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The International Law Section Gazette
Section News
ILS Chair's News & Notes
Dear ILS Members,

“It was shaded by tall coconut palms that were bent by the trade wind and on the ocean side you could walk out the door and down the bluff across the white sand and into the Gulf Stream.” - Earnest Hemingway describing Bimini in his classic novel Islands in the Stream.

Don’t just take Papa’s word for it. Come and see for yourself. Registration for the International Law Section’s 2022 Spring Retreat in Bimini is now open. Open the link below and sign-up now before all of the available spaces are filled. There is probably no place on the Globe which better embodies the adventurous spirit of an international lawyer than the islands of Bimini.  Once you register, we will follow-up soon thereafter to offer further details about alternatives for accommodations, transportation and logistics.  
Whether you come by boat or plane, or boat-plane, we just want you there with us to share a very special time with your professional friends and colleagues. 

While you are at it, time is running out to register for our Section’s annual signature event, The i-Law 2022 at the JW Marriott Marquis in downtown Miami on April 1st.  As you will see in the live registration link below, we have one of our strongest programs ever. 

Of course, as usual, our Mid-Year Executive Council Meeting will be held the afternoon before on March 31 at 4:00 pm. This year our meeting will be held at Akerman followed by a cocktail reception downstairs at CH’I in Brickell City Centre.  Whether you are an Executive Council Member fulfilling your annual duties or a member who is curious what leadership in the ILS looks like, we look forward to seeing you there.

Just as clear as the turquoise water that surrounds Bimini is fact that there has never been a better time to be an active member in the International Law Section of The Florida Bar. 

James M. Meyer
iLaw2022
iLaw2022 - Registration Open!
Registration for iLaw2020 is now OPEN! Please join the International Law Section on April 1, 2022, for its flagship one-day conference featuring great programming in international arbitration, international litigation, and international transactions. Please find links as follows:


For any information, visit the Florida Bar International Law Section website at www.internationallawsection.org or email the iLaw2022 Chair, Cristina Vicens.

ILS Retreat in Bimini - Registration Now Open!
Registration for the ILS Retreat in Bimini is now OPEN! Please join the International Law Section on April 29 - May 1, 2022, as we finally go "International." Please book your own travel to arrive at the ILS Retreat in Bimini by fast ferry from Ft. Lauderdale, seaplane from Miami, or a “regular” plane with wheels for landing gear. Weather permitting, you might also want to hitch a ride with one of our members on their private vessels or aircraft. Besides the professional comradery we are all accustomed to at ILS retreats, we will have the opportunity to meet with and hear from some of our colleagues from the Bahamas over breakfast on Saturday with the World-Famous Bimini Bread. We will also leave time to enjoy some fishing, diving, and lounging at the infinity pool above the crystal blue waters of the Gulfstream. Afterwards, maybe you want to enjoy a game of ring toss at the End of the World Sand Bar, a favorite watering hole of Ernest Hemingway, Adam Clayton Powell and Jimmy Buffett at the end of the road in Alice Town. Enjoy this special event for the Section and all the splendor that comes with a weekend among friends on the Islands in the Stream. To register, please follow this link.

For any information, visit the Florida Bar International Law Section website at www.internationallawsection.org or email our Chair, Jim Meyer at jmeyer@harpermeyer.com.

ILQ Call for Pictures and Retrospectives on Twenty Years of iLaw!
The iLaw Conference turns TWENTY this year! Although known by different names over the years, the ILS’ flagship annual conference (and the people who made it happen) deserve to be celebrated as the iLaw reaches this milestone!
 
The editors of the ILQ have decided to publish an editorial on “Twenty Years of iLaw” in the Spring 2022 International Law Quarterly, and we need your help to do it right! We want your photos, brochures, and mementos from past iLaw Conferences (which may have been known at the time as the ILAC, the ILAT, the IBT, etc.) If you have a favorite iLaw memory (e.g., a speaker, panel, luncheon, or something else), we want that too!
 
Please dig out your photos and treasures from iLaw’s past and send them to EditorsILQ@gmail.com or one of the editors directly (Laura Reich, Jeff Hagen, or Neha Dagley). If you are willing to write a short retrospective on iLaw or about a favorite memory, please do and submit that to the same email address. We hope to gather information from past-conference Chairs, speakers, and attendees to put together a special “look back” on twenty years of our favorite conference! Deadline for submission is April 8, 2022.
Member News
Harper Meyer LLP Capitalizes on Strengths with Addition of Laura Reich and Clarissa Rodriguez as Partners
When the partnership at Harper Meyer LLP met at the end of 2021, the strengths of the firm were clear. Now in its twentieth year, Harper Meyer has a reputation for excellence in business and corporate practice as well as in tax, real estate, probate, estate planning, and immigration. But it was the firm’s private wealth practice, which often includes transactions involving jets and yachts, that really started firm founder James (“Jim”) Meyer thinking.

