CLA Second International Asian Conference 2006

In honor of the host country of the Computer Law Association 2nd International Asian Conference 2006, the Computer Law Association (CLA), with the assistance and support of four sponsoring law firms, will be awarding a lawyer from India (in-house counsel or practicing attorney) the opportunity to intern with four law firms (the sponsors of the Award) in Europe.

CLA's objective is to expose an Indian lawyer to the different legal systems in the field of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) law, which has a steadily increasing cross border dimension, and to allow the recipient of the fellowship to experience at first hand how ICT law is practiced in these jurisdictions.

CLA hopes that this will enable the recipient to return to India and apply his or her experience to his or her home jurisdiction, and use the knowledge gained to educate other lawyers practicing in India on the current key issues emerging as a consequence of the explosive growth of the ICT business.

By creating this opportunity for an Indian lawyer to learn about ICT law in Europe, through practical insights in law firms, CLA 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.

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Each participant in the 2006 CLA India Traveling Fellowship Award contest must be nominated by his/her current employer, as a part of the registration process for the CLA 2nd International Asia Conference 2006, in Bangalore. The participants in the Award contest need not necessarily be registered as delegates at the Conference, but the supporting employer must be represented by a registered delegate.

The Award recipient will spend approximately eight weeks with four different law firms in Europe. As a part of the nomination, the current employer agrees to provide a sabbatical in the second half of 2006 to its nominee, to permit the nominee, if awarded the Fellowship, to take advantage of the Traveling Fellowship Award. The exact dates of the visit with the sponsoring law firms will be determined by the sponsors of the Award in discussions with the Award winner and the employer.

The emphasis during the visit with the sponsoring law firms will be on practical aspects of ICT Law. CLA seeks to contribute to continuing professional development by giving an Indian lawyer an in-depth understanding of the European legal systems. In addition to providing professional stimulus and cross-cultural insights, the Award recipient will have opportunities to meet European lawyers and network with members of their practice groups. CLA 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

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To be eligible, the candidate must:

Be an Indian citizen;
Work as an in-house counsel on ICT matters with a company based in India or practice ICT law as a qualified attorney in India;
Be nominated by his or her employer represented by a registrant having paid the conference fee in full at CLA's 2nd International Asian Conference, 2006, in Bangalore;
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;
Have a minimum of two years professional experience as in-house counsel in ICT matters or as practicing attorney in these fields;
Be able to demonstrate through the completed application objective evidence of committed involvement in the field of ICT law;
Be fluent both in written and spoken English;
Be able to travel to Europe for a period of approximately eight weeks in the second half of 2006 (exact date to be determined by the sponsoring law firms);
Have a passport with more than 6 months validity remaining after the proposed program tenure;
Be eligible for a visa for the travel and stay in the countries where the program will be implemented (any selection is subject to obtaining the necessary visa) ; and
Be able (subject to an absence due to force majeure) to attend the Gala Dinner on February 1, 2006, at the Taj West End Hotel, in Bangalore, if selected as the Award recipient;
Submit a complete and comprehensive application within the time limit established by the Award Jury.

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

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Each paid Indian registrant for the CLA 2nd International Asian Conference 2006, in Bangalore, may make application for the Traveling Fellowship Award on behalf of one of his or her company's/firm's employees. Such application should include the following:

A note authored solely by the nominee, of not more than 200 words, specifying what the nominated individual wishes to achieve from participation in the program and his / her future involvement in the CLA, together with ideas for activities in which they would like to become involved to promote CLA in India;
A confirmation letter from the nominated individual's current employer in support of the Traveling Fellowship program, including permission for the leave of absence in the second half of 2006 (exact date to be determined by the sponsoring law firms).

The full and complete application for the Traveling Fellowship Award must be submitted no later than Friday, January 20, 2006. The completed application must include the application form and attachments. The application is filed by sending the application form (PDF format) and the relevant attachments (scanned) via email to the following email address: travelingfellowship@cla-india.com. No other form of application will be accepted. Partial or incomplete applications will be rejected.

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CLA, through the participating host firms (sponsors of the Award), will meet the cost of the Traveling Fellowship program for the Award recipient in Europe. This includes:

Return air fare (economy class) from India to the host countries;
Travel expenses (air fare economy class, train fare first class) between the countries/cities of the host firms;
Accommodation and food 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 6,000. The 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 and food 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 or all of the costs of living in and traveling to and within Europe during the period; it may or may not cover all costs depending on the habits and requirements of the 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 CLA nor by the 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 Europe, 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 CLA Gala Dinner (free admission) to be held on February 1, 2006, at the Taj West End Hotel, in Bangalore, as a part of the CLA Conference being held there. The Award recipient will be notified of his or her nomination for the Award approximately one week before the Conference, by email. The Award recipient will be presented by the Award Jury both to his or her hosting law firms as well as to the audience present at the event.

The Award Jury will consist of five members, including Ursula Widmer (Chair of CLA's International Visiting Associate Program, CLA Executive Committee member, Award sponsor), Wolfgang Büchner (CLA Board member, Award sponsor), Jan Geert Meents (Award sponsor), Dinant Oosterbaan (Award sponsor) and Subramaniam Vutha (Subramaniam Vutha & Associates, Mumbai). It will be at the discretion of the Award Jury to obtain additional local support from Indian members of the CLA 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 one to two weeks stay 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 CLA, for purposes of record as well as publication in a CLA journal and on CLA'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 email to the Chair of the CLA International Visiting Associate Program (Ursula Widmer).

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

CLA Membership
CLA expects the Award recipient to become a member of the Computer Law Association, or, if he/she is already a CLA 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 CLA 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 Indian organizers, exhibitors or general participants or anyone directly or indirectly associated with the CLA 2nd International Asian 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.

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