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The International Law Section Gazette

Section News

ILS Chair's News & Notes

“Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.”

-President John F. Kennedy


Dear ILS Members and Friends:

 

¿Que Pasa, ILS?! (What’s up, ILS?!). For those of you who may not know, this is a play on the title of a funny bilingual television show in the 1970s, ¿Que Pasa, USA? The show portrays the life of the Peña family from Cuba as they acclimate to their new lives in the U.S., specifically Miami. The family struggles with the English language, American culture and norms, but with some Spanglish, strong family bonds and a little wisdom from “abuela,” they manage to overcome and thrive. I recall enjoying the episodes as a kid and found them relatable to my parents’ own experience as Cuban immigrants. If you’ve never seen the show at all or in a while, I encourage you to find and watch a few episodes online.

 

Speaking of immigration, our Immigration Liaison Committee led by Committee Chair, Larry Rifkin, and his colleagues, Juan Carlos Freire and Elaine Weiss, have organized a timely and important webinar: An Overview of Immigration Polices, on May 15 at 12 pm, which will focus on recent U.S. immigration policies that have been adopted and those that are on the horizon. As international lawyers, you or your clients are surely encountering U.S. immigration law issues that will be addressed in this webinar. You don’t want to miss it! Please see details more below and be sure to register.

 

Nominations are still open for our Section’s next Vice Treasurer and Executive Board member. If you are interested in becoming or consider someone should be elected to this important role, I invite you to submit and encourage others to submit nominations to become our next Vice Treasurer. The deadline for nominations is May 3.

 

Calling all ILS Leaders! If you haven’t already done so, please rsvp for our upcoming Leadership Night with the Marlins at AutoNation Alley at the ballpark on May 22 at 6 pm. We are inviting our Board, Executive Council, Committee Chairs and ILS Past Chairs to celebrate and join us for America’s greatest past time. We are also looking for sponsors to help support the ILS and our Leaders by sponsoring this memorable event. Please contact me at richard.montes@bipc.com for sponsorship packages and details

 

Please remember to “Save the Date” and book travel arrangements for our Chair’s Reception on June 20 and Executive Council Annual Meeting on June 21 in Orlando, Florida. More details are below. We can’t wait to you there!

 

Sincerely,


Richard Montes de Oca, Esq.

Florida Bar ILS Chair

richard.montes@bipc.com

Announcements

Register For the May 15 Live Webinar Providing "An Overview of Immigration Policies Implemented During the Past Year and Future Policies that May be on the Horizon!

Registration is now open for a Live Webinar put on by the ILS and presented by Larry Rifkin, Juan Carlos Freire, and Elaine Weiss, which is scheduled for May 15.


Immigration Law is a field that is constantly evolving; driven predominantly by changes in policy by the President and his Administration. Regulations change from time to time; with the governing statute basically remaining the same for decades. Thus, it is important for the international practitioner to be aware of the constantly evolving policy changes by the Administration and proposals to change policy, driven primarily by politics; especially in a Presidential election year. This webinar will address current and proposed policy changes so that the international practitioner can counsel or assist their client with the benefit of immigration counsel in evaluating options regarding remaining in lawful status in the USA. The webinar will include 4-5 hypotheticals that will discussed/presented by the presenters. 


To register, please click the flyer above, or please click here!

The ILS Executive Board is Accepting Nominations for Vice Treasurer!

ILS Leadership Night with the Miami Marlins to be

Held on May 22, RSVP Now!

Save the Date for the Chair's Reception and ILS Executive Council Meeting during the Upcoming Florida Bar Annual Convention!

Register Now for the TTN & ILS Tax Committee's Joint Conference on the Intersection of Art and Tax at the Rubell Museum on May 17, 2024!

Conference Schedule


1. Art Tax Tactics, Colleen Boyle, The Fine Art Group, Managing Director, Philadelphia, USA. Colleen Boyle brings over 20 years of diverse experience in the art and financial world to The Fine Art Group. Colleen has provided legal analysis for court cases involving art valuation and identification.

 

2. Charitable Giving Tax Strategies, Alyssa Razook Wan, Fowler White Burnett, Miami, USAAlyssa Razook Wan is a Tax, Trust and Estates attorney who handles a variety of domestic and international matters for high-net-worth individuals and families. Alyssa works closely with clients to form and provide ongoing counsel to not for profits, private foundations, and public charities. She has developed a special expertise in helping clients carry out their charitable goals.


