In-person conferences are returning in force this year, but reduced travel budgets and a patchwork of ever-changing coronavirus safety rules are creating headaches for planners. There is a growing desire among lawyers, compliance officers and other ethics and compliance professionals to get back out into the world and start networking. The demand to do so is fuelling a shift by conference organisers to a mixture of in-person and hybrid offerings from the largely virtual-only events of the past two years.

But pulling off an in-person conference in today’s world comes with a range of new challenges. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal looks through the various challenges of conference organizers, travel associations, compagnies and compliance professionals in organizing and attending such events. Especially compliance professionals would be very eager to reconnect with each other. But some would still be very wary of travel or would still not be comfortable being in groups. Furthermore, many would be dealing with travel budget limitations.

Still, two years of remote work would have proven that face-to-face contacts, whether at big conferences or smaller meetings, are critical for forging new connections and cementing commercial relationships, as the article concludes.