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The International Law Section Gazette
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Join the ILS for a cocktail reception
celebrating the release of the new International Law Quarterly Focus on Asia edition TODAY, November 8, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
at the Hogan Lovells' office in Miami (600 Brickell Ave. 27th Floor, Miami, FL 33131)
Enjoy a selection of passed hors d'oeuvres and cocktails .
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Networking Luncheon in Orlando
On November 29, 2018 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Citrus Club in Orlando, 255 S. Orange Avenue, 18th Floor
, the Florida Bar International Law Section will host its annual networking luncheon in Orlando. The Chair of the International Law Section and Members of the Executive Committee and Executive Council will be sharing the Section's mission and discussion plans for the upcoming year. Space is limited. RSVP to Penelope Perez-Kelly at pperezkelly@fisherlawfirm.com .
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SAVE THE DATE: Cuba 2.0 - Open, Closed or Out of Business?
The Miami Finance Forum is hosting a breakfast program on
November 27, 2018 7.30-10AM at the offices of Akerman,
98 Southeast Seventh Street; Suite 1100;
Miami
, FL 33131. The ILS co-sponsors the event. The event will feature an expert panel including
Pedro Freyre, Carlos Osorio, Arnie Perez (Carnival), Fernando Capablanca (City National Bank) and will touch on the shifting US-Cuba political, legal and business climate following the adoption of U.S President Donald Trump's new policies, and the election of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
More details and brochure to follow.
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Save the Date - 2019 Richard Dewitt Memorial Vis Pre-Moot
On February 23, 2019 at the offices of JAMS - 600 Brickell Ave. Suite 2600 Miami, FL, the ILS will again be hosting the Richard Dewitt Memorial Vis Pre-Moot to assist the law schools preparing teams for the
Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
competition in Vienna. We look forward to participation from Florida's largest law schools.
Call for committee members: Vis Pre-Moot
The Vis Pre-Moot Planning Committee is in search of additional members to help organize the event. The Committee will meet periodically to tackle the various projects needed to successfully put on the moot including organizing the logistics of the competition, liaising with coaches and teams, planning the rounds, and engaging volunteer arbitrators. If you would like to be part of the Committee, please email Adrian Nuñez at anunez@jonesday.com.
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Save the Date for iLaw 2019
Please join us for our annual flagship conference on
Friday, February 22, 2019 at the
JW Marriott Marquis in Miami. This year's conference will feature programming on hot issues in international litigation, arbitration, and business transactions. As in previous years, we have teamed up with the
International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) for the international arbitration track. We have limited rooms available, so reserve your room early! For more information please visit our website,
www.internationallawsection.org, or contact this year's co-chairs,
Jacqueline Villalba,
jvillalba@harpermeyer.com;
Kristin Drecktrah Paz,
kpaz@shutts.com; or
Cristina Vicens
cvicens@sequorlaw.com.
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WALMART TO SETTLE SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION
FOR $160 MILLION FOR MEXICO BRIBES
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By Richard Montes De Oca*
On October 26, 2018, Walmart and a group of its shareholders agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by The City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System on behalf of thousands of investors for $160 million. The lawsuit arose from a significant drop in Walmart's stock price following an article published by the New York Times in 2012 about a bribery scheme involving Walmart's subsidiaries in Mexico in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
While Walmart had previously disclosed the company's investigation of possible FCPA violations in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in December 2011, the class action claims the statement in the filing were misleading because they failed to mention the allegations dated back to 2005. The lawsuit alleges that Walmart's actions have affected thousands of investors who held about 3 billion shares of Walmart's stock from December 2011 through April 2012.
Walmart has also been under extensive investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the SEC, and Mexican authorities since 2011 for violations of the FCPA when its employees paid alleged bribes to government officials in order to obtain permits to build Walmart stores in Mexico. Since the commencement of the investigation, Walmart has fired its General Counsel in Mexico and spent over $870 million dollars on the probe and global compliance upgrades. While the DOJ has not officially commented on the penalty sought against Walmart, some experts estimate the fine will be in the range of $600 million to $1 billion. However, the company has disclosed that based on its talks with the DOJ and the SEC, it may reach a settlement for a much lower amount, approximately $283 million, as a result of various remedial measures.
With increasing private class actions, coupled with the DOJ and SEC's aggressive enforcements efforts and record-setting fines, MDO Partners encourages companies to establish strong Anti-Corruption Compliance Programs to mitigate the risks of FCPA violations. In fact, recent reports reflect that nearly 500 enforcement actions were initiated and $4 billion in fines levied by the DOJ and SEC in 2018, boosted in large part by foreign corruption cases. MDO Partners advises companies on global compliance programs; our attorneys and advisors have extensive experience advising clients on the FCPA and effective Anti-Corruption Compliance Programs in over 30 countries.
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*Richard Montes De Oca is Managing Partner at MDO Partners is a boutique law firm that focuses on Corporate, International, and Real Estate Law, as well as Global Compliance and Business Ethics.
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November 6-10, 2018
The ABA Section of International Law will hold its
Conference on International Trade and Investments in Mexico City. To learn more, click
here.
November 1-4, 2018
The Florida Department of State is pleased to announce the next
Civil-Law Notary
examination will be administered November 4th
in Tallahassee, Florida. The National
Association of Civil Law Notaries (NACLN) will conduct a training course and seminar
in Tallahassee to educate Florida Attorneys about the civil-law notary office in Florida
and worldwide, and to prepare candidates for the exam. The seminar begins November
1st and concludes November 4th with the administration of the examination.
Seminar attendees will
earn CLE Credits (General - 25.0 hours, with 2.5 hours in Ethics)
and Certification Credits (Business Litigation - 25 hours; International Law - 25 hours;
and International Litigation & Arbitration - 25 hours). Any Florida Bar member may
register and attend the seminar, but attendees who choose to sit for the State examination
(optional) must have been previously approved by the Department of State for
appointment as a Civil-law Notary (application available online at
November 8-10, 2018
The
International Association of Young Lawyers will hold a conference in San Diego on:
Entrepreneurship and innovation: from early stages to the evolution.
With 70 miles of coastline and year-round amazing weather and serene ocean water, you can see why San Diego is the place to be. With hidden gems tucked into different neighbourhoods, you can explore San Diego's natural beauty, plentiful breweries, one-of-a-kind shops, cultural institutions, and attractions. Today, the city also gained a reputation as an innovative tech hub thanks to its top-notch universities and world-renowned research institutes. These are just a few of the reasons that make San Diego a perfect venue to speak about entrepreneurship and innovation.
The AIJA Seminar will address topics such as entrepreneurship legal issues, key challenges in setting up new businesses, use of intellectual property strategies to protect new assets, approaching investors, negotiation techniques between founders and investors, or licensing strategies. You will have the opportunity to meet with industry leaders, professionals and listen to the "real stories" of successful entrepreneurs who have made an impact in their industry.
For more information, please refer to the
event's brochure.
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Join the United States Council for International Business for a roundtable discussion on many topics of interest to the arbitration community, including: the function and activities of USCIB's Arbitration Committee, its Florida Subcommittee, the role of U.S. Court members to the ICC Court, an update on the U.S. members of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR and the current work of the Commission, how USCIB's Nominations Committee nominates U.S. arbitrators for ICC cases, and the latest news from the ICC Court.
The event will be held on November 9, 2018, starting at 12pm, at the office of Baker McKenzie in Miami (1111 Brickell Ave #1700). Click
here
to register for this complimentary luncheon program.
November 26-27, 2018
The Asia Committee of the Florida Bar International Law Section has organized a
U.S.-India Symposium on Law, Business and Investments. The symposium will take place on November 26-27, 2018 in conjunction with the Indian National Bar Association's (INBA) annual conference at the
Shangri-La Hotel in New Delhi. The symposium proposes to bring participation from legal luminaries, senior government officials, and international law firms from across the globe.
For further information, please visit the below sites:
January 30, 2019
On January 30, 2019 the ILS will host an audio webinar titled H-1B Processing: Navigating Troubled Waters in
These Turbulent Times
.
This audio webcast will offer a practical approach to the preparation of the H-1B visa petition taking into consideration USCIS regulations and current policy including adjudication trends at the Service Centers. For more information, please refer to the event's brochure. To register please visit this link.
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International Law Quarterly (ILQ)
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The
Fall 2018 ILQ - Focus on Asia
is now available to view and download here.
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