IBA Annual Conference Mexico City 2024
15 Sep - 20 Sep 2024
PALACIO DE INTURBIDE 1, LEVEL E1
Session information
Bar Issues Commission Showcase: beneficial ownership
Wednesday 18 September (1430 - 1730)
PALACIO DE INTURBIDE 1, LEVEL E1
Committee(s)
Bar Issues Commission
(Lead)
Description
Anti-corruption measures to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and other human rights abuses begin with knowing the client. The laws regarding disclosure of beneficial ownership (ie, the ultimate owners of corporate entities) are meant to provide that information. While disclosure has commendable purposes, laws that facilitate it may go too far. In November 2022 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) struck down public access to the EU’s beneficial ownership regime as violative of privacy and personal data protection. In the United States, the Corporate Transparency Act went into effect on 1 January 2024, establishing reporting requirements for entities registered to do business in the United States. Lawyers and bar associations are now grappling with the impact of these laws. This panel discusses the issues relating to: beneficial ownership in terms of law firms as reporting companies; whether individual lawyers and other legal professionals are company applicants; and what law firms must tell their clients and their obligations to advise them.
Session / Workshop Chair(s)
| Sara Carnegie | International Bar Association, London, England; Member, IBA Diversity & Inclusion Council |
| Steven Richman | American Bar Association, Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Chair, Bar Issues Commission Policy Committee |
Speakers
| Babatunde Ajibade SAN | SPA Ajibade & Co, Lagos, Nigeria; SPPI Vice Chair / Treasurer |
| Noah Arshinoff | Federation of Law Societies of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Chelsea Curfman | Perkins Coie LLP, Denver, Colorado, USA |
| Ian Jeffery | The Law Society of England and Wales, London, England |
| Sherry Levin Wallach | NY State Bar Ass./Legal Aid Society Westchester , White Plains, New York, USA |
| Greg McIntyre | Law Council of Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; President / Chairperson, Law Council of Australia |
| Pierre-Dominique Schupp | Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, Bruxelles, Belgium |
| Mark Stephens CBE | Howard Kennedy LLP, London, England; IBAHRI Co-Chair, IBA's Human Rights Institute |
| Kimitoshi Yabuki | Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Tokyo, Japan; Chair, IBA Credentials Committee |