Bucharest was probably one of our best attended conferences in recent years with over 65 delegates. The 21st Annual Conference of World Link for Law was held at the newly built (and very 'stylistic') Radisson SAS Hotel. The climate, in the middle of October, was warm and pleasant, with many days of sunshine. Many members had not visited Bucharest (or Romania) before and were intrigued by the idea of seeing and learning about a country that has had a 'significant' recent history over a short period of time, emerging from the post- communist era into a fully fledged member of the EU. The overall conference programme therefore tried to reflect a mixture of historical culture and progressive development, ranging from traditional meals, tours of the countryside and old communities, to presentations about the European Court of Justice (and Romania's role within it, through the knowledge of a leading judge), also with slightly satirical observations by a political journalist on the essence of 'being Romanian'.

The famous Parliament building with over 1000 rooms	The main Revolution Square - scenes of many aspects of recent history.

The conference started on Wednesday night with some drinks and a dinner in the nearby Italian Byblos restaurant and a chance to catch up with old and new friends alike. Thursday and Friday were the conference days and also there were spouse/guest tours on both days - first a walking tour of old Bucharest and then secondly to the Village Museum (with reconstructions of old village houses through the ages) and to the Mogosoaia Palace. On Thursday evening there was an informal, traditional dinner with entertainment and on Friday afternoon there was a city tour, followed by an evening dinner in the conference hotel, with the support of local jazz musicians. After dinner, there was the 'famous' World Link for Law quiz and the initial voting for the conference location in 2010. On Saturday there was a full day city excursion on Saturday to the Carpathian Mountains and lower Transylvania.

The Conference Hotel

The modern Radisson SAS Hotel, Bucharest, completed in 2008, is situated on Calea Victoriei, next to the former Royal Palace, near to Revolution Square, in the heart of the cultural district of the city, but with many trendy bars and cafés (and Casinos) nearby. Modern rooms and technologically efficient communications equipment made it a practical and pleasant base.

The ice bar, with a glass covered stream around the bottom of the bar.	Radisson SAS Hotel pool looking towards the indoor pool, spa and fitness centre.

The business programme

Delegates take their places for the start of the conference. Excellent attendance by World Link members; and also representation from 4 firms interested in membership.	Catalin Predoiu, Minister of Justice of Romania officially opens the conference.

After a short introduction by Valeriu Stoica, senior partner of World Link for Law member firm of Stoica & Asociatii in Bucharest, Catalin Predoiu, Minister of Justice, Romania was introduced to say a few words of welcome. A series of presentations from Stoica & Asociatii then followed, about important topical issues of Romanian law for the interest of members: a legal and practical approach to real estate investments in Romania - by Cristiana Stoica & Adriana Almasan; the law on the management system of joint stock companies - by Dinu I. Drog; and a comparative analysis of intellectual property rights and unfair competition law in an international context - by Razvan Dinca.

After the coffee break, there were presentations by João Almeida, of Dixcart Management (Madeira) Lda, Madeira, concerning the Madeira International Business Centre as an efficient tax planning centre for international investors.

Then, there was a creative, practical and very interesting demonstration by specialist guest speaker - Colin Johnson, Associate Director, Forensic Services, of Grant Thornton, London - concerning tracing of assets following a fictitious international fraud situation, supported with commentaries by World Link for Law member firms in London; Liechtenstein and Switzerland; and their role in the asset tracing.

After lunch, before the World Link for Law General Assembly which debated a range of strategic and membership issues, there was a workshop concerning the World Link for Law Quality Code, an important feature of the association that helps regulate the way that member law firms work together for the benefit of clients. This workshop, driven by Philippe Bedard, Executive Member for Quality (Paris, France) and André Castelli (Frankfurt, Germany) involved hypothetical situations. Frank and useful feedback followed after group discussions.

On Friday there was a presentation overview of the Business Company, Mutual Funds and Trusts in the British Virgin Island (BVI) by Anthony Lynton of recently appointed member firm in Tortola. The BVI has been one of the World's premier corporate domiciles since 1984, soon after the passage of the International Business Companies Act. The latest incarnation of this Act is the BVI Business Companies Act, which gives rise to the BVI Business Company. This versatile company is tax exempt and is used in a wide variety of transactions, from the purchase of property by the private individual to joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, to name a few. As of March 2008, 430,034 Business Companies had been incorporated in the BVI.

This presentation was followed by Stephen Schott of Schott Law Associates, LLP, Washington, D.C., USA, who spoke upon a subject close to his experience and "The focus on corruption in the global economy from the perspective of the World Bank".

One of our key note speakers on Friday was Judge Camelia Toader a Member of the European Court of Justice (Luxembourg) since January 2007 and Karim Kouri, her référendaire. In 2004, the European Union experienced its biggest enlargement, followed by later by the enlargement in 2007. They spoke about the implications of the enlargement and the organisational effect on case loads and voting patterns in the Court of Justice of the European Communities. It was an illuminating insight into the Court's operations.

Finally, before the city tour on Friday afternoon after lunch, there was a light hearted, observational (sometimes satirical) insight into Romanian culture and politics, by Sever Voinescu, Coordinator of the Foreign Policy and International Relations program with the Institute for Public Policy in Bucharest. He is also a columnist for the 'Cotidianul' newspaper and for the 'Dilema veche' magazine. He has published more than 400 articles on domestic and international affairs, both in Romania and abroad.

Members of the newly elected World for Law Board (at the conference) with Judge Camelia Toader. Front row seated from left to right: Cristiana Stoica (Stoica & Asociatii); Jim Dawe (President of World Link for Law); Judge Camelia Toader of the European Court of Justice; and Valeriu Stoica (Stoica & Asociatii). The photograph was taken for 'The Diplomat - Bucharest' business magazine.