Dear Colleagues,

The inaugural meeting of the CIS Local Counsel Forum held in Kiev in June 2006 was the first ever wide-scale gathering of the international legal community with the best Local Counsel law firms from the CIS economic region, representing Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The Forum brought together more than 120 leading business lawyers from 30 countries who share the Mission of the Forum - "Bringing together the CIS and international legal communities with the aim of creating joint business opportunities and long-term cooperation". This Mission reflects the 21st century reality, in which global investors view the CIS countries as a broad economic region with intertwined business connections and comparable legal systems.

This section of the CIS Forum's Web site provides you with detailed information about the first Forum, including the Program, List of Delegates and Guests, Bios and Presentations of Moderators and Panelists, a valuable database of the best CIS Local Counsel Firms (CIS Local Counsel Questionnaires), comments by the Delegates about the Forum, media coverage, and wonderful pictures, which reflect the open and exciting spirit of the Forum.

The tremendous success of the first Forum is explained by the outstanding value it gave to the Delegates. This was one of those rare conferences where everyone was interested in everyone else, and the gesture of exchanging business cards became the symbol of the Forum. Delegates began running out of cards in no time, new professional friendships and alliances were born, and business was transacted right there at coffee breaks and social events. We are happy to report that the active flow of business exchange has continued after the Forum, and is increasing. This is why the Delegates of the Forum unanimously agreed to continue holding Forum meetings on an annual basis.

Co-Chairs of the CIS Local Counsel Forum:

Irina Paliashvili
RULG-Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A.

John Whittaker
Clyde & Co.