First Legal Summit of the Americas set for June 19-20 in Chicago

Hispanic legal leaders from the United States, Canada and Mexico will gather in Chicago for the first Legal Summit of the Americas on June 19 and 20 to discuss international business, environmental and immigration issues.

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, will be the keynote speaker. John Cruickshank, consul general of Canada in Chicago, will be the lunch speaker.

The summit, sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities, will be held at ABA headquarters, 321 N. Clark St., Chicago. It is free and open to the public.

The conference will include three panels, with experts from all three countries:

• Business and Trade – Will explore the recent United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, regulatory trends, labor standards and other business issues. Moderated by Victor M. Marquez of CRK Law in San Francisco. Panelists are Nicolas Guzman and Margarita Escalante of Chicago and Mark Warner of Toronto, Canada.

• Environment – Will explore the Paris Agreement, international efforts to address climate change, the relaxation of environmental regulations in the U.S. and other environmental issues. Moderated by Michelle Gallardo of ABC7 News in Chicago. Panelists are Federico Ruanova-Guinea of Tijuana, Mexico; Bryan Buttgieg and Sandra Gogal of Toronto, Canada, and Michael Gerrard of New York.

• Immigration – Will explore the future of DACA, temporary protected status, the Safe Third Country Agreement in Canada and other immigration issues. Moderated by Rudy Monterrosa of the Monterrosa Law Group in South Bend, Ind. Panelists are Allert Brown-Gort of Mexico City, Mexico; Daniel Morales of Chicago, Cyril Joseph of New York and Chantal Desloges of Toronto, Canada.