The International Bar Association - The global voice of the legal profession'

By The International Bar Association

The International Bar Association (IBA), established in 1947, is the world’s leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession throughout the world. It has '¨a membership of more than 50,000 individual legal professionals and 205 bar associations and law societies spanning all continents and has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community.

Grouped into two divisions – the Legal Practice Division and the Public and Professional Interest Division – the IBA covers all practice areas and professional interests, providing members with access to leading experts and up-to-date information. Through the various committees of the divisions, the IBA enables an interchange of information and views among its members as to laws, practices and professional responsibilities relating to the practice of law around the globe. Additionally, the IBA’s world-class conferences provide unrivalled professional development and network-building opportunities for international legal practitioners, senior business professionals, regulators and government officials.

On Monday 25 February 2013, the IBA will host in London a conference entitled Investments in BRICS: Business Perspectives and Legal Frameworks.

Vassily Rudomino conference co-chair and managing partner at ALRUD CJSC '¨in Moscow said: “BRICS is already a rather influential international institution which '¨can be further used by the BRICS countries for the development of common positions on different political, economic, financial '¨and other matters. Such positions elaborated '¨by the BRICS countries will have more '¨weight on the international scene in comparison with the position of one or several separate countries.”

This event is the ideal meeting place for legal and business professionals who work in Brazil, Russia, India, China or South Africa, and all other professionals doing business in, or with, BRICS nations to gain insight into the latest legal developments in the respective jurisdictions and to meet with peers from the countries in question.

Jeffrey A Blount, the other conference co-chair and managing partner at '¨Fulbright & Jaworski in Hong Kong and Beijing, believes that “developments in the BRICS countries continue to shape business decisions all over the world. This conference will explore what is happening in BRICS and what that means for lawyers and others who work globally.”

The BRICS economies are expected to continue driving world economic growth during 2013. However, 2012 was a difficult year in many respects for BRICS, in light of slow growth and uncertainty globally and in the European and US economies in particular. These conditions resulted in investment outflows, stock market falls, weakened export positions and a moderation of growth rates in some or all of the BRICS.

The first plenary session of '¨the conference aims to address these and other challenges the BRICS nations are facing in the short to medium term and how they have been responding to them. Panellists from each of the nations will discuss how BRICS may improve their competitiveness and promote economic recovery, particularly in light of their relevant advantages in terms of economic size, resources, domestic markets and availability of capital, and how these advantages may be mobilised in acquiring investments, technology and markets globally.

The second plenary session will examine the opportunities and issues in doing business in and with BRICS. This session will address investment and trading activities and patterns in and among the BRICS countries, and practical issues that are relevant to lawyers working on matters in or involving BRICS countries. Panel members will describe the legal market in their respective jurisdictions and how it is best for lawyers to operate in these jurisdictions. The panel members will also discuss how the rapid growth of business and investment activity in '¨and involving the BRICS economies is affecting global legal practice, and '¨will discuss the unique cultural and practical issues encountered by practitioners when working in and '¨with each of the BRICS locations.

In recent years, BRICS countries have experienced an active role in M&A transactions, accounting for an important portion of the M&A market in emerging economies. This session will analyse the different laws and regulations affecting foreign investment, inbound and outbound M&A rules, foreign exchange control issues and other regulations and issues frequently encountered by practitioners in M&A transactions in BRICS countries.

The conference will also cover various other topics related to antitrust, corporate finance, arbitration and dispute resolution. The full programme and registration details for this event can be found on the IBA website at: www.ibanet.org/conferences/conf488.aspx

The IBA looks forward to welcoming you at the Waldorf Hilton in London on 25 February 2013.'¨

To find out more about the IBA, '¨visit: https://www.ibanet.org