Conference programme

Whistleblowing and complaints in the workplace are crucial in ensuring transparency and accountability. In this session we will discuss emerging trends and challenges in whistleblowing and complaints in the workplace and explore the impact of technology and social media on employee complaints.

Legal experts from private practice and civil society, and bar association leaders explore the many roles of lawyers in addressing the climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution crises. 
Hear about legal capacity building across nations; how lawyers, bars and law societies are facilitating the net zero transition; and the rise of climate competent lawyering and what this means in practice for lawyers when advising clients.

All Division members are encouraged to attend this meeting and are invited to put to the Officers any questions they may have, relevant to the work of the Division.

Announcement: Legal Practice Division General Meeting Agenda, Thursday 19 September, Mexico City, Mexico

In accordance with the Legal Practice Division (LPD) By-Laws, Article 7.3 this serves as notice of the LPD General Meeting that will take place on Thursday 19 September at the time of the IBA 2024 Annual Conference in Mexico City.  

Please click the link under "Session handouts" below to download and view the meeting agenda. This meeting will elect the Principal Officers and Council members of the Division. All Legal Practice Division members are eligible to attend the meeting. 

While Silicon Valley is a perennial trend setter for technology mergers and acquisitions (tech M&A) transactions, other places and segments are catching up. This panel will discuss recent global and regional trends and developments in tech M&A, including valuation, going public, staying private, liability issues and warranty and indemnity (W&I), increasing regulatory challenges and, last but not least, artificial intelligence (AI) topics from various perspectives.

Although international human rights law is relatively settled on the rights of Indigenous peoples, governments around the world vary greatly in protecting and implementing these rights (including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)) into domestic legal frameworks. This session will explore whether class actions are the only remaining way to effectively protect and respect rights holders in a modern industrialised world. Shining a light on the rich jurisprudence from Latin America, and taking into account other global perspectives and experiences, this session explores the intricate relationship between Indigenous peoples, the natural environment and natural resources, the threats to their cultural heritage, and the role class actions are playing in this critical area.

This session will discuss the practical application of the IBA updated guidance on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) released in 2023.

It will provide new insights into the UNGPs in practice, recent updates in business and human rights, the maturation of the right to a healthy environment (R2HE), due diligence approaches for human rights and the environment, and the trends in transnational business and human rights litigation.
 

The session will touch on aspects with an impact on structuring a carve-out involving closely held companies. We will explore:

•    The dos and don’ts;
•    preparing a closely held company for a carve;
•    identifying the deal perimeter;
•    pro forma financials;
•    what to consider aside the law (eg, IT, technology, IP);
•    third party interests to consider (eg, works council/banks);
•    negotiating with counterparties; 
•    and additional agreements (TSA/licensing). 

One of the greatest threats to democracy in Latin America is no longer the old-fashioned coup. The new way to autocracy is more subtle, with lawfully elected leaders systematically eroding key safeguards to the separation of powers. They do so by chipping away at judicial independence, fair trial standards, electoral fairness, civic space, freedom of expression and freedom of the press. This is coupled with persistent and pervasive levels of corruption. It leads to governments stacking courts and undermining the autonomy of the judiciary, with the aim of limiting the checks on executive power.

Against this backdrop, the critical importance of a robust, independent judiciary cannot be overstated. A strong judiciary has proven to be a bulwark against democratic backsliding in many Latin American countries like Brazil, when the federal justice system upheld the electoral results in 2022; or Mexico, where the Supreme Court is resisting the government’s attempts to introduce unconstitutional reforms that would bolster executive power; or Guatemala, whose Constitutional Court ensured the transfer of power to the duly elected candidate Bernardo Arévalo, despite attempts to overturn the electoral result. 

This session will explore the intricacies of a complex vision of the rule of law in Latin American countries. On one side, the pragmatic need to tackle the plagues of corruption and organised crime. On the other, the necessity to build a system of checks and balances with a specific focus on the role of judges and prosecutors.

In this session we will consider a myriad of global legal issues including restructuring, employee consultation and communication, employee integration and cultural issues.

