FROM THE INSTITUTE’S CHAIR

A “New” Name for the Institute -  The Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative Law (SWIICL)

Our Institute has a new name, and this name refers to our successful history. The Board of Trustees of the Center for American and International Law unanimously approved the motion made by the Advisory Board and the Executive Committee. As a result, our name once again refers to the proud history of the Southwestern Legal Foundation. Additionally, it distinguishes us from many other organizations which are also named "Institute for International and Comparative Law".

Now it is up to us to revive our proud history and to jointly work on the success of the Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative Law.

New Committees

The Advisory Board approved a proposal to increase and strengthen the participation of our members by establishing several new committees.

We invite all members of the Advisory Board and all Alumni of the Academy of American and International Law to become a member of one of these committees:

-  Corporate Finance and M&A
-  Corporate Counsel
-  Dispute Resolution
-  Employment Law

We are very happy to announce outstanding members as first chairs: 

-  José Luis Freire from Tozzini Freire in Sao Paulo, Brazil will chair the Corporate Finance and M&A Committee.

-  Charles Matthews, the former General Counsel of Exxon Mobil, will chair the Corporate Counsel Committee.

-  Professor Jack Coe, Pepperdine University, will chair the Dispute Resolution Committee.

-  The chair of the Employment Law Committee has not yet been named.

What will the Committees Do?

The purpose of the Committees is to strengthen the participation of our members, to support collaboration and to share knowledge and experiences. We hope that each of the Committees will organize one program during the 2011 Symposium. Further, members of a committee may also meet and socialize during other meetings held by the IBA, IPBA, INTA, etc.

Invitation to Join and Register

 We ask all members of the Advisory Board and all Alumni to become a member of one of the Committees.In January of 2011, we will organize conference calls to allow each of the Committees to discuss possible topics for the 2011 Symposium. The organization is in place. Now it is up to you to make these committees a success! To join a Committee, click below:

-  Corporate Finance and M&A
-  Corporate Counsel
-  Dispute Resolution
-  Employment Law

Is there an interest in establishing other Committees?

SWIICL is totally open to create more committees if this is desired by our members. Without excluding any other suggestion, it may be possible to create committees on commercial law, antitrust law, IP law, IT law, tax law, energy law, real estate law, insolvency law, etc. Please let our Vice President, Mark Smith, know if you want us to establish another committee.

Who wants to become an Editor of the Newsletter?

We are interested in recruiting editors for this Newsletter. We hope that some of you will want to serve as an editor.  If you are interested, please contact  Mark Smith or me.

Successful 2010 Symposium

We had a very successful 2010 Symposium which we organized in cooperation with the American Corporate Counsel (ACC) Group in Dallas. About 60 in-house lawyers attended the meeting, which included timely topics of high interest to in-house counsel and their outside advisors.

We plan to hold the 2011 Symposium again in cooperation with the Dallas ACC and hopefully with the Texas General Counsel Forum.

Please Mark your Calendars: June 13, 14 and 15, 2011

The 2011 Symposium will take place on June 14 and 15, 2011.

Immediately prior to the Symposium, we will hold our annual Corporate Compliance Program on June 13, 2011. We are very excited to combine both programs, giving all of you a great opportunity to come to Dallas for a meaningful visit.


2010 SYMPOSIUM FOCUSING ON PROBLEMS CONFRONTING IN-HOUSE COUNSEL

EUROPEAN ALUMNI MEETING – ZAGREB, CROATIA
(October 2010)
Our European Alumni enjoyed a wonderful meeting, program, and fellowship at their annual gathering, held in October in Zagreb. Congratulations to host organizers Dubravka Cvek, Tomislav Halle and Eugen Zadravec. All alumni around the world are invited to come to Brussels next year when the European alumni celebrate their 25^th anniversary meeting.  (The 2010 attendees included Shinichi Suyama of Japan and Alejandro Guardone of Argentina!)

THE 47^th ACADEMY (May - June 2010)

The annual Academy attracted 65 participants from 25 countries who came to Texas to study American and international business law. We thank our SWIICL members who sent representatives to this year’s Academy. More than 75% of the participants were from our member firms, companies and corporations. The Academy faculty again included distinguished scholars and practicing lawyers with national and international experience in legal, business and public affairs.  

With input from a committee chaired by former Academy participant Lisandro Allende, the Academy curriculum has been modified to include greater emphasis on the development of legal skills.  Multi-day sessions are now offered in Legal Writing, Negotiations and Arbitration. Most participants took advantage of the opportunity to become Academy Fellows by passing a series of exams during the six weeks.

  The 2010 Class of the Academy of American and International Law

The 2010 Academy enjoyed extracurricular events such as a Texas Rangers baseball game, a Texas rodeo, a tour of an East Texas ranch, and visits to major law firms in the Dallas area. The classes included a mock trial where the participants were ‘jurors’ and ‘witnesses’.  And, in case anyone has forgotten, the World Cup was held during this year’s Academy (note the picture above, lower left, featuring our Brazilian participants!).

