World Link for Law Conference, São Paulo, Brazil (and post conference tour to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Click on photo for photo video review of the conference.
The 2024 World Link annual conference was held between Tuesday 4th June and Thursday 6th June 2024, in São Paulo, Brazil, hosted by Brazilian World Link and Regional Hub member firm, Montgomery. The main conference/business agenda days were on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th June, up to lunchtime, with the Annual General Assembly of World Link for Law being held on Thursday morning.
São Paulo is home to 20 million fiercely proud paulistanos and it is a diverse and vibrant city and the hub of South American business.
The conference was held at the stylish and modern Pullman Hotel, Vila Olimpia, located to the south of the city centre in a major business district.
The conference included many informative presentations and interactive discussions, as well as social events, with numerous opportunities to meet World Link for Law colleagues.
Additionally, on Tuesday before the main conference there were Special Interest Group meetings for International Arbitration (with invited speaker, Fabiana de Cerqueira Leite, Partner at Eleonora Coelho Advogados – a specialist Brazilian arbitration boutique firm); International Tax Law; and Young Lawyers events and discussions.
On Tuesday before the first day of the conference, there was a free-to-attend pre-conference ‘welcome’ dinner at the famous Fogo de Chão steak restaurant, hosted by Montgomery.
On Wednesday evening there was a gala dinner at Cantaloup restaurant with musical entertainment (and an impromptu guitar performance by Rodolfe Dolce of member firm, Dolce Lauda from Frankfurt). On Thursday afternoon, after the last conference lunch, we had a city bus tour visiting key sites in São Paulo. On Thursday evening there was a more informal dinner at Ville du Vin restaurant with more traditional musical entertainment and samba dancing!
The conference business programme included:
Drive to Survive – a ‘fireside chat’ with Luiz Carlos Ranieri, founder of Lyra Ranieri Advogados and an expert in negotiating agreements for many of Brazil’s most famous motor racing drivers in Formula 1, Indy and Stock Car, including Rubens Barichello, Luciano Burti, Tony Kanaan, Ricardo Rosset and Bia Figueiredo.
Doing business in Latin America – World Link Latin American members spotlighted sectors and opportunities to work together.
Artificial intelligence and its impact on lawyering. External speaker: Marcelo Souccar of TOTVS, who connected online from the USA.
Speed networking session among members
Litigation: hot topics and current trends from around the globe
General Counsel panel – what do clients take into account when instructing law firms? General Counsel from 3 major multinational companies with a presence in Brazil were invited to share their thoughts.
Bridging the age gap – what young lawyers want - talent retention in law firms
Post conference comments by some of the delegates
This was my first conference and attending as a Young Lawyer where various sessions catered for us. It was a pleasure to meet other members for the first time; and feel really involved”
Willemijn Kuper, Rotshuizen Geense Advocaten, the Netherlands.
“There were some really interesting presentations and it was good to get a South American perspective on many topics. Many thanks to Neil and his team for hosting a great event.“
Melina Lamelza, Perez Maraviglia & Horton Abogados, Argentina
“A really memorable conference. A good combination of nice social events, a useful business programme, and a great opportunity to meet fellow international lawyers”
Sabrina Leung, Affilia Legal LLP, Canada
After the conference, from 7-9 June, before making their way home, a group travelled on from São Paulo to Rio for a 2-day excursion, staying at the Hilton hotel on Copacabana Beach; with two upmarket external dinners; and a city excursion including Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer and participating in entertaining presentations at Samba School. Much fun was had by all.