Over the past few years, financial market operators have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into asset allocations and also recognised the growing demand among clients for investments based on these principles. This is the concept of sustainable finance, which involves applying the idea of sustainable development to a financial activity, representing a new paradigm that is spreading rapidly. Regulatory authorities have been involved in an intense and still ongoing activity, resulting in the publication of regulations aimed at directing financial operators toward integrating sustainability risks and objectives in their investment and advisory processes. This effort also aims to enhance informational transparency to final clients. The session will focus on the interconnections between ESG issues and the evolving regulatory landscape of sustainable finance, such as the European Green Bond standard, the EU Taxonomy, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and other global regulatory initiatives.

In this session we explore how the courts intervene in arbitral hearings and awards across various jurisdictions and judicial systems and cultures. The courts in some of these jurisdictions profess minimal intervention – is that a good idea? What are the benefits associated with judicial restraint? What are the appropriate avenues for challenging arbitrations, and how do these vary across the different jurisdictions?

The responsibility of supply chains and value chains is an emerging trend in Europe, the US and other parts of the world. Human rights violations by agents in a certain supply or value chain are one of the most common issues when we look at the current ongoing cases in Europe and US. The goal of this panel will be to discuss the current state of affairs on the topic and also to try to anticipate what the next challenges to deal with will be in the coming years.

The USD$800bn aviation industry is a huge player in the global economy which, notoriously, lags behind other industries in its use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Join us for a spirited conversation on the causes of this lag and the various measures being taken to encourage uptake in mediation throughout the industry. We will focus on several practice areas and industry sectors, including mass tort claims, contractual disputes with regard to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), leasing and financing, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul sectors.

This session will provide an overview of the current trends and developments of emerging risks. What are the latest developments in the field of cyber risk? Is insurtech addressing new or emerging risks, or is it focusing on established risks? Is there a market for mass shooting insurance? These and other new or developing areas of insurable risk will be analysed by lawyers in private practice and industry representatives.

The panel will analyse the interesting and increasingly usual interplay between public inquiries and criminal investigations.

Real estate costs are often the second most important (after salaries) for law firms. Getting real estate right has been a challenge for many law firms for many years, but post-Covid-19 it is much harder. With some firms still not fully back in the office and expecting they never will be, how does that translate into how much office space you provide? Will there be offices for everyone, whether or not they come in, or we are ‘embracing’ open plan and hoteling? Many law firms have put off the decision whilst we stabilise post-Covid-19, sadly that is not working out and decisions need to be made. This session will help you make those decisions.

The concluding session about supply chain challenges of the 2020s from Covid-19 to trade Wars to actual wars. 

The increasing de-globalisation of international commerce has been accelerated due to a number of factors, including the ongoing trade wars and the invasion of Ukraine. The disruption of global supply chains – arising from factors such as the shortage of raw materials and commodities, and also due to trade barriers and restrictions to the movement of people – has caused inflation and has impacted global businesses. Re-shoring, nearshoring and friend shoring strategies have helped businesses to increase supply chain resilience and optimise processes of manufacturing and distribution along the supply chain. Specific consideration will be given to industries more impacted by these important trends and the possible solutions will be discussed by our expert panel. 

One such solution is the impact of new technology, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In the next few years, the potential of generative AI could boost the operating profits of many industries, including the apparel, fashion and luxury sectors, as well as global manufacturers. The deep-learning models are developed on vast, unstructured data sets that applications can use to handle numerous complex tasks.

The ‘chat’ function of these generative AI tools can help, for instance, a biotech company ask questions that help it with demand forecasting. By doing so, the company can run ‘what-if’ scenarios on getting specific chemicals for the products or for what might happen if certain global shocks or other events occur that change or disrupt daily operations.

Risk management may be the most promising area, particularly in preparing for risks that supply chain planners haven’t considered.

Incorporating generative AI into companies’ supply chain forecasting, production planning and risk management will result in optimisation of the production systems.

Our panel will examine the legal challenges arising, and share their views on how generative AI can possibly resolve or mitigate the supply chain challenges of the early 2020s disruptors.

The IBA Bar Issues Commission (BIC) is participating in the presidential initiative to address artificial intelligence and, in particular, the BIC is focusing on guidance for bar associations in advising their members. This panel will discuss core issues relating to artificial intelligence (AI) and invite a roundtable discussion.

Update on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), domestic authorities guidelines, court rulings and cases on eligibility of benefits under double tax treaties.