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As Chair of the ABA's Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI), Partner Bill Ide recently presided over CEELI's annual conference in Istanbul. The highlight of this year's conference was Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's presentation of the Reformer's Award to Ukrainian Supreme Court Justice Victor Kryvenko in honor of the Ukrainian Supreme Court's courageous decision to strike down a fraudulent presidential election.
A recent Legal Times article on Justice O'Connor's activities since she announced her retirement quoted Bill as saying that O'Connor "attended CEELI meetings in Instanbul 'from dawn to dusk' as one of the 250 lawyers and judges from 26 countries." He further stated that he saw no sign that O'Connor was slowing down in anticipation of retiring. "Every day she wakes up and says, 'What can we get done today and tomorrow?' There was no breaking stride on her part." Bill also mentioned in the article that O'Connor has pledged to continue working on global after she retires. An example is the fact she will be the keynote speaker at an upcoming worldwide symposium on the rule of law in Washington, DC where Bill will preside as program chair this fall. Since 1990, CEELI has assisted nations to build and improve legal systems in the wake of the Soviet Union.
While in Instanbul, Bill also met with the former Mayor of Istanbul and his business colleagues concerning privatization opportunities for the firm in Turkey.
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