Dr. Hernando de Soto, president of Peru's Institute for Liberty and Democracy, will present the keynote address to open the conference. Time named de Soto one of the five leading Latin American innovators of the 21st century and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He will speak on "The Importance of Law in Avoiding Recessions." Additionally, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. will be giving a keynote luncheon speech.

Other speakers include representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Council of Foreign Relations, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service, North Atlantic Treaty Organization,; U.S. Naval War College, The Hague’s International Criminal Court Cuban American National Foundation, as well as a host of governments throughout Latin America.

Panelists will tackle an array of timely legal topics, including expropriated property in Cuba, the Madoff and Stanford scandals, international human trafficking, cross-border cybercrime, maritime piracy, climate change’s effects on international trade, cross-border child custody disputes, U.S.immigration policy, the IRS' assault on offshore tax havens, the Obama administration's international trade policy, prospects for the U.S. signing on to the International Criminal Court, the internationalization of government anti-bribery investigations, foreign investment trends in Latin America, the microfinance movement and other topics.

The meeting will also include a "Managing Partner Forum," featuring the leaders of some of the top U.S. law firms. The panelists will discuss the shifting paradigms in the legal profession caused by the significant impact of the global economic crisis on the industry, which has been affected as hard, if not harder, than the rest of the economy.

In addition to the aforementioned programming, the section will host a half-day "Associates Boot Camp" on Oct. 27 designed specifically for young lawyers and law students. ABC offers foundationlevel, international law CLE programs and networking activities. A special one-day rate is available for those who are unable to attend the entire 2009 Fall Meeting.