Today is my last Gazette Day as your Chair. It with bittersweet sorrow, that Gazetting I must go.
Not bittersweet is the overwhelming response to our first live Annual Meeting since 2019. We have sold out our registrations for this weekend’s events at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. For those who can’t make it live, we will have Zoom virtual appearance opportunities for the Executive Council Meeting. Email me if you want to appear by Zoom and have not received the log in. For those coming to our events and meetings, Welcome! The Agenda for this weekend will appear below in this Gazette, and is also posted on the ILS website at Annual Executive Council Meeting at The Biltmore Hotel, June 26, 2021 – International Law Section . Tonight at 7pm we start with our opening cocktail reception and dinner; tomorrow at 9am ILS committees who choose to meet will do so; at 10am we begin our Annual Executive Council meeting and elections, followed by lunch; and tomorrow night, our cocktail reception and dinner. Vice Treasurer Montes De Oca is putting together a Golf outing for Sunday morning for those who golf. Email him directly at rmontes@mdopartners.com . The Biltmore Hotel is a beautiful location, and has an elegance that will serve our Section well this weekend. See you there.
In our ongoing spotlight on board certified international lawyers, this week we feature Phil Buhler, Florida Bar Board Certified in International Law, and Roger Kobert, Florida Bar Board Certified in International Litigation & Arbitration. Phil Buhler , a member of the ILS Executive Council, practices in Jacksonville principally in admiralty and maritime law. He is also a Dozent in maritime law at the University of Hamburg and intermodal transportation law and international civil procedure at the Universitat zu Koeln in Cologne. He is pursuing his doctoral work is focused on the international regulation of commercial shipping in polar waters. Phil recognizes that board certification is vital to his “betterment”. It also makes him known to prospective clients as an international expert in a number of disciplines. Danke Schoen, Phil!
Roger Kobert with Carlton Fields practices in both New York and Miami. He is the former chairman of the Federal Bar International Law Section and one of the inaugural members of the Board Certification Committee on International Litigation & Arbitration. He serves now as the Committee’s Vice-Chair. Roger believes board certification is a public service. He believes it brings, “credibility, qualification, and value”; it like a specialized bar “that only years of dedication and experience can provide”. He encourages up and coming international practitioners to be patient “gain your experience, study and practice the rules, precepts, and conventions, and be prepared to be tested vigorously but fairly..” Good advice, Roger.
On the Move is ILS Richard De Witt Memorial Vis Pre-Moot Committee Chair Adrian Nunez, who has started at Greenberg Traurig in its litigation practice group. Congratulations and good luck Adrian!
ILS Member Lavinia Meliti of IPwe, Inc., has provided us a short article on the subject of the “Covid-19 Vaccine and The Patent Dilemma”. Check out her article below. We encourage all members to submit short pieces for publication.
Now, as I conclude my last message to you, I want all ILS Members to know what an honor and privilege it has been to serve as your Chair in 2020-21. My term ends tomorrow, but I will always remember it for the challenges, victories and defeats presented during this year. I have been gratified to serve with a great Board of Officers, and thank all of them for their vital assistance and advice during the year. I thank our program administrator, Angie Froelich, for all her help during the year, including with our November leadership Retreat, CLE programs, our Annual Meeting, and other ILS meetings. Most of all, I thank the volunteers in our Committees, without which there would be no ILS. It has been my honor. Given our turnout this weekend, the future bodes well for our Section. Long Live ILS!
