President's page.

• Author: O'Neil, Joseph E.

As the global platform for the practice of law expands, the value of membership in the IADC continues to grow. Recent events have only served to validate Past President Molly Craigs mantra that the IADC is "The Global Connection" for superior legal advocates throughout the world.

In October, IADC members held a successful International Corporate Counsel College in Vienna and a record-setting Regional Meeting in Hong Kong. The global reach and increasing value of the IADC was evident at both meetings. Now, more than ever before, our members and clients throughout the world are grappling with common issues. The presentations in Vienna and Hong Kong demonstrate that these legal challenges will continue to impact and influence what is happening across the globe.

In Vienna, one of the excellent panels addressed the November 2014 European Directive on antitrust damages. By 2016, European Union Member States are required to implement national laws that will include new rules for the disclosure of evidence and sanctions associated with the failure to do so. The European Commission continues to encourage Member States to implement mechanisms for collective redress in areas such as consumer and environmental protection, competition law, financial services, and cyber security. The Hong Kong meeting included, among several cutting edge presentations, an informative discussion about the attorney client privilege, and critical, "need to know" distinctions between the protection afforded communications and documents in countries throughout Asia. What might be protected in Singapore or North America may not be protected in Hong Kong or South Korea, directly impacting the manner in which we as lawyers or our clients should be transferring information in other areas of the world.

In October, the Court of Justice of the European Union invalidated the Safe Harbor program, concluding the program did not adequately protect the privacy rights of individual data users as guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Safe Harbor program is designed to implement an agreement between the EU and the United States pursuant to which, among other things, entities seek to transfer personal data from the EU to the U.S. Those entities are required to satisfy rigorous security regulations and certify compliance with the Federal Trade Commission. Because the Safe Harbor agreement between the U.S. and EU did not prevent the National Security Agency...