“As a firm, we always want to meet our clients’ most pressing needs and part of that means building practice areas in anticipation of those needs,” says Meyer. When he considered the asset portfolio of the firm’s clients, it was clear that many of them had significant collections of art. “As soon as I considered adding an art law practice, I knew exactly who I needed to talk to.”

Meyer met Laura Reich and Clarissa Rodriguez of Reich Rodriguez more than a decade ago through their mutual involvement in activities of The Florida Bar. Rodriguez is a former Chair of the International Law Section of The Florida Bar (a post that Meyer currently holds), and Reich is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Law Quarterly.  Moreover, in the past five years, Reich and Rodriguez have become well-known in South Florida as the “go to” lawyers for art disputes.

“When Jim approached us about joining Harper Meyer, it was clear he had already thought out all the details,” says Rodriguez, who developed the idea of an art law practice after seeing a need for it in the local market. “As Miami gained prominence in the art world, it was clear to us that South Florida needed a law firm that really understood the conflicts that can arise out of owning art. But we didn’t have a transactional practice focused on art. It was clear our firms’ practice areas would complement each other.”

Reich and Rodriguez are also pleased to continue and expand upon the significant work of Burton (“Burt”) Landy, Miami’s unofficial “Dean of International Law,” in the area of international arbitration. Now age 93, Landy still comes into the office every week and remains committed to arbitration in Miami, which he first championed over 30 years ago. Coming full circle, Reich is also an arbitrator, including with the Court of Arbitration for Art. Harper Meyer is thrilled to add Reich and Rodriguez as partners, especially knowing that it will complete its design as a “full-service firm” and build on both firms’ strengths with an art law practice.
Announcements
How Can YOU Earn CLEs?
ILS Members! Your good friends on the Int’l Law Board Certification Committee want YOU to apply to become Board Certified in International Law. Here’s how you can earn credits! Apply today!
 
  • Be a Mock Arbitrator at the ILS Richard DeWitt Memorial Vis Pre-Moot Competition (8.5 CLEs) Email Adrian Nunez for details (Nuneza@gtlaw.com)
  • Make Plans to the Attend the iLaw 2022 Global Forum on International Law this April 1, 2022 (8.5 CLEs)
  • Make Plans to Join Us at the ILS Retreat April 28-30 at Bimini (2-4 CLEs)
  • Attend ILS Webinars! In person and on-demand at The Florida Bar (2-6 CLEs per course) Go to https://member.floridabar.org/TFB_CLECourseProdSearchResults?opPrms=International+Law&optType=4
  • Prepare and Present an ILS Webinar. Want to learn more? Email Katherine Sanoja for your next big presentation (3-6 CLEs per course) (katherine.sanoja@gstllp.com)
  • Publish an Article in the ILQ. Email Laura Reich, ILQ Editor, with your pitch (3-6 CLEs per article) (Laura@reichrodriguez.com)
  • Did you write a Chapter for the ILS Desk Reference Book? Did you give a Webinar? Publish in the ILQ? Receive Credit. Email Clarissa Rodriguez for details (Clarissa@reichrodriguez.com)
 
WHO MAY APPLY?
Minimum standards for international law certification, provided in Rule 6-21.3, include:
·        Practice of law for at least five years, in either the United States or abroad, or four years with an LL.M. in international law or a related field;
·        Substantial involvement in the specialty of international law — 50% or more — during each of the three years immediately preceding application;
·        60 hours of approved international law certification continuing legal education in the three years immediately preceding application;
·        Peer review; and,
·        A written examination.


The ILS Participation Challenge
The ILS Executive Board invites all ILS Members to compete in the 1st Annual ILS Participation Challenge and win amazing prizes and, more importantly, bragging rights. Here is how it works:

  1. Download your ILS Participation Challenge “bingo” card using this LINK, or come pickup your “hard card” at our upcoming September 22, 2021 cocktail event with the Haitian Lawyers Association to benefit the Ayiti Community Trust (see the invitation in the Gazette below). You will note that you can also check-off a square by attending that same event.
  2. To win, you must be an ILS member. If you want to play but are not a member, then you have yet another compelling reason to join!
  3. Mark the tiles on the ILS Participation Challenge “bingo” card as you complete each activity or event marked on that tile.
  4. You may only mark one tile per event or activity and only during the period from June 30, 2021 until the June 2022 Executive Council Meeting.
  5. Bring your marked ILS Participation Challenge card to the June 2022 Executive Council meeting OR scan and submit your card to me by that date.
  6. Any ILS member to mark the most squares (regardless of their position on the card) will enter the competition in the form of a drawing to win the first place prize: free attendance for one (1) at the next ILS retreat (including hotel, meals and other VIP treatment).
  7. Any ILS member that covers the card with two diagonal lines, from corner to corner (in the form of an “X”) will enter the competition in the form of a drawing to win second place prize: one complimentary ticket for iLaw2023.
  8. Any ILS member that completes any 5 consecutive squares (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) will enter the competition in the form of a drawing to win third place prize: dinner for two at il Gabbiano in Downtown Miami.
 