2010 Academy Reflections - An Unbelievable Opportunity for my Life - Chiara Iarussi, Ughi e Nunziante Studio Legale, Rome, Italy –
“When the founding partner of my law firm asked me to go to Dallas to attend the Academy, I was unbelievably surprised and happy. In the beginning, I had no idea what the Academy could be for me. Only during the six weeks could I have realized the importance of such an experience for my professional and social life. Living 45 days with 64 classmates from 24 other countries allowed me to see my life and the entire world in a different way. I had the chance to find friends from all over the world and to compare my life with theirs as I learned more about the individual cultures of each country. Since all are lawyers or judges, we were able to compare the practice of law in different parts of the world. Interacting and observing the professors' lectures during the six weeks, the Symposium program and all the academic and social activities organized by the Academy staff showed me the wonderful work of the American people, as well as a different way to teach in comparison with the Italian way, i.e., more practical and less theoretical. One of our best lessons was taught by Bryan A. Garner, our Legal Writing lecturer. He taught us new principles of good writing. It was strange for all of us to discover a different way to write legal documents. As Bryan Garner always said: “it’s difficult to change a legal mind”. This was one of the most important principles that he taught us: framing issues in a way that immediately captures the reader’s attention. For our Negotiations lectures, Eileen F. Babbitt divided us into groups to simulate a negotiation or a mediation, giving us the opportunity to see different approaches of lawyers from different countries, both in a bilateral or in a multilateral context. The Mock Trial, involving some of the participants of the Academy who acted as jurors and witnesses, was amazing. I was able to compare this process with others, such as my own Italian process, in which there is not a jury but a Judge who holds his decision. At the date that I am writing this, more than one month has passed since I returned from Dallas. Each day, I think that for all of my life I will thank those who allowed me to attend this course. Certainly it is, and it will be, one of the most important opportunities of my professional life.”

ALUMNI IN THE NEWS

M. S. Ameermia (2001 participant from South Africa)
“The Dallas experience was indeed the turning point in my life and it was indeed a life changing experience for me. It just complemented my entire law career.  Since my return to South Africa from Dallas, I was subsequently appointed director of legal services in the Limpopo Provincial Government-Department of Education, where I was tasked to attend to difficult constitutional challenges ranging from racism to addressing the plight of learners to a decent public education as well as daunting and huge civil lawsuits involving the misappropriation of  public funds and tender frauds. My successes in the education portfolio earned me a promotion when I was appointed Chief Director, Legal Services in the Limpopo Provincial Government Department of Local Government and Housing. I was awarded a scholarship by the Department to enroll at the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership at the University of Limpopo in Polokwane, for a business management course, where I graduated with distinction. All this requires hard work commitment and dedication and the ability to effect change by implementing progressive interventions in a robust and pragmatic way.

It is in this regard that I cherish the Dallas experience as incredible and my exposure to international law and commercial arbitration, invaluable. It was indeed an experience second to none. In conclusion, I wish every participant my very best wishes and I am very proud to be associated with the Academy and the Center. I trust that in the near future, the Board will consider South Africa to be a venue for an alumni get together. It may be the first of its kind on the African continent”.

Mushegh Manukyan (2008, Armenia)
"The Academy was one of the greatest educational experiences that I have had. I had previously attended a number of international courses, but this one was special. Following completion of the Academy, I received a scholarship to the Hague Academy of International Law. This too was a great contribution to my professional and academic career. In September 2009, I completed my PhD studies in Moscow. Wanting to be a part of my country’s development, I returned to Armenia. I took a position with the leading mobile operator in Armenia - VivaCell-MTS as  lead lawyer/head of the formalities legal section. Since February 2010, I have been teaching private international law and alternative dispute resolution in one of the leading universities in Armenia - Armenian- Russian (Slavic) University. Recently, I have completed my monograph 'transnational corporations and private international law' in Russian based on my PhD dissertation, which was published in Yerevan and donated to all universities and libraries in Armenia."

Carla Martin Escorial (2006, Spain) established her new law firm which will focus on local and international employment. Carla was formerly with Gomez-Acebo & Pombo when she attended the Academy and later worked at Ramon & Cajal in Madrid.

                                                                                                           
Bijaya Prasad Mishra (2005, Nepal) has been elected Secretary General of the Nepal Bar Association for a three year tenure. The Nepal Bar Association has been the national umbrella organization of lawyers of Nepal and currently has more than 10,000 members.

Henk ten Voorde (1997, Netherlands) has formed his own firm, Lustrous Law, with several other people. The firm will focus on Dutch and cross-border corporate law. The firm is located in Amsterdam. You may reach Henk at henk@lustrouslaw.com or visit the website at www.lustrouslaw.com .