Conference programme

Beyond the massive casualties of armed conflict, war also systemically impoverishes. Markets collapse, services vanish, and livelihoods are targeted or incidentally destroyed. This panel interrogates poverty in conflict zones through a legal lens, mapping how international humanitarian law, international human rights law, refugee law, sanctions regimes and domestic frameworks can sometimes entrench and sometimes alleviate material deprivation. Speakers will examine poverty-producing practices such as siege and starvation, forced displacement, property destruction and gendered barriers to work; the political economy of conflict including illicit trades, corruption and aid diversion; and avenues for redress including strategic litigation, reparations, conditionality and accountability mechanisms.

In a time of rapid change, driven by technology, client expectations, and evolving talent, law firms must continually rethink their culture and focus. This session will explore how business professionals can lead with clarity and purpose, balancing innovation, efficiency, and human connection.    

Designed as an interactive discussion, senior leaders will share experiences of leading through shifting priorities and redefining “focus” for their firms. We also propose building on our 2025 global survey, repeating it with a renewed focus on how cultural factors influence collaboration, leadership, and performance in business services. This will provide valuable continuity while deepening insights into the role of culture in driving resilience and results.

This panel will examine how traditional legal concepts of fault, duty and causation apply to AI systems and will discuss the allocation of risk among developers, users and third parties. We will address ethical, regulatory and enforcement challenges in AI-related harms and review frameworks for responsible AI governance and compensation mechanisms.

The convergence of video gaming, live streaming, and social content platforms has given rise to a vibrant, but increasingly complex, ecosystem. Governments and regulators worldwide are now racing to define and enforce rules governing user safety, platform accountability, and digital rights in this evolving landscape.

This panel discusses the emerging legal frameworks and compliance practices shaping the future of online safety and content moderation on gaming and streaming platforms. Panellists will examine different regulatory approaches across jurisdictions, including the EU Digital Services Act, the UK Online Safety Act, and Australia’s online safety legislation, with a focus on their implications for platforms hosting live-streamed gameplay, esports tournaments, and influencer-driven gaming content.

This session will focus on term sheet level structuring and negotiations related to 'talent deals', exploration of the 'mega acquire' trends used to navigate around regulatory scrutiny, competitive structures used by mega tech buyers, company side protections regarding retention and non-compete structures and other creative enticements used by today’s serial buyers in the tech space around the world. 

Global trends, challenges and opportunities for the advancement of equality in 2026 and beyond.

Liability management exercises (LMEs) are often used to avoid formal restructurings, but they do not always deliver the intended outcome. This panel will discuss the options available when an LME fails, including the shift to in-court processes, enforcement strategies and cross-border solutions. Panelists will explore key risks such as intercreditor tensions, litigation and value erosion, as well as practical considerations for stakeholders navigating the next phase of a distressed situation.

Join us for our 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.

Is the enthusiasm for regulation of business waning in the EU? Will the current US administration effectively further deregulate sectors of its economy?

Law firms and in-house departments are rethinking the structure of their legal teams. With the rapid integration of AI tools, process automation and legal technology, many routine and repetitive tasks traditionally assigned to junior lawyers are being replaced by technology or delegated to alternative service providers. This has led to a declining demand for traditional junior roles and a growing need for professionals capable of combining legal reasoning with technological fluency, data literacy, project management and interdisciplinary collaboration. This panel will explore how, in rapidly changing legal environments, lawyers must combine legal expertise with business, policy and technical acumen to drive innovation and value creation. It will highlight emerging professional paths, new firm structures and education/training needed to support this transformation. 

This session will explore the effect of Artificial Intelligence on social media and the AI revolution on families and children internationally, and the effective safeguards, if any such safeguards actually exist.

Recent geopolitical developments have highlighted significant risks associated with dependence on the ‘Big 3' US hyperscale cloud providers. ‘Digital sovereignty’ is now the mantra, but is it feasible to build national or regional clouds that are secure from foreign government interference, while delivering an appropriate level of functionality and resilience? Meanwhile, there is an acute awareness, especially in Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries, that restricting critical data to in-country or even regional infrastructure may be a major vulnerability in the event of a remote attack or physical invasion. Contrary to the calls for data localisation, might it be better in terms of security and sovereignty to move, or at least replicate, essential processes and data outside a particular country or region? Can cloud providers and nation states establish data embassy arrangements that ensure legally robust sovereign cloud havens for critical national data? In the meantime, what should business customers be doing to manage their dependence on foreign providers of critical cloud services?

Private clients are often confronted with scenarios where political and economic instability in their home jurisdiction leads to a deterioration in legal, tax, and regulatory certainty. “Doomsday planning” in this context refers to the pre-emptive structuring undertaken to preserve flexibility and optionality when such conditions arise, with a focus on maintaining control over where assets are held and how they can be moved if circumstances change.

In certain regions, clients and their advisors seek to put in place contingency plans well in advance of any actual deterioration, often informed by past domestic experience or developments in neighbouring jurisdictions. These plans typically involve the ability to relocate or reallocate assets across jurisdictions through appropriate holding structures, including corporate and trust arrangements designed to facilitate mobility and resilience under stress.

In more advanced cases, planning extends beyond asset structuring to include the coordinated relocation of the client and their family, aligning changes in tax residence and personal mobility with the underlying movement of wealth structures. The discussion will also consider the associated tax implications of such strategies, as well as the role of international arbitration frameworks in protecting underlying investments in cross-border scenarios.
 

This session will examine how interactions between lawyers and judges in court can either support or undermine the delivery of justice. It will explore professional boundaries, ethical considerations and courtroom dynamics and their impact on fairness, perception and outcomes.

This panel will focus on the pressing issues facing international commercial arbitration practice, procedure, and practitioners.

This session examines how targeted sanctions, as legal tools intended to constrain wrongdoing, can be deployed either to advance accountability or to entrench impunity, depending on how they are designed and applied. Drawing on recent practice, from the US Executive Orders targeting law firms to the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom's recommendations on sanctioning those responsible for attacks on journalists, the panel will examine the lawyer's role in shaping, scrutinising and safeguarding these instruments. It will also consider what due process safeguards are required to ensure sanctions serve justice rather than undermine it.

The session will analyse how organisations assess the real impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives through data, KPIs, reporting tools and qualitative indicators. It will discuss the opportunities and limitations of measurement, ethical and privacy considerations, and how evidence-based approaches can strengthen informed decision-making, culture and long-term strategy. The session will also reflect on recent and ongoing initiatives to assess inclusion within professional associations.

From landmark settlements to bold procedural twists, this session will bring together leading litigators from around the world to share their most captivating class actions of the past year. Expect stories of courage, controversy, and courtroom innovation. Join us to discover how collective redress is redefining accountability across borders.

Business-to-business disputes involving defective products increasingly span multiple jurisdictions and industries, from construction and manufacturing to life sciences, energy and technology. This panel brings together global dispute resolution experts focused on product law to explore how alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms — particularly mediation and arbitration — are used to resolve such disputes. The session will also address the procedural and substantive complexities of gathering, presenting and evaluating evidence, including expert testimony, across diverse legal systems.