Conference programme

Emerging GenAI applications present promising uses for both financial institutions and their legal advisers. The panel will explore the most promising use cases for transactional, regulatory compliance, and credit risk work. The panel will also explore the risks inherent in GenAI, the do’s and dont’s, data related policy issues, and risk guardrails that are necessary. 

A discussion of the legal issues relating to concepts of nonbinary identity as viewed through the eyes of indigenous cultures around the world.

Biodiversity and nature-related risks are increasingly recognised as material risks and opportunities for companies and their directors alike. Moreover, global and regional legal frameworks to disclose biodiversity-related risks are emerging and nature-related litigation is on the rise in many jurisdictions. This session explores these trends, and how lawyers can help clients stay ahead of the regulatory curve.

Fourteen years on from the publication of the United Nations Guiding Principles, the world is still witness to grievous human rights abuses committed by companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, Brazil and beyond. Featuring insights from external legal counsel and in-house human rights experts, this session will discuss practical insights into alignment of business practices with the UNGPs to draw out lessons for what good practice looks like in business and human rights and what still needs to change. 

This panel will offer an in-depth examination and review of cannabis legalisation across North America.

This panel will explore one of the most complex and contentious issues in climate litigation: establishing a causal link between specific greenhouse gas emissions and the damages caused by climate change. As courts grapple with holding corporations, governments, and other entities accountable for environmental harm, proving direct causation remains a major legal hurdle. The discussion will be about how courts worldwide are addressing this challenge, the role of scientific evidence in tracing emissions to concrete impacts, and the potential evolution of legal standards in this field. Experts in environmental law, climate science, and international litigation will contribute insights to this pressing global issue.

The panel will examine the heavily debated treatment of AT1 (perpetual) bondholders in the Credit Suisse resolution, whose claims were fully written down at the point of non-viability while equity holders retained residual value. This outcome surprised many international stakeholders and triggered sharp reactions from EU regulators, who reaffirmed the standard creditor hierarchy under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD).

The session will discuss the Swiss approach, legal and contractual basis for the FINMA decision, the status of the current litigation in New York and Switzerland, and implications for future bank resolutions in distressed across jurisdictions as well as structuring options for AT1 instruments.

What do we mean by wellbeing? Has the wellbeing movement in law overcorrected, or are we finally addressing, longstanding issues around culture, burnout, and sustainability?

This panel explores the current state of lawyer wellbeing and its intersection with performance, supervision, and professional readiness. With wellbeing and DEI now firmly on the agenda, legal workplaces are adapting, offering more flexibility, prioritising psychological safety, and responding to generational shifts in expectations. At the same time, questions are emerging: Are we adequately preparing early-career lawyers for the realities of legal practice? Is feedback being misinterpreted as harm? Has the pendulum swung too far?

Bringing together voices from across the profession, this session unpacks tensions and common ground. The panel invites robust discussion and thoughtful reflection about what the profession needs from its people, and what people need from the profession. Expect provocation, insight, and nuance as we explore the dynamic relationship between performance and wellbeing.

This session will look at the intersection of intellectual property (IP) rights, contractual obligations and creative talent management.

This session will discuss the different aspects of leadership and what skills are needed in a leadership position.

The project, funded by the IBA and carried out jointly with the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, has brought together the relevant professionals from divergent geographic regions and legal systems in order to analyse how judicial selection processes can be reviewed in order to improve outcomes and accountability, thereby strengthening the rule of law. The project has started in July 2024 and is expected to be concluded in December 2026. By the time of the 2025 IBA Annual Conference in Toronto, the advisory group of the project would like to share its emerging findings with the audience. In particular, the session will test ideas for the  “toolkit” of recommended actions that practising lawyers can take to strengthen judicial selection in their jurisdictions, and to counteract the rule of law damage that can result from opaque, nepotistic or unduly politicised selection processes.

In an increasingly globalised legal profession, the appetite for dual-qualification has never been greater. This session will explore issues like employability, market perspectives and challenges from the viewpoint of law firms, lawyers and legal educators. 

Legal actions and threatened legal actions are increasingly used against journalists and media organisations to attempt to silence their reporting and stop their work. SLAPPs (‘Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation’) are typically brought by powerful individuals or corporations with the intention of harassing, intimidating, and financially or psychologically exhausting opponents via improper use of the legal system, and evading scrutiny in the public interest. They are often framed as defamation cases brought by wealthy individuals against investigative journalists, writers and publishers. SLAPPs undermine freedom of speech and the rule of law.

This expert panel will examine the growing global trends in the use of SLAPPs, and efforts to tackle them (including anti-SLAPP laws in the USA, Canada and Europe).

This panel, comprising of practitioners and experts, will delve into the multifaceted and often controversial role of expert witnesses in common law and civil law jurisdictions. Topics covered will include selection and appointment of experts, rules on admissibility and impartiality, and common challenges in dealing with expert evidence under the common law and civil law regimes with insights on how to address them. This panel aims to offer valuable insights into the evolving role of experts in modern legal proceedings, providing a platform for reflection on how to best integrate specialised knowledge in dispute resolution while maintaining legal and procedural integrity.

The IBA Litigation Committee have organised two sessions with the IBA Arbitration Committee to be held at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday 4 November. The full programme details are below:

9:00am-9:15am - Welcome remarks

9:15am-10:30am - The burden of proof in ESG disputes

11:00am-12:15pm - The (controversial) role of experts in dispute resolution

12:15pm-12:30pm - Closing remarks

12:30pm-1:00pm - Tour of Osgoode Hall

Spaces are limited and are assigned on a first come first served basis. Registered conference delegates can register at the Speaker Registration Desk during the Annual Conference.

This panel will discuss low carbon and energy transition projects in the oil and gas industry acorss the globe.

An open meeting of the Academic and Professional Development Committee where committee members and those interested in joining the committee, are invited to learn more about the extensive activities of the committee, provide feedback and collaborate about new ideas and initiatives. 

An open committee business meeting where all members and Officers are invited to learn more about the current and upcoming activities and developments of the Committee.

An open committee business meeting where all members and Officers are invited to learn more about the current and upcoming activities and developments of the Committee.

An open committee business meeting where all members and Officers are invited to learn more about the current and upcoming activities and developments of the Committee.