IBA Annual Conference Copenhagen 2026
4 Oct - 9 Oct 2026
Session information
Hot topics in international commerce, trade, franchising, and product law
Monday 5 October (1430 - 1730)
Committee(s)
International Commerce, Trade, Franchising and Product Law Section
(Lead)
International Commerce and Distribution Committee
International Franchising Committee
International Trade and Customs Law Committee
Product Law and Advertising Committee
Description
Our hot topics session is designed to be interactive - the opposite of a ‘talking heads’ format. We will host a series of table where we discuss ‘late breaking’ topics in the areas of international commerce, trade, franchising, and product law. The format is interactive and topics are selected to be of current interest and likely to stimulate discussion and debate. Moderators at each table introduce and briefly discuss the table topic and then participants weigh in with their views.
You will have the opportunity to discuss three topics. We have scheduled turnover times when the participants change tables to move to the next topic of their choice. By participating in the table discussions, you gain a greater insight into these areas and the other participants and table moderators benefit from your comments.
This session will provide you with a great opportunity to meet many other lawyers and discuss topics of mutual interest with them. Many times at our previous sessions, participants have met lawyers from other countries who they kept in touch with for years to come. Each year our table moderators have commented that they ‘learnt as much or more’ from the table participants as they themselves conveyed.
Session / Workshop Chair(s)
| Dalton James Albrecht | EY Law/DJA Legal Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Member, International Commerce and Distribution Committee Advisory Board |
| Silvia Bortolotti | Studio legale Buffa, Bortolotti & Partners, Turin, Italy; Secretary, International Franchising Committee |
| Nicola Broadhurst | Stevens & Bolton, Guildford, England; Diversity and Inclusion Officer, International Franchising Committee |
| Francesco Di Pietro | Blank Rome, New York, New York, USA; Chair, Financial and Tax Aspects of International Sales Subcommittee |
| Chiga Erege | British American Tobacco, Nairobi, Kenya; Institution Officer, Product Law and Advertising Committee |
| Leonard Freiherr von Rummel | BLOMSTEIN, Berlin, Germany; Conference Quality Officer, International Trade and Customs Law Committee |
| Olivia Gast | Gast Avocats & Mediation, Paris, France |
| Alan Greenfield | Greenberg Traurig, Denver, Colorado, USA; Vice Chair, International Franchising Committee |
| Simon Hotte | Ernst & Young Société d'Avocats, Lyon, France; Vice Treasurer, International Commerce and Distribution Committee |
| Beata Krakus | UB Greensfelder LLP, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Conference Quality Officer, International Franchising Committee |
| Sara Landini | University of Florence, Florence, Italy |
| Laura Opilio | CMS Adonnino Ascoli & Cavasola Scamoni, Rome, Italy; LPD Council Member, LPD Council |
| Tayo Osuntogun | Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Website Officer, International Trade and Customs Law Committee |
| Cristobal Porzio | Porzio Rios Garcia, Santiago, Chile |
| Marc Ruttloff | Gleiss Lutz, Stuttgart, Germany; Corporate Counsel Forum Liaison Officer, Product Law and Advertising Committee |
| Talha Salaria | Lawyers At Work, Bangalore, Karnataka, India; Vice Chair, India Working Group |
| Marcio Sperling | Sperling Advogados, São Paulo, Brazil; Deputy Webinar Officer, International Commerce and Distribution Committee |
| Andrada Tiru | Simmons & Simmons LLP, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Chair, Supply Chain and Logistics Subcommittee |
| Quentin Vander Schueren | Bennett Jones LLP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Diversity and Inclusion Officer, International Trade and Customs Law Committee |
| Peter Wagner | Jordan & Wagner Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart, Germany; Programme Officer, International Commerce and Distribution Committee |