AIJA empowers NextGen. Our focus in 2025 is to help young lawyers develop professional skills and expand their international network. AIJA mentorship program will encourage young lawyers to take the next steps in their careers and get experienced help for a specific project or assignment. Joint publication efforts will showcase our members’ expertise and put them at the forefront of shaping tomorrow’s legal services.

During the 63rd Annual Congress in Washington DC, all these goals will accumulate under the theme: Empower NextGen – Meeting Young Lawyers Where They Are

The Congress will offer a solid multidisciplinary program, focusing on must-have skills for young lawyers, both from a legal and practical perspective. We want to empower young lawyers to unfold their full potential and become better professionals. Experienced lawyers are an essential part of young colleagues’ advancement, and they represent an integral part of the process. The academic program will consist of two tracks: the Legal Track and the Business Skills Track.

The Legal Track will offer a robust scientific program with sessions organized by AIJA’s 20+ commissions which will allow participants to learn about and discuss hot topics, trends and policies in their respective practice areas while also discovering differences and similarities in approach beyond generations. The sessions aim to offer engaging discussions, amongst others, about the generation gap, leading to a thorough understanding of the “other” generation and how we can all learn from each other for a better professional future and advancement of our organizations.

The Business Skills track, supported by AIJA’s SCILL Board, will offer participants an opportunity to explore and improve their non-legal skill set. We will focus on topics such as Business Development, in particular legal submissions and referral strategies, Professional Liability and Mental Wellbeing. We consider these topics to be essential for any lawyer, regardless of their age, position and stage of career. We plan to have lawyers, young and old, potentially AIJA alumni, share their experience, supplemented by external speakers from the legal industry, such as service providers and insurance companies, as well as psychologists or academics.

The academic program will also offer an intriguing session prepared by AIJA’s Women Network focusing on certain aspects of the legal profession for both female and male lawyers, as well as the In-House Counsel Board that will share the perspective of chief legal officers in corporate and non-corporate organizations.

We look forward to sharing expertise and knowledge with participants, to discuss and develop a successful approach to legal challenges and opportunities and to build bridges between generations, during the Congress and beyond.

Empower yourself, empower your young generation! And meet each other where you are. 

63rd International Young Lawyers’ Congress – Academic Coordinators

Timothée Giard, GATE AVOCATS, France
Friederike Henke, BUREN, Netherlands
Christian Ritschka, DORDA Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Austria
Radina Tomanova, Dimitrov, Petrov & Co, Bulgaria