3. Mexico and the U.S.: Transfer and Taxation of Art, Mauricio Cano, Brook & Cano, Founding Partner, Mexico. Mauricio Cano has extensive experience working on international taxation and estate planning matters for private clients (HNWI and UHNWI). His professional background includes employment with Deloitte (Mexico) and an international Trustee service provider when he left to start Brook & Cano as a Founding Partner.


4. A Swiss Perspective: The Art of Taxing the Arts, Thierry Boitelle, Boitelle Tax Sarl, Geneva, Switzerland. With 25 years of experience in international taxation, Thierry founded his boutique firm Boitelle Tax in 2022. He renders Swiss and international tax advice with a focus on inbound investment by multinational companies, group finance centers, holdings, captive insurance and intellectual property companies. He further advises high net worth individuals and company executives on the tax and legal aspects of immigration to Switzerland. Thierry regularly speaks and writes about Swiss and international taxation.


[Complimentary Lunch and Tour of Museum]


5. Repatriation of Nazi Looted Art, the Woman in Gold, and Tax Effects, Clarissa Rodriguez & Jeff Hagen, Harper Meyer, Miami, USA. Clarissa Rodriguez is a Board-Certified Expert in International Law. She has an overwhelming amount of dispute resolution experience that paved the way for a cross disciplinary practice between disputes and the arts. Jeffrey S. Hagen focuses his practice on international tax and estate planning, primarily for high-net-worth individuals, multi-jurisdictional families, entities, and trust structures. He is the Chair of the ILS Tax Committee and a member of the TTN Executive Committee.


6. Argentina: Update on International Tax Topics Under Milei, Walter Keiniger, Marvall, O'Farrell & Mairal, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Walter advises clients on cross-border taxation, M&A, business restructuring, tax-free reorganizations, real estate projects, etc. He is a frequent speaker in tax conferences. Walter obtained a degree from the Graduate Tax Program of the University of Florida (USA). He teaches at Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) and has been recognized as one of the top tax lawyers in Argentina.


7. Family Offices in Singapore, Derren Hayden Joseph, HTJ Tax, Singapore. Derren has successfully completed the Comparative Tax Program at Harvard University and is an EA (Enrolled Agent). He is Chair of the Tax Working Group for Moores Rowland in the Asia Pacific and a member of the Briefing Group advising The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of the City of London. Derren enjoys writing and has published 3 books on taxation, one of which was an Amazon Best Seller in 2020.


Save the Date for the 60th IABA Annual Conference - Economy, Law, and Democracy in the Era of AI: Promoting a Compliance Culture - Set for June 17-20!

Former ILS Chair, Peter Quinter, to Co-Chair the ABA International Law Section's 2024 Annual Conference in Washington D.C., Register Now!

To register for the Conference, please click here!


To download the Conference brochure and schedule of events, please click here!

International Law Quarterly

Just Published: The International Law Quarterly - Winter 2024 on "Hot Topics"

The Winter 2024 Issue of the International Law Quarterly - "Hot Topics" is now available.


Click on the images above to download or please click here!


For all previous issues of the International Law Quarterly, please follow this link.

Join the International Law Section!


If you are reading the Gazette, chances are that you are a practitioner or a student with an interest in International Law, one of the most wide-ranging, exciting and challenging legal specialties. Everyone in our field knows how crucial it is to stay on top of diverse and evolving national legal regimes, and at the same time, the difficulty of keeping meticulously up-to-date on developments around the world.


The International Law Section (ILS) of The Florida Bar is here to help you, the practitioner, navigate both the everyday and big-picture challenges of our field. Our Section is your forum to share knowledge and best practices, and to meet and mingle with peers in professional collaborations that can only enhance your grasp of the specialty and your standing among clients and peers.


Let ILS membership assist you in developing a thriving international practice through peer network development that includes important shared learnings and reciprocal referrals of clients and casework.


If your practice transcends borders, join us in making this the authoritative, go-to forum for Florida and the gateway to the region for anyone practicing International Law. Our Section is open to lawyers from other states and countries, full-time faculty at U.S. law schools, and full-time U.S. law students, all of whom may participate as associate members. For more information regarding membership with the ILS, click HERE.


Turn in your membership application TODAY!



Join an ILS Committee Today!

 

Amicus Committee

 

Chair: Edward Mullins

emullins@reedsmith.com

 

Arbitration & Mediation Committee


Chair: Gary Birnberg

GBirnberg@jamsadr.com


Asia Committee

 

Chairs: Neha Dagley | Fred Rocafort

neha.dagley@dagleylaw.com

fred@harrisbricken.com

 

CLE Initiatives Committee

 

Chair: Kristin Drecktrah Paz

kpaz@pbyalaw.com

 

Europe Committee

 

Chairs: Susanne Leone | Davide Macelloni

sleone@leonezhgun.com

dmacelloni@drbdc-law.com

 

Foreign Legal Consultant Committee

 

Chair: Robert J. Becerra

rbecerra@rjbecerralaw.com

 

iLaw Steering Committee

 

Chairs: Davide Macelloni | Adrian Nuñez

dmacelloni@drbdc-law.com

nuneza@gtlaw.com

 

ILS Deskbook Committee

 

Chairs: Robert Kossick Pamella Seay | Laura Reich | Clarissa Rodriguez

robert.kossick@harrisbricken.com

p-seay@usa.net

lreich@harpermeyer.com

crodriguez@harpermeyer.com

 

ILS Gazette Committee

 

Chair: Matthew Akiba

makiba@b2b.legal

 

Immigration Liaison Committee


Chair: Larry S. Rifkin

lsrifkin@rifkinfox.com


International Law Board Certification Committee

 

Chair: Robert Kossick

robert.kossick@harrisbricken.com

 

International Law Quarterly Committee

 

Chair: Jeff Hagen

jhagen@harpermeyer.com


International Litigation and Arbitration Board Certification Committee

 

Chair: Kristin Drecktrah Paz | Gilbert Squires | Gregory Grossman

kpaz@pbyalaw.com

gilbertsquires@squiresinternationallaw.com

ggrossman@sequorlaw.com


International Tax Law Committee

 

Chair: Jeff Hagen

jhagen@harpermeyer.com

 

Law School Liaison Committee

 

Chairs: Prof. Manuel A. Gomez | Laura Reich

magomez@fiu.edu

lreich@harpermeyer.com

 

Legislative Committee

 

Chair: Carlos F. Osorio

 cosorio@osorioint.com

 

Lunch & Learn Committee

 

Chair: James Meyer

jmeyer@harpermeyer.com


North America Committee

 

Chair: Nouvelle Gonzalo

ngonzalo@gonzalolaw.com

  

Richard DeWit Memorial Vis Pre-Moot Committee

 

Chairs: Andres Sandoval | Priscila Bandeira

andres.sandoval@usdoj.gov

pbandeira@duanemorris.com

 

White Collar Crime Committee

 

Chair: Robert J. Becerra

rbecerra@rjbecerralaw.com

Visit Our Sponsors

The ILS Thanks its Sponsors 


In light of what we accomplished this past year, we hope you will continue to support the Section as a sponsor. In 2022-2023, various firms, companies and suppliers sponsored the Section. 


We look forward to another year of innovative programs where we can advance international law and further promote our sponsors. To learn more, read the Section's sponsorship package. You can also contact our Treasurer, Laura Reich at lreich@harpermeyer.com or Vice Treasurer, Davide Macelloni at dmacelloni@drbdc-law.com for more details.

ILS Board Members and Officers


Chair: Richard Montes de Oca

Chair-Elect: Ana Barton

Secretary: Cristina Vicens Beard

Treasurer: Laura Reich

Vice-Treasurer: Davide Macelloni

Immediate Past Chair: Jacqueline Villalba

ILS Executive Council


Terms Expiring in 2024


Fabio Giallanza

Jeffrey S. Hagen

Davide Macelloni

Penelope Perez-Kelly

Yine Rodriguez-Perez


Terms Expiring 2025


Gary Birnberg

Phillip Buhler

Jennifer Diaz

Kristin Drecktrah Paz

Prof. Manuel A. Gomez

Omar K. Ibrahem

Adrian Nunez

Pamella A. Seay


Terms Expiring 2026



Matthew Akiba

Lauren Bengochea

Neha Dagley

Gary E. Davidson

Nouvelle Gonzalo

Susanne Leone

Jennifer Mosquera



To learn more about the ILS Executive Council Members, click here!

About the ILS Gazette

The ILS Gazette is a weekly publication of the Florida Bar International Law Section that informs members about upcoming programs, initiatives and resources.


If you have any questions about the Gazette or wish to include an announcement in future publications, please contact our ILS Gazette Editor, Matthew Akiba at matt.akiba12@gmail.com.

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