Conference programme

Regulators are racing to rein in the power of large digital platforms so that fast-evolving markets remain open and contestable. Global digital markets will increasingly be the subject of national and regional regulation. There are several open questions: will first-mover EU regulation be copied across the world? And will it promote or frustrate the roll-out of new technologies in Europe? Should regulations impose general or tailor-made requirements? To what extent will new digital issues, such as generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), be regulated or fall to traditional antitrust enforcement? Our panel will discuss the developing global regulatory landscape and consider the compliance burden and opportunities.

An interactive session discussing the evolving role of lawyers and law firms in the context of regulation of lawyers and client expectations requiring those running law firms to wear multiple hats, including CEO, COO, CFO, Head of Human Resources, Head of D&I, Director of Procurement, Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO), Director of Business Development and Public Relations, Crisis manager, Head of Sustainability, etc.

This session will examine the role that male champions of gender equity can play as catalysts for change in our profession. The entire legal community must work together to achieve parity. Women lawyers are keenly aware of the challenges they face and what needs to be done to level the playing field. However, this is not a women’s issue. Law firm leaders globally (including managing partners, executive committee members, shareholders/equity partners, etc) are primarily male and can serve as an accelerator in providing opportunities for women.

Certain publicly traded stocks have been the target of heightened social media attention, prompting significant retail-based shareholder activism, often against institutional short-selling investors. The session will look at these recent cases and discuss the phenomenon and the regulatory regimes and responses around it.

Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) are a family of compounds that are synthetic, man-made chemicals which were created to last forever. There are over 5,000 known chains of PFAS and they can be found everywhere – including in firefighting foam, carpeting, clothing, food packaging, makeup and more. Due to the widespread use of the chemical compounds, they are being found in water and particularly in wastewater systems. Today, governments are working to develop laws to regulate these chemicals and courts are hearing cases regarding their impacts and use. The creation of new laws on these compounds, and other emerging contaminants, presents a variety of legal risks to many areas including water and wastewater agencies, agriculture, businesses, aviation and much more. The session will evaluate the evolution of these laws and the risks associated.

Site visits are frequently used in energy, mining and construction arbitrations and can be an essential evidentiary tool in international arbitrations. This session is targeted at arbitration lawyers, industry-specific legal practitioners, as well as experts, and will highlight the practical, legal and strategy considerations at play when conducting site visits in arbitration proceedings. Drawing on work conducted by the IBA Arbitration Committee Working Group on Site Visits, the session will also cover current best practice and lessons learnt from past site visits, including how the audience can benefit from the brand new tool IBA Site Visit Model Protocol.

Investment bankers are often leaders, advisors, brokers and our partners in M&A transactions.
How should clients and lawyers think about their role?   
How can they best further the client's objectives and what problems should be anticipated?   
When should they have liability and should they be thought of as fiduciaries?
How should boards of directors think about potential conflicts of interests?
What level of board engagement and process is needed to oversee and monitor advisors?  
Are fairness opinions a good thing?   
This panel of global experts and bankers will examine how these issues play out multi-jurisdictional deals, with recommendations for best practices.

This panel will discuss and analyse a new trend where mining companies are sued in their home jurisdictions for operations located outside those jurisdictions.

The panel will discuss the most common and not so common offenses in the workplace and employment in general, touching upon the criminal aspects that may arise out of them.