Martin Šolc Elected Secretary-General of the International Bar Association

The Secretary-General is the third ranking position in the IBA, after the President and Vice-President. As a rule, Secretaries-General usually make it to the very top of the IBA.

“I am very honoured to be elected Secretary-General. I take it not only as a sign of recognition of my more than 20-year involvement in the IBA but also as a sign of appreciation of the role Czech lawyers and the Czech Bar Association play in the international legal community,” said Martin. In his two-year term as Secretary-General, Martin plans to concentrate primarily on maintaining the IBA as an institution representing the global voice of the legal community. However, he would also like to initiate discussion on changing how the IBA operates, such as whether to provide online membership and virtual access to conferences and seminars to those who cannot afford to travel and whether and how the IBA should boost its regional involvement.

The election of Martin as Secretary-General took place at the IBA Annual Conference 2012 held in Dublin in October, which was attended by over 4,000 lawyers and legal professionals. Martin was elected by representatives from more than 200 bar associations and law societies from all across the globe.

While serving as Secretary-General, Martin – whose role as KŠB’s Managing Partner was taken over by Dagmar Dubecká in January 2012 – will also continue to be active and involved in KŠB’s legal practice and strategic decisions.

“I would like to extend my warm congratulations to Martin – his personal success also has a positive influence and boosts the international position and reputation of the Czech Bar Association. Despite being extremely busy, Martin has always devoted time to the Czech Bar when necessary and let us hope he will continue to do so. On behalf of the Czech legal community, I’d like to wish him good health and all the best in his new role,” said Martin Vychopeň, Chairman of the Czech Bar Association, in response to Martin’s election as Secretary-General.