Each October, the American Branch presents International Law Weekend (ILW) in New York City. This two-and-a-half day conference features over 30 panels, and many of the world’s leading international lawyers and diplomats participate. In recent years, keynote luncheon speakers have included David Caron, University of California professor and president of the American Society of International Law; Lucy Reed, also an ASIL president and well known arbitrator with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, and John Bellinger, former legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State. Gala receptions have been hosted by the Finnish, Belgian, and British missions to the United nations.

Recent ILWs have attracted an audience of 800-1,000 students, academics, diplomats, and practitioners. Registration for the ILW, and indeed for all American Branch conferences and programs, remains free of charge for members of the American Branch of the International Law Association and for the Branch's student associates. Sponsorship by law firms and interested practitioners of the costs of these events is always welcomed and recognized.

Every other year the American Branch holds International Law Weekend – West. This two-day conference began in 2001 in Malibu and has been held in subsequent years in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, and Santa Clara, California, as well as Salem, Oregon.

The most recent ILW West was held in the magnificent building of the Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, hosted by Professor Robert Lutz, and featuring an enormously important luncheon address by the chairman of the Council of the American Law Institute, Michael Traynor, on the possibility of a new ALI Restatement of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States.

The American Branch has now inaugurated International Law Weekend – Midwest. This biennial conference is modeled on the highly successful International Law Weekend – West, which brings together international law practitioners and academics to present panels and discuss significant themes and developments concerning a range of international law topics. ILW – West will continue to be held in odd-numbered years, and ILW – Midwest will be held in even-numbered years.

The first in this regional series was held in February 2010 at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, focusing on "Sustainable Development, Corporate Governance, and International Law." The next ILW Midwest will be held at Case Western University School of Law on September 9, 2011, on “International Law in Crisis,” featuring a luncheon address by Justice Richard Goldstone, former prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The ILA's next biennial conference will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, in August 2012. Much of the work of the ILA occurs at its biennial conferences, where members from around the world hold working sessions of the ILA expert study committees, and truly international panels are convened on current topics - with plentiful events for family members who accompany the ILA members. Recent ILA conferences have been held in The Hague and Rio de Janiero. The 2014 conference will be held in Japan, and the 2016 conference will be held in Washington, D.C., with the American branch of the ILA serving as the host.

The American Branch sponsors occasional talks and programs, especially in the Washington, DC area, and cosponsors numerous events. See the Calendar of Events. For example, the Branch has recently staged two International Law Career Panels for students as well as the substantive panels, "Treaties in U.S. Courts" and "A World of Free Trade Agreements."

If you are interested in hosting an event or have suggestions for future events, please contact Rachel Smith, the American Branch’s Program Director, at programdirector@ila-americanbranch.org.