Ready, set, GET INVOLVED WITH THE ILS! 
International Law Deskbook 2020

The International Law Section is proud to announce that its International Law Deskbook 2020 is now ready for shipping! Get yours today!

To purchase the International Deskbook 2020, please click HERE to log into your account on the Florida Bar's website. Once logged in, please click HERE to search for the International Deskbook 2020 by entering the course number 4039. You will then find the International Deskbook 2020 under "Course Materials."

Join the International Law Section

If you are reading the Gazette, chances are that you are a practitioner or a student with an interest in International Law, one of the most wide-ranging, exciting and challenging legal specialties. Everyone in our field knows how crucial it is to stay on top of diverse and evolving national legal regimes, and at the same time, the difficulty of keeping meticulously up-to-date on developments around the world.

The International Law Section (ILS) of The Florida Bar is here to help you, the practitioner, navigate both the everyday and big-picture challenges of our field. Our Section is your forum to share knowledge and best practices, and to meet and mingle with peers in professional collaborations that can only enhance your grasp of the specialty and your standing among clients and peers.

Let ILS membership assist you in developing a thriving international practice through peer network development that includes important shared learnings and reciprocal referrals of clients and casework.

If your practice transcends borders, join us in making this the authoritative, go-to forum for Florida and the gateway to the region for anyone practicing International Law. Our Section is open to lawyers from other states and countries, full-time faculty at U.S. law schools, and full-time U.S. law students, all of whom may participate as associate members. For more information regarding membership with the ILS, click HERE.


Upcoming Events
March 25, 2022 - ABA's International Arbitration Skills Masterclass
The International Law Section is pleased to be supporting the ABA International Arbitration Masterclass, a two-day hands-on virtual training program, delivered by some of the world’s leading international arbitration lawyers, on March 24-25, 2022. The Masterclass, which is aimed primarily at junior to mid-level practitioners, will comprise a mixture of panel discussions and practice sessions, covering all aspects of an arbitral hearing (opening statements, examination of witnesses, examination of experts, and closing statements). To register, please follow this link. As a sponsor and organizer of the Masterclass, our friends at JAMS would like to extend one complimentary registration to an ILS member to participate in the Masterclass (a $450 value). This complimentary registration will be awarded to the first individual to read this message and contact Sherman Humphreys at shumphrey@jamsadr.com.
March 28, 2022 - AIJA's Americas Meeting
The AIJA invites all ILS Members to join it for the AIJA's Americas Meeting to take place in Miami on Monday, March 28, 2022. The event, jointly organized with the University of Miami Law School, and counting on the International Law Section as a supporting organization, will be free of charge. The AIJA President, Anna Wyrzykowska, will moderate a panel featuring Professor Patricia White, Dean Emerita of the University of Miami School of Law, and Jim Meyer, Chair of the International Law Section, providing an engaging discussion about the ultimate challenges, opportunities, and trends connected with the law and its practice in the region and worldwide. Two academic sessions will take place during the afternoon program, followed by a networking reception and an optional dinner. To register, please follow this link. The full program is available here.
Winter 2022 ILQ
The International Law Quarterly - Winter 2022
The Winter 2022 Issue of the International Law Quarterly - Focus on Legal Globalization is now available. Click on the image above to download! For all previous issues of the International Law Quarterly, please follow this link.
Visit Our Sponsors
The ILS Thanks its Sponsors 

In light of what we accomplished this past year, we hope you will continue to support the Section as a sponsor. In 2019-2020, various firms, companies and suppliers sponsored the Section. 

We look forward to another year of innovative programs where we can advance international law and further promote our sponsors. To learn more, read the Section's sponsorship package. You can also contact our Treasurer, Ana Maria Barton at abarton@reedmith.com, or Vice Treasurer, Cristina Vicens Beard at cvicens4@gmail.com for more details.
BECOME A SPONSOR for 2022!
The ILS Gazette

Editor: Davide Macelloni

Chair: James M. Meyer
Immediate Past Chair: Robert J. Becerra 
Chair-Elect: Jacqueline Villalba
Secretary: Richard Montes De Oca
Treasurer: Ana Barton
Vice-Treasurer: Cristina Vicens Beard

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