International Technology Law Association
2006 ITechLaw Eastern European Traveling Fellowship Award

 sponsored by:

CMS Hasche Sigle, Stuttgart

 

Bernard-Hertz-Béjot, Paris


 

Dr. Widmer & Partners, Attorneys-at-law, Berne
Chair of the ITechLaw Traveling Fellowship Award Program



Tamburrini Savi & Associati, Milan


• DOWNLOAD APPLICATION (pdf)

Applications must be received no later than October 23, 2006.

Background of the Traveling Fellowship Award

Honoring the Eastern European countries on the occasion of the ITechLaw European Conference 2006 in Prague, the International Technology Law Association, with the assistance and support of four sponsoring law firms (all of them members of ITechLaw), will be awarding a lawyer (in-house counsel or practicing attorney) from an Eastern European country the opportunity to intern with four law firms (the sponsors of the Award) in other parts of Europe.

The Award is open to citizens of the following Eastern European countries:
Albania, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

ITechLaw’s objective is to expose the winner of the Eastern European Traveling Fellowship Award (the “Award”) to different legal systems in the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) law, which has a steadily increasing cross border dimension, and to allow the recipient of the Award to experience at first hand how ICT law is practiced in other European jurisdictions.

ITechLaw hopes that this will enable the recipient of the Award to return to his or her country and apply his/her experience to his/her home jurisdiction, improve his/her network for the daily work, and use the knowledge gained to educate other lawyers practicing in his or her country on the current key issues emerging as a consequence of the explosive growth of the ICT business.

By creating this opportunity to learn about ICT Law in different European countries, through practical insights in law firms, ITechLaw hopes to expand its network of ICT lawyers across the globe who are committed to the growth and development of ICT law in their respective legal systems.



Rules of the Award
How the Traveling Fellowship Works

Each participant in the Award contest must be nominated by his/her current employer, as a part of the Registration process for the ITechLaw European Conference 2006 in Prague. The participants in the Award contest need not necessarily be registered as delegates at the Conference, but the respective supporting employer must be represented by a registered delegate.

The Award recipient will spend approximately four to five weeks with four different law firms in Europe.

As a part of the nomination, the current employer agrees to provide a sabbatical in the first half of 2007 to its nominee, to permit the nominee, if awarded the Fellowship, to take advantage of the Award. The exact dates of the visit with the sponsoring law firms will be determined by the sponsors of the Award.

The emphasis during the visit with the sponsoring law firms will be on practical aspects of ICT Law. ITechLaw seeks to contribute to continuing professional development by giving the Award recipient an in-depth understanding of other European legal systems. In addition to providing professional stimulus and cross-cultural insights, the Award recipient will have opportunities to meet different European lawyers and network with members of their practice groups. ITechLaw believes that the social aspect of the Traveling Fellowship program will contribute significantly to the creation and strengthening of networks, which will be sustained long after the Award recipient has returned home.

From the applications received, the Award Jury will select one grantee of the Fellowship. The Award will be based on an overall evaluation of the candidates, at the complete discretion of the Award Jury.

The Award Jury will accept the first 50 applications only (order of entry); any additional applications will be rejected. The Fellowship will not be awarded if the Award Jury receives less than three applications within the application term.

The decisions of the Award Jury will be final and binding on all applicants.



Who is Eligible for the Traveling Fellowship Award?
To be eligible, the nominee must:

 

  1. Be a citizen of one of the Eastern European countries mentioned above;
  2. Practice ICT law as a qualified attorney in one of the Eastern European countries mentioned above or work as an in-house counsel on ICT matters with a company based in one of the Eastern European countries mentioned above;
  3. Be nominated by his or her employer represented by a registrant having paid the conference fee in full at ITechLaw’s European Conference 2006 in Prague;
  4. Have procured a tentative leave of absence from his or her current employer, in order to be able to enjoy the benefits of the Award;
  5. Have a minimum of two years professional experience as an in-house counsel in ICT matters or as practicing attorney in these fields and currently be involved in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) law;
  6. Be fluent both in written and spoken English;
  7. Be able to demonstrate through the completed application objective evidence of committed involvement in the field of ICT law;
  8. Be able to travel to the countries of the sponsoring law firms for a period of approximately four to five weeks in the first half of 2007 (exact date to be determined by the sponsoring law firms);
  9. Have a passport with more than 6 months validity remaining after the proposed program tenure;
  10. Be able (subject to an absence due to force majeure) to attend the Gala Dinner on November 6, 2006, at the French Restaurant in the Municipal House, in Prague, if selected as Award recipient; and
  11. Submit a complete and comprehensive application within the time limit established by the Award Jury.

Award sponsors, ITechLaw Conference Sponsors and Organizers are not authorized to nominate participants in the Traveling Fellowship Award contest.

 

Procedure for Application

Each paid registrant from one of the Eastern European countries mentioned above for the ITechLaw European Conference 2006 in Prague may make an application for the Award on behalf of one of his or her employees. Such application should include the following:
 

  1. A note authored solely by the nominee, of not more than 200 words, specifying what the nominated participant wishes to get out of the participation in the program and his/her future involvement in the ITechLaw, together with ideas for activities he or she would like to become involved in to promote ITechLaw in his or her home country;
  2. A confirmation letter from the nominated participant’s current employer in support of the Traveling Fellowship program, including permission for the leave of absence in the first half of 2007 (exact date to be determined by the sponsoring law firms).

The full and complete application for the Eastern European Traveling Fellowship Award must be submitted by e-mail no later than Monday, October 23, 2006. The completed application must include the application form and attachments. The application is filed by filling out and sending the application form available on the Prague Conference website along with all relevant attachments (scanned) to fellowship@itechlaw.org.

No other form of application will be accepted. Partial, incomplete, belated and non e-mail applications will be rejected.

 

The Traveling Fellowship Award

ITechLaw, through the participating host firms (sponsors of the Award), will meet the costs of the Traveling Fellowship program for the Award recipient. This includes:
 

  • Return air fare (economy class) from the Award recipient’s home to the host countries;
  • Travel expenses (air fare economy class, train fare first class) to and between the countries/cities of the host firms;
  • Accommodation expenses during the stay in the host countries during the program;
  • Any social activity organized by the host firms, at their discretion;
  • Management of the entire traveling fellowship program.

The value for the above elements is approximately Euro 8,000. The Fellowship Award will take the form either of a one-off payment or of an advance on the travel expenses and payment of allowances for accommodation by each hosting law firm. In either case, the payment(s) may be made at a location and in the form chosen by the hosts.

 

Participants should make a note of the following:
 

  • The value of the package stated above is an approximate amount. The amount can be regarded as an allowance for some of the costs of living in and traveling to and within the host countries during the period; it may or may not cover all costs depending on the habits and requirements of an Award recipient;
  • Any additional contributions, in cash or kind, made by the host firms will be at their discretion and may not be demanded as of right by the recipient of the Award;
  • The recipient of the Award is not paid any salary during the program, neither by ITechLaw nor by their host firms;
  • The recipient of the Award is expected to provide by himself/herself a sufficient coverage for any kind of damages incurring during his/her trip to the host countries, including coverage for loss of property, and providing full accident and health insurance coverage.

First Part of the Traveling Fellowship Program

The Award recipient will be expected to attend the ITechLaw Gala Dinner (free admission) to be held on November 6, 2006, at the French Restaurant in Prague as a part of the ITechLaw conference being held there. The Award recipient will be notified of his/her nomination for the Award approximately one week before the conference, by e-mail. During the Gala Dinner, the Award recipient will be presented by the Award Jury both to the hosting law firms as well as to the audience present at the event.

Subject to the availability of both the hosting firms as well as the Award recipient, the preliminary schedule for the Traveling Fellowship program may be worked out at that occasion.

The Award Jury will consist of five members including Ursula Widmer (Chair of ITechLaw’s International Visiting Associate Program, ITechLaw Executive Committee member, Award sponsor), Pietro Tamburrini (ITechLaw Board Member, Award Sponsor), Axel Funk (ITechLaw Board member, Award Sponsor), and Alexander Blumrosen (ITechLaw Board Member, Award sponsor), as well as a local expert. It will be at the discretion of the Award Jury to obtain additional local support to assist in the overall evaluation of the candidates for the Award.

Second Part of the Traveling Fellowship Program

The Award recipient travels to the hosts and is offered a stay of approximately one week at each of the host firms. Host firms are encouraged to involve the Award recipient as much as possible and to invite him or her, to the extent feasible, to contribute to the case work of their firm.

As far as possible, placements are arranged to suit the Award recipient’s interests and/or specialization although this cannot be guaranteed.

During the placement, the Award recipient will spend time in the host firm, observing the work of other attorneys. During this time he or she may have the opportunity to observe cases in court, to discuss them with the attorney concerned and to read paperwork. He or she may also participate in conferences with clients (with the consent of the clients), and may be able to assist with appropriate drafting, pleadings and other paperwork.

Third Part of the Traveling Fellowship Program

The Award recipient will be required to submit a report about his or her experiences during the Traveling Fellowship program to ITechLaw, for purposes of record as well as publication in an ITechLaw journal and on ITechLaw’s website. This written report (min. 3 and max. 5 pages) will be required to be submitted within one week from the completion of the Traveling Fellowship program by e-mail to the Chair of the ITechLaw International Visiting Associate Program (Ursula Widmer).

Certification

Upon successful completion of the Traveling Fellowship program, the Award recipient will be entitled to request a Certification of Participation in the ITechLaw Traveling Fellowship program, such request to be submitted by email to the Chair of the ITechLaw International Visiting Associate Program (Ursula Widmer). The Certification from ITechLaw certifies satisfactory completion of the Traveling Fellowship program. In order to complete this program successfully, the participant must satisfactorily attend the host offices and must present the written report to ITechLaw in due time.

ITechLaw Membership

ITechLaw expects the Award recipient to become a member of the International Technology Law Association, or, if he/she is already a ITechLaw member, to renew membership. Application for membership or for renewal, respectively, will be required to be submitted within two weeks from the conclusion of the ITechLaw Conference in Bangalore as a condition of continuing eligibility to obtain the benefit of the Award.


DISCLAIMER/FORCE MAJEURE:
In case of an unlikely partial or full withdrawal/termination of the Traveling Fellowship program due to unavoidable circumstances beyond the control of the Award sponsors or the organizers, it is hereby expressly stated that the Award sponsors, Award Jury members, Conference sponsors, Conference organizers, local Prague organizers, exhibitors or general participants or anyone directly or indirectly associated with the ITechLaw European Conference 2006 will not be held accountable for any claims whether monetary or otherwise, direct or consequential, by any participant in the Award contest. It is expressly agreed by the participant that he/she does hereby understand and agree to this disclaimer before applying for the Traveling Fellowship program.