In September, international lawyers from more than 100 jurisdictions will arrive in Mexico City to participate in intense discussions and business dealings at the 2024 International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference. Considered the premier event for the global legal profession – lawyers in private practice, in-house counsel, human rights advocates, judges, bar leaders, regulators – the Conference will take place over six days from Sunday to Friday, September 15-20.
Law professionals, business leaders, government representatives, and regulators from around the world will convene to deliberate on topics related to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, international trade, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and many other contemporary issues confronting the legal profession and societies, against a backdrop of global geopolitical, economic, and technological tensions, challenges, and opportunities.
Ernesto Zedillo, president of Mexico from 1994–2000, is to give the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony on Sunday 15 September. In a video, released ahead of the Conference, Dr Zedillo said “I hope that the impressive gathering of legal professionals and their respective bar associations and societies, due to take place this September in my country, helps to bring to the forefront not just the discussion of why without effective rule of law a society cannot achieve its full potential but also the way in which such effective rule of law must be accomplished.”
The capital city of Mexico is acknowledged by delegates registered for the Conference as an important financial hub due to its proximity to the United States, the fact that several of the largest US
companies have established headquarters or significant operations in Mexico, its sizeable consumer market, and its numerous free trade agreements. Many delegates will take advantage of the chance to strengthen current relationships with Mexican peers and/or forge new ones while they are in the city.
Alongside negotiating business deals, delegates at the Conference will attend any of the 200 sessions featuring knowledgeable international speakers from a variety of fields, including the four Showcase sessions from each area of the IBA:
• Monday: the IBA’s Human Rights Institute showcase – femicide, murder and other crimes against women – a social crisis, focuses on a drama which is unfortunately so relevant in Mexico and in other parts of the world.
• Tuesday: the Legal Practice Division showcase – digital assets and the future of financial services, focuses on the rise of the digital economy (including blockchain) significantly transforming global financial markets, traditional trading, investment, payments, borrowing and saving.
• Wednesday: the Bar Issues Commission showcase – beneficial ownership, focuses on anti-corruption measures to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and other human rights abuses.
• Thursday: the Section on Public and Professional Interest – creating great pro bono programmes, focuses on providing vital legal assistance to those who cannot afford it and mobilising lawyers who can offer expertise in cases with potential widespread impact to ensure access to justice and the protection of human rights.
There are also 30 sessions devoted to the topic of AI. As organisations rapidly integrate AI into their operations to gain a competitive edge and spur innovation, the work of lawyers and legal education have been profoundly impacted. The IBA will discuss the ethical, practical, and legal considerations surrounding its application as well as the future directions for legal practitioners worldwide.
At the session “A world without lawyers?” on Tuesday, September 17, IBA President Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama and former IBA President David W Rivkin will discuss the findings of the landmark IBA report on the social and economic impact of the legal profession with a host of legal experts including Lady Helena Kennedy LT KC, Director of the IBA's Human Rights Institute, and Lord Goldsmith KC, former Attorney General of the United Kingdom. The main topic of discussion will be the advantages maintaining the rule of law has for society and the economy.
For additional information on the conference, visit www.ibanet.org/conference-details/CONF2421.
Law professionals, business leaders, government representatives, and regulators from around the world will convene to deliberate on topics related to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, international trade, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and many other contemporary issues confronting the legal profession and societies, against a backdrop of global geopolitical, economic, and technological tensions, challenges, and opportunities.
Ernesto Zedillo, president of Mexico from 1994–2000, is to give the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony on Sunday 15 September. In a video, released ahead of the Conference, Dr Zedillo said “I hope that the impressive gathering of legal professionals and their respective bar associations and societies, due to take place this September in my country, helps to bring to the forefront not just the discussion of why without effective rule of law a society cannot achieve its full potential but also the way in which such effective rule of law must be accomplished.”
The capital city of Mexico is acknowledged by delegates registered for the Conference as an important financial hub due to its proximity to the United States, the fact that several of the largest US
companies have established headquarters or significant operations in Mexico, its sizeable consumer market, and its numerous free trade agreements. Many delegates will take advantage of the chance to strengthen current relationships with Mexican peers and/or forge new ones while they are in the city.
Alongside negotiating business deals, delegates at the Conference will attend any of the 200 sessions featuring knowledgeable international speakers from a variety of fields, including the four Showcase sessions from each area of the IBA:
• Monday: the IBA’s Human Rights Institute showcase – femicide, murder and other crimes against women – a social crisis, focuses on a drama which is unfortunately so relevant in Mexico and in other parts of the world.
• Tuesday: the Legal Practice Division showcase – digital assets and the future of financial services, focuses on the rise of the digital economy (including blockchain) significantly transforming global financial markets, traditional trading, investment, payments, borrowing and saving.
• Wednesday: the Bar Issues Commission showcase – beneficial ownership, focuses on anti-corruption measures to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and other human rights abuses.
• Thursday: the Section on Public and Professional Interest – creating great pro bono programmes, focuses on providing vital legal assistance to those who cannot afford it and mobilising lawyers who can offer expertise in cases with potential widespread impact to ensure access to justice and the protection of human rights.
There are also 30 sessions devoted to the topic of AI. As organisations rapidly integrate AI into their operations to gain a competitive edge and spur innovation, the work of lawyers and legal education have been profoundly impacted. The IBA will discuss the ethical, practical, and legal considerations surrounding its application as well as the future directions for legal practitioners worldwide.
At the session “A world without lawyers?” on Tuesday, September 17, IBA President Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama and former IBA President David W Rivkin will discuss the findings of the landmark IBA report on the social and economic impact of the legal profession with a host of legal experts including Lady Helena Kennedy LT KC, Director of the IBA's Human Rights Institute, and Lord Goldsmith KC, former Attorney General of the United Kingdom. The main topic of discussion will be the advantages maintaining the rule of law has for society and the economy.
For additional information on the conference, visit www.ibanet.org/conference-details/CONF2421.
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