Woźniak Legal attends annual IBA 2022 conference in Miami

The annual gathering of the International Bar Association lawyers took place this month in Miami (30 October – 4 November 2022). It’s good to be back. We’ve been waiting for three years for the event to come back in person. The 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the Covid pandemic which nobody could have predicted when we met last time in Seoul. Virtual meetings kept us alive but we all missed that human element which is so important in our lives.
 
This event in Miami 2022 has had an entirely new level of importance. Sustainability has played a central role. The threat posed to our planet and to our society has never been greater, with events like Hurricane Ian ravaging the coast of Florida just a handful of miles from Miami. The legal industry is a key component of the United Nations Environmental, Social, Governance drive, and sessions throughout the week on topics including climate change, green energy and human rights were very inspiring.
 
As always, the conference included the symposium on the Rule of Law which is a fundamental aspect of human rights. The main topic this year was the question what could the United States and others do to counter disinformation and its destructive consequences. I was delighted to hear the introduction by Stephen Denyer and then the fascinating discussion between Lubna Shuja - the new President of The Law Society of England and Wales, Alan Raul and professor Lyrrisa Lidsky, moderated by Homer Moyer.
 
One of the important events during the conference, as always, was the IBA “World Cup” football match on Thursday which has now become a bit of an institution. Flamingo Park Memorial Football Stadium in Miami was very welcoming to us this year. Special thanks to Keith Oliver.
 
The conference was a fantastic and very well organized event that gathered lawyers from many jurisdictions. It was a wonderful week full of meetings, panels and spontaneous lunches. The jetlag and humidity were challenging but I really enjoyed my time here.
 
The next IBA annual conference will take place in Paris next year and I am very much looking forward to it.