Baltics in the Spotlight. PBN is one of the lead sponsors for "Investing in the Baltics: Opportunities and Practicalities Post-Accession," a seminar which will take place in London on 10 June 2004. The seminar is being organized by the Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Chambers of Commerce and Embassies of the various Baltic States. PBN's own Romans Baumanis, MD of our Baltics office in Riga, will be one of the distinguished speakers. Invitations are being widely distributed in UK, Scandinavia and the Baltic States, and the indications are that the event will be well-attended.

Tick, Tick, Tick. It's about time you checked out PBN's new website. All new graphics, content, photos and other surprises. And you'll finally know the time difference between Moscow and Washington DC.

Visit PBN's website: www.pbnco.com

Hi George. PBN DC has a new senior account manager, George Felcyn. George has both international relations and journalism experience. He worked in Albania as a media program officer for the USAID Albanian Transition Initiative and at the Pacific Council on International Policy in California. He was also a field producer and production assistant for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, where he covered primarily foreign affairs. Everyone, say Hi George!

Email George: george.felcyn@pbnco.com

The Blame Game. That was the title of Peter's speech on the finger pointing going on as to who is responsible for basic social support of Russia's citizens -- business or government. The answer is both!

See Peter's speech: www.pbnco.com/eng/news/presentations/

Email Peter: peter.necarsulmer@pbnco.com

No Fake in The Hague. That wasn't a fake expert on anticounterfeiting in The Hague. It was our own Tom Thomson, addressing the implication of the EU enlargement on intellectual property and anti-counterfeiting in the former Soviet Union to the 5th International Trademark Conference 2004.

See Tom's speech: www.pbnco.com/eng/news/presentations/

Email Tom: tom.thomson@pbnco.com

How Big is Your Duty! On April 22, more than 300 enthusiastic furniture retailers, importers, and media attended a briefing hosted by one of PBN DC's newest clients, the Furniture Retailers of America (FRA). This coalition of over 50 furniture retailers and importers brought on PBN DC in Fall 2003 to provide public affairs assistance in FRA's fight against a trade petition filed by a group of domestic furniture manufacturers against wooden bedroom furniture from China. To generate interest in the briefing, PBN designed an ad campaign around the theme: How Big is Your Duty!

Email Paul and Dara: paul.nathanson@pbnco.com and dara.klatt@pbnco.com

Judge-Mental. A really smart group of Ukrainian intellectual property (IP) judicial officials were recently in the U.K. for educational and informative discussions, all sponsored by the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR), a PBN client.

Email Trevor: trevor.barton@pbnco.com

Bi-IP-lateral. PBN, for our CIPR client, also sponsored a series of events for a high-level delegation of government IP experts in town for bilateral discussions with the U.S. government.

Visit CIPR's website: www.cipr.org

Legal Eagle.Miriam Andrews, an assistant in the DC office, has been accepted to American University Law School, where she will start next Fall on a part-time basis. We can always use a good lawyer! Congratulations Miriam!

Email Miriam: miriam.andrews@pbnco.com

The Graduate. Courtney Duke, who has interned intermittently in PBN's Washington DC office for the past two years, received her BA in International Relations from American University this May. Courtney will stay on with the firm as an Associate Account Manager. Congratulations Courtney!

Email Courtney: courtney.duke@pbnco.com