Conference programme

This session will provide an overview of some of the key legal and regulatory issues in Mexico and Latin America, including insurtech and regulatory sandboxes, open insurance, parametric insurance, taxation, health insurance in the aftermath of Covid-19, alternative distribution channels and the role of managing general agents (MGAs). Lawyers in private practice and industry players will provide insight on these topics with a regional perspective.

This flagship session organised by the IBA Arbitration Committee at each IBA Annual Conference focuses on the most recent and controversial themes in international arbitration.  From the proliferation of anti- and anti-anti- arbitration injunctions, or requests for securities, to managing circumstances disrupting the proceedings, and facing new challenges based on public policy, as well as other issues participants have come across in their recent practice, join us for a robust discussion of the current hop topics in international arbitration.

The panel will consider how energy transition affects collateral in an array of secured transactions.

Status of reporting regimes around the globe and the tension with solicitor client privilege, privacy, confidentiality and access to counsel

Many individuals throughout the world are finding it increasingly difficult to access a lawyer, and whilst many find the costs prohibitive there are countries in which so called 'legal deserts' are developing. Many young lawyers are drawn to the multi national firms in the larger towns and cities and there is an increasing phenomenon of small towns losing their lawyers to the big cities or older members of the profession who have been working in so called 'general practice' in these small towns retiring and no one is coming up behind them to replace them. Accordingly many people now face the prospect of having to travel hundreds of miles to be able to access a lawyer.

It is surely incumbent on the legal regulator to ensure that all citizens have access to a lawyer and therefore is there a role for regulators to address the development of 'legal deserts' and thus improve people's access to justice. 
 

Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) has sought to silence marginalised groups through the use of the legal system to restrict the voice of persons who are vulnerable. The session will explore how the rule of law can be supported in the legal profession by responding to SLAPPs through ethical responsibility and law reform.

With assets that are acquired in, or which find their way to, jurisdictions all across the globe, multi-jurisdictional asset recovery cases present unique legal and practical coordination challenges. From preservation of an asset to recovery, injunctive relief and precautionary measures are key to many successful cross-border asset recovery cases. This session will highlight issues related to the selection of the venue where injunctive or precautionary measures are first sought, considerations for injunctions or precautionary measure orders that will make them “travel well” to other jurisdictions, and differing standards for the recognition of an existing injunction or precautionary measure in secondary jurisdictions of interest with a focus on differences between civil and common law jurisdictions.

In recent years, the legal market has experienced important changes, where the business model, the career and the clients of the firms have impacted the strategy of firms. The pandemic accelerated many changes that firms had seen coming. This panel will review and discuss these latest changes, already implemented in Latin America and other jurisdictions, which define the law firm of today, together with the challenges that the legal profession will face in the near future.

An open meeting of the Poverty and Social Development Committee will be held to discuss matters of interest and future activities with its members and interested participants.

In partnership with the Supreme Court of Mexico, the mock trial is an attempt to stage a trial in which ‘corruption’ is present in various ways. The trial will involve setting up a scenario where individuals are accused of participating in corrupt activities on behalf of multinational corporations in the context of international business transactions. It will provide an opportunity to explore both individual and corporate liability, and the complexities of addressing corruption in Mexico’s context. It will also delve into the possibility of attempting amicable solutions and the legal instruments to recover funds that were transferred as bribes.

The mock trial is a joint initiative of the entire IBA Criminal Law Section.

[Spaces are limited and are assigned on a first come first served basis. Registered conference delegates can register at the speaker registration desk. Please note all attendees will require their passport or official ID card for the appropriate security checks at the courts. Further information on transport will be provided nearer the time].

Latin American countries have seen a sustained increase of investments from countries who traditionally were not focused on the region. Over the last decade, China has had prominence in new investments in several industries and more recently, we have seen a surge of investments from Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. This panel will explore the main interests of investors from these jurisdictions and their short and long-term view of investment prospects, as well as principal considerations for choosing certain host jurisdictions over the others.

This session will explore how integration is arising from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USCMA), and what can we expect in the future.

As more jurisdictions across the western hemisphere continue to adopt the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency and to refine the law as implemented, one thing is clear: insolvency tools and remedies are indispensable in many cross-border civil asset recovery cases. This session will update the work of the UNCITRAL Working Group V as related to insolvency and civil asset tracing and recovery tools, while canvassing the availability and practical application of insolvency tools and remedies in the Americas.

The session will take stock of the developments made in cross-border legal practice up to now, reviewing the jurisdictions having opened their legal services market to the practice of foreign lawyers and law firms and assessing what the experience has been. The session will also discuss the rising challenges to globalisation (eg, sanctions, decoupling and de-dollarisation) and the impact, if any, on trade in legal services.

Businesses are at the core of the creation of family weath. How can the family successfully plan for the best development of the business and wealth while keeping an efficient control for the sake of all family members?

This international panel will discuss major litigation involving aviation law issues. It will also provide an update on various airport liability issues and emerging aviation insurance issues.