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American Bar Association Section of International Law and International Bar Association Litigation Committee
present
The Next Big Wave of Cross-Border Litigation

6-7 November 2008 | The Biltmore Hotel | Coral Gables ~ Miami, Florida

Program Agenda

Click here to download the agenda in PDF form

Thursday, 6 November
7:00 PM
Welcome Reception

Friday, 7 November
8:45 AM
Opening Remarks

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Mass and Massive Litigation in Developing Country Courts
Recent years have seen a rapidly increasing number of suits against multinationals in the courts of developing countries. In many instances, the damages sought are in the billions of dollars; the legal theories are novel; the courts are inexperienced in disputes of this kind and scale; and often the plaintiff is the government or a government entity, raising questions of the independence of the local judiciary. The litigation environment for these cases is one of huge exposure and great uncertainty as to the process and outcome. Is this the future equivalent of the US class action jury trial?
Roger Alford, Associate Professor of Law, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
Daniel Leader, Leigh Day & Co Solicitors, London, England
James D. Wing, Partner, Holland & Knight, Miami, FL

Moderator-
Markus Koehnen, McMillan LLP, Toronto, Canada

10:30 AM
Networking Break

10:45 AM-12:30 PM
Developing World; Developing Litigation
Multinationals hungry for growth markets have invested trillions of dollars into the developing world and in particular the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Large, risky investments inevitably lead to large and hotly contested litigations. Multinationals supporting unpopular regimes may be at risk when there is regime change. Where will these disputes be heard and what will they resemble? This panel will discuss the potential impact of the Hague Choice of Courts Convention, investment treaty arbitration and a range of other issues.
Peter Arthur, General Counsel, Anglo American, Johannesburg, South Africa
Stephen Jagusch, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP, London, UK
Abby Cohen Smutny, White & Case LLP, Washington, DC
David Stewart, Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC

Moderator-
Barton Legum, Counsel, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Paris, France

12:30 PM
Luncheon

2:00 PM-3:45 PM
New Funding Techniques for New Litigation
Hedge funds investing in litigation, non-lawyer equity in law firms and the expansion of plaintiffs firms into new markets reflect a significant increase in capital available for profitable litigation. This panel will examine these new techniques for funding major litigation and debate their practical as well as ethical impact.
Wayne J. Attrill, Senior Manager, Claims Funding International plc, Dublin, Ireland
Walter Remersweld, Omni Bridgeway Emerging Markets BV, The Hague, The Netherlands
Tim Strong, Partner, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, London, UK
Laurel Terry, Professor of Law, Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, PA

Moderator-
Steven M. Richman, Partner, Duane Morris LLP, Princeton, NJ

3:45 PM
Networking Break

4:00 PM-5:45 PM
The Conduct of Major Cross-Border Litigation in the Next Decade
A host of emerging developments and initiatives are likely to shape how major cross-border litigation will be handled in the coming years: new EU rules on applicable law in contracts and tort cases and service of documents, the impact of data protection laws and blocking statutes, new trends in evidence-gathering and privilege in cross-border cases, actions brought in the US and Europe on behalf of purported worldwide classes. This panel will review these developments and initiatives and explore how they will likely affect the conduct of cross-border litigation in the next decade.
Ralph Ferrara, Partner, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, Washington, DC
Lisa Bench Nieuwveld, NautaDutilh N.V., Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Peter Rees, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, London, UK

Moderator-
Markus Koehnen, Partner, McMillan LLP, Toronto, Canada

5:45 PM
Closing Remarks

8:00 PM
Reception and Closing Dinner - Ticketed Event