3rd IBA Global Professional Ethics Symposium
10 Jun - 12 Jun 2026
Session information
Soft law and hard law: ethical parameters in lawyer as advisor
Friday 12 June (0930 - 1030)
Description
Is today's soft law tomorrow's hard law? Under that adage, lawyers have been expected to be a wise counsellor to their clients instead of a mere legal representative. Taking into account matters such as diversity and inclusion, climate change, human rights or (other) CSR guidelines. Times, however, are changing, as US pressure on law firms to ditch diversity and inclusion policies shows. To what extent does it fall within the role of lawyers to go beyond hard law? To ask questions that the client would rather not answer? To give advice that clients are not willing to hear it, let alone pay for?
Session / Workshop Chair(s)
| Alessandra Mourão | Nascimento e Mourao Advogados, São Paulo, Brazil; SPPI Council Member |
| Jonathan Soeharno | De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Vice Chair, Professional Ethics Committee |
Speakers
| Sara Carnegie | International Bar Association, London, England; Council Member, IBA Diversity & Inclusion Council |
| Carlos Costa Pina | SRS Legal, Lisbon, Portugal |
| David Flechner | NextEra Energy Inc, Juno Beach, Florida, USA; Secretary, Securities and Capital Markets Committee |
| Steven Richman | American Bar Association, Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Chair, Bar Issues Commission |