Brazilian alumni's roundtable event on “The Many Faces of International Arbitration”

As one of the first AFSIA National Committees in place, the Brazilian alumni seized the opportunity offered by the ICCA (International Council for Commercial Arbitration) Congress 2010 held in Rio de Janeiro from 24 to 26 May 2010, to organize an alumni event on 26 May 2010 under the title “The Many Faces of International Arbitration”.  

Despite the late point in the conference and the full agenda, no less than 65 alumni and friends of the SIA saw Prof. Dr. Loukas Mistelis (CCLS/SIA),Prof Sergio Bermudes (Sergio Bermudes Advogados), Ms. Ank Santens (White and Case, NY), Prof. Gustavo Tepedino (Gustavo Tepedino Advogados) and Dr. Pedro Martins (Pedro A. Batista Martins) discuss a wide array of topics, ranging from commercial to investment and construction arbitration, which were covered with attention for regional andinternational perspectives. The presentations were followed by a lively discussion and a drinks and canapés reception. The event drew alumni of the SIA, not only from Brazil, but also from other countries such as Colombia, US, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK.

Afterwards, Prof. Loukas Mistelis (CCLS/SIA) noted that “it is quite encouraging that our alumni do very well in Brazil, all being in practice in major firms”. On the event itself he stated that “[t]he atmosphere was great, not just because of the location of the meeting at a Copacabana beach hotel, but also because it is always great to meet old friends and colleagues, recount old stories and catch up on new developments. The meeting has proven to be a great academic and networking event.” This opinion was echoed by Carlo Verona (Veirano Advogados/ AFSIA Brazil), who stated that “The roundtable in Rio was fantastic. Gustavo and Roberto did a great job in selecting the speakers, subjects for discussion and venue. The table had a great balance between international and local authorities in arbitration and Sergio Bermudes was the perfect host and moderator. It was also a great opportunity to meet old friends and to get to know other SIA Alumni.”

The event was sponsored by Sergio Bermudes Advogados and AFSIA/SIA. The key organisers were Robert Castro de Figueiredo (current PhD at the SIA) and Dr Gustavo Fernandez (SIA distant learning programme alumnus), both at Sergio Bermudes Advogados, and Dr Stavros Brekoulakis (AFSIA/SIA).