The2013 Mercer Law Review Symposium on Friday, Oct. 11, will focus on “Current Trends in International Trade and Their Impact on Multinational Business.” The symposium will feature a mix of leading academics, key government officials and expert attorneys in private practice and corporate general counsel. The symposium will take place in the first-floor moot courtroom of Mercer Law School from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Muna Ndulo, a professor or law and director of the Institute for African Development at Cornell University Law School, is scheduled to give the Luncheon Keynote Address in the Presidents Dining Room at the University Center.
“It is a truism that law must be practiced nowadays in an increasingly 'globalized' environment. Whatever one may think of the use of such terminology, it is an undeniable fact that goods, services, capital, people, information and ideas cross national borders at an ever-increasing and accelerating rate and that legal practitioners and their business clients in the United States must take account of this fact,” said Mark Jones, professor of law and organizer of the symposium. “The symposium will address all of these issues for those in the legal profession and business community.”
The daylong symposium features a luncheon. Luncheon options include trolley service to the main campus, where lunch will be served in the President's Dining Room. Lunch on the main campus is $20, andreservations must be booked online prior to the lunch. Guests may also choose to purchase lunch from the Mercer University Law School café and view a live streaming of the address in the first-floor courtroom of the law school.
The first session of the symposium, from 8:45 a.m. to 10 a.m., will discuss “The Broader Context: Changing Patterns of International Trade.” The speakers are John Linarelli, a professor of law and dean of Swansea Law School; Greg Desautels, international consultant and former executive director of International Mergers and Acquisitions, Superior Essex; and Joel Williams, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP.
During the second session, from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., the panel topic is “Exporting from the United States and Doing Business in Emerging Markets: What You Need to Know.” The speakers are Penelope Prime, a professor at the Institute of International Business and the director at Georgia State University's China Research Center; James Reed, senior vice president and chief legal counsel at the YKK Corporation; and Lynn Van Buren, counsel at Bryan Cave LLP.
The third session panel, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., will focus on “Trends in International Trade in the Southeastern United States.” The speakers are Roger Tutterow, professor of economics at Mercer University; Curtis Foltz, executive director of Georgia Ports Authority; and Kathe Falls, director of international trade, at the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
The fourth session, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., will discuss “Globalization and Impact on Global Supply Chain Solutions.” The speakers are Eric Chaffee, a professor of law at the University of Toledo College of Law; Todd Benson, assistant general counsel for international trade, United Parcel Service; and David Stepp, partner, Bryan Cave LLP.
The fifth and final session, from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., will explore “Transactional Issues for the International Trade Lawyer.” The speakers are Muna Ndulo, a professor or law and director of the Institute for African Development at Cornell University Law School; Evan Chuck, partner, Bryan Cave LLP; and Elizabeth Silbert, associate, King & Spalding.
The symposium is co-sponsored by the Law School, Mercer's Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia and the law firm of Bryan Cave LLP.
Seven Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are available for the symposium. Participants can register online at law.mercer.edu, or contact Nancy Terrill atTerrill_n@law.mercer.edu for additional CLE information.
About Mercer Law School
Founded in 1873, the Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and the first one in the state of Georgia accredited by the American Bar Association. Mercer Law School's educational philosophy is based on a broadly shared commitment to prepare students for the high-quality, general practice of law in a day-to-day learning environment that is both strongly supportive and consistently professional. Its innovative Woodruff Curriculum – which