Conference programme

An update on the judicial selection toolkit project led by the IBA SPPI.

This session will examine the legal frameworks and regulatory considerations surrounding the implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). We will discuss potential benefits such as enhanced financial inclusion and payment efficiency, alongside risks including financial stability and privacy concerns. The impact of CBDCs on traditional banking systems will be explored, as well as challenges in cross-border regulation. Participants will review global approaches to CBDC regulation and consider the future landscape of digital currency governance, offering a legal perspective on this transformative innovation in the monetary system.

As AI becomes mainstream, ethical, bias, and transparency issues are key to successful governance.

Recent US bankruptcy court decisions declining recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings have raised new concerns regarding the reach and predictability of US long-arm jurisdiction in cross-border restructurings. Against this backdrop, practitioners advising multinational companies must reassess how to structure complex insolvency and restructuring strategies to secure effective and comprehensive relief across jurisdictions.

This panel will examine how AI adoption is transforming operations, risk profiles and value creation in closely held companies and what boards must do in response. The panelists will map practical use cases — eg, sales enablement, customer support, coding copilots, document automation and forecasting. They will also map the attendant risks, including data leakage and trade‑secret loss, intellectual property ownership, model bias and hallucinations and supply‑chain/vendor AI exposure. The discussion will translate these developments into directors’ duties: setting AI strategy and risk appetite, instituting model governance and inventories, strengthening data governance, overseeing cybersecurity and incident readiness and ensuring decision‑useful reporting where owners and directors often overlap. Panelists will explore practical considerations, such as how these developments are affecting directors’ and officers’ insurance and how they may be reshaping the interaction between outside counsel and the general counsel/corporate secretary.

This panel will examine the current landscape of renewable energy in Latin America and the legal, regulatory, and commercial dynamics shaping the region’s energy transition, including solar and wind energy, biofuels, and the impact of demand from data centres and digital infrastructure on the energy sector. Speakers will discuss policy stability, permitting regimes, and transmission bottlenecks. The conversation will also address ESG and licensing considerations, and the evolving role of tax incentives, carbon markets, and green hydrogen.

This session will examine the main funding options available to law firms pursuing strategic change, including bank finance, partners’ capital, and private equity investment. It'll explore the pros, cons, and practical considerations of each route to help firms choose the right approach for their ambitions.

Our annual global anti-corruption update session, where we will discuss all the latest developments and trends in the anti-corruption landscape.

This panel will delve into various aspects of class actions involving financial institutions, including banks and corporations, covering both the US and the emerging trends in the UK, Australia, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. This panel will provide a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape and the tools to navigate it effectively.

A comparative analysis of how different jurisdictions treat this increasing trend in the engagement of land transport services.

Presentation of the reports by the Future of Legal Services Commission: the heatmap on the legal profession version IV and the legal professionals’ intention project.

AI is transforming the way societies process information, make decisions and build consensus. AI’s role in dispute resolution continues to evolve. This session explores how AI can augment the mediation process without displacing human judgment. The session will also consider initiatives in online dispute resolution (ODR), AI tools, and digital negotiation assistants, as well as the risks of bias and over-automation. The discussion will conclude with practical reflections on what mediators and policymakers can do to ensure AI serves as a collaborative partner – enhancing empathy, efficiency, and trust in the evolving landscape of international dispute resolution.

The panel will explore the expanding criteria taken into account in competition law enforcement from resilience to innovation and beyond, as well as the interaction and impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) laws and other security and political considerations in competition law. The panel will discuss practical issues that arise when advising clients on how to get deals through and how to pursue collaboration agreements successfully, navigating ever more complex competition laws around the world.

Government and public lawyers operate at the intersection of law, policy and public accountability. Their work carries a profound responsibility—to the public, to ethical standards and to the rule of law—yet often unfolds under intense political, institutional and personal pressure. This session will explore the complex realities of legal practice within the public sphere, examining the unique challenges these lawyers face, including high workloads, moral and ethical tensions, public scrutiny and the impact of bureaucratic and political environments on professional judgment. The session will also highlight strategies and supports that can help public lawyers sustain ethical integrity, mental health and work–life balance while continuing to serve the public interest effectively.

Join us for the annual breakfast of the Family Law Committee.

AI is transforming how corporations approach environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals – from automating carbon accounting and improving supply chain traceability to detecting human rights risks and enhancing reporting accuracy.
 
Yet this promise comes at a price. AI models are energy-intensive, often opaque and may embed social bias or create new accountability gaps. While some organisations use AI to genuinely strengthen ESG performance, others risk engaging in 'AI-washing', leveraging AI narratives without delivering measurable impact.
 
This session will explore how global companies and their legal advisers can balance innovation with responsibility, understanding both the opportunities and the hidden costs of deploying AI within ESG frameworks.

The panel will also discuss the intersection of responsible AI frameworks and ESG regulations across regions and jurisdictions within the context of the ICT sector and the transformative role that the sixth generation of mobile communication systems (6G), which are envisioned as AI-native network systems, are expected to play in the future. In particular, the discussion will consider initiatives such as the European Union’s forthcoming Code of Conduct for Sustainable Telecommunications Networks, the UK Regulatory Outlook on ESG and Telecoms, and other emerging sustainability standards and indicators.

Key discussion points include:

• Where AI genuinely enhances ESG performance, and where it merely serves as “AI-washing.”;
• The environmental footprint of AI (energy, water, and resource use) and its inclusion in ESG metrics;
• Governance and liability: who is responsible for AI-driven ESG decisions and outcomes?;
• The emerging regulatory landscape: from the EU AI Act to global sustainability reporting standards, and how they intersect;
• Practical guidance for lawyers on structuring responsible AI governance within corporate ESG strategies;
• Combining Artificial Intelligence and geographical indications to promote sustainability;
• How can the IP System foster the use of AI in sustainable innovation?;
• IP protection for AI-driven ESG solutions (algorithms, models, data, and outputs);
• Encouraging green innovation through AI while preserving IP rights;
• How IP laws can prevent misleading AI washing and ESG claims;
• How patent systems and IP incentives can promote sustainable AI design and responsible innovation;
• AI in space used for ESG purposes on earth and in space;
• A discussion of how 6G is envisioned as an AI-native network, where AI is embedded as a foundational and pervasive component rather than an auxiliary optimisation tool;
• And an exploration of how, by incorporating AI-driven mechanisms for energy management, resource allocation, and data governance, 6G directly supports Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives: reducing carbon emissions, promoting digital inclusion, and ensuring transparency and accountability in automated processes

This session explains how AI is used in franchise and distribution operations – demand forecasting, pricing, and customer engagement – and translates the tech into legal issues counsel must spot. We will cover data quality and privacy, bias and transparency controls, human in the loop oversight, IP ownership of AI-generated outputs, vendor and franchise agreement clauses governing model and data use, and emerging regulatory trends. Attendees will leave with practical governance frameworks and risk management checklists.

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.