 

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