IBA Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee e-Bulletin 1/2025
Dear Members
We are delighted to share Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee e-Bulletin after a brief hiatus. It is lovely to reconnect with our members and share the latest legal developments and thought leadership from around the world.
This edition brings together timely and diverse contributions that reflect the evolving nature of legal services, innovation and regulatory landscapes. In this issue, you will find:
- a strategic perspective on navigating emerging markets and the role of legal intelligence in supporting business growth;
- a feature on over-the-horizon technologies and legal innovation in India, exploring the rise of quantum computing, neurotech and synthetic biology and their implications for legal practice;
- insight into sustainability disclosure obligations in Mexico amid growing global environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates;
- a review of mandatory data protection compliance under Turkey’s VERBIS regime; and
- session highlights from the IBA Annual Conference 2024 in Mexico on:
- innovative legal structures for virtual nomads; and
- myths and realities of ESG in today’s regulatory climate.
We hope this e-Bulletin provides practical insights and stimulates conversation across our global community. We warmly invite your feedback, and we encourage you to contribute to future editions – through articles, session updates or commentary. This publication is driven by our members and your engagement is key to its continued success.
Looking ahead, we are especially excited to gather in Toronto this November for the IBA Annual Conference. Our committee has curated and supported an engaging programme of sessions that explore the future of legal structures, innovation and collaboration:
- Law firm mergers: new perspectives, cross-border and multidisciplinary complications and solutions
- A ‘distributed’ legal function – how to manage a modern corporate legal service
- Lawyering inside and outside the 'sandbox': Canadian and international trends
- Integrating carbon credit markets into legal practice: a multidisciplinary approach?
Separately, our Committee officers/advisory board members are speaking at various other panels that you may be interested in attending:
- Global update on gender quotas: do we need them to adjust gender imbalance in leadership
- Empowering the future: the next generation of future leaders
You are also warmly invited to attend Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee open business meeting and SPPI Awards breakfast. Join us to exchange ideas and strengthen the global dialogue that defines our community.
We look forward to your participation.
Warm regards
Jimena Gonzalez de Cossio
Co-Chair, Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee
Paul D Paton
Co-Chair, Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee
Saranya Mishra
Publication and Newsletter Officer, Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee
Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee e-Bulletin article summaries and links:
Navigating emerging markets: the synergy between strategic intelligence and legal services
By Abadi Abi Tisnadisastra
The integration of legal expertise with strategic intelligence represents a transformative approach to facilitating business success in emerging markets. The Strategic Intelligence Service in Indonesia exemplifies this innovation, offering a comprehensive solution that combines legal advice with real-time policy insights and government relations support. This article explores the development, methodology and impact of the Strategic Intelligence Service, with a particular focus on Indonesia, a jurisdiction characterised by its regulatory complexity and significant investment potential.
Over the horizon technologies and legal innovation: merging use cases for India Inc
By Pintu Babu and Mihir Parikh
This article explores the impact of over the horizon technologies such as quantum computing and others, while highlighting the critical role of interdisciplinary legal innovation.
Sustainability disclosure obligations for issuers in Mexico
By Oscar Vázquez
This article explores Mexico’s transition from voluntary environmental, social and governance practices to the requirement that mandatory sustainability disclosures are made by securities issuers, highlighting the legal shift towards alignment with the International Sustainability Standards Board’s IFRS S1 and S2 standards and the increasing regulatory demand for assurance and transparency in regard to corporate reporting; and including recommendations for entities to comply with these new reporting standards.
Mandatory data protection compliance in Turkey: VERBIS registration and enforcement actions
By Özlem Kurt
This article examines Turkey’s mandatory registration regime related to the Data Controllers’ Registry Information System, otherwise known as VERBIS, under the country’s Data Protection Law No 6698, highlighting the escalating enforcement risks for global companies and the urgent need for the adoption of proactive legal compliance strategies.
By Saranya Mishra
A session report from the IBA Annual Conference in Mexico City, held on 19 September 2024.
Adjacent businesses, regulatory barriers and virtual nomads
By Saranya Mishra
A session report from the IBA Annual Conference 2024 in Mexico City held on 16 September 2024.