No one was scrolling on their phone. Or their tablet. Or their laptop. 

It was the biggest attendance ever at a BIC Bar Leaders' Conference and everyone in the room was giving the discussion their full attention. The topic was a tricky one, posing difficult questions and choices. But it was relevant. Every Bar leader must try to get the balance right. Right for their organisation, in their country, in their time. 

The importance of the profession's voice being heard on certain issues is high but so is the risk, particularly at election time. And the ground is shifting underneath the feet of all of us, as politics becomes more polarised and social media more intolerant. 

The discussion's chair, Ken Murphy, described the problem. Crucial decisions are being made in this 'global year of elections' . Human rights, the rule of law and democracy itself are at risk.  How can the independent voice, expertise and value system of the legal profession play an appropriate role, in the public interest, at any time, but particularly at election time? 

Anne Ramberg, Co-Chair of the IBA's Human Rights Institute, reported that in her experience as Secretary General of the Swedish Bar Association for 20 years, a Bar can achieve a respected position in society by speaking up regularly and actively participating in public debate, even at election time. 

She gave a list of examples of the techniques she had employed successfully for doing so, with a particular emphasis on her Bar providing expert input to government commissions proposing new legislation, as well as frequently writing articles in newspapers and contributing on social media. The Bar needs to be in very close contact with the government, in her experience. But it also needs to be, constantly and crucially, 'educating' the Bar's members on the issues. 

Hung Ou Yang of the Taipei Bar Association outlined to the audience the approach that his Bar had taken in the Taiwan general election of January 2024 – an election of great importance that had set a strategic direction for the future of his country. His Bar had invited speakers from differing sides to the Bar's premises to debate publicly the great issues of the election from a legal perspective.

The Bar has to be prepared to speak up publicly, he insisted, to support the rule of law and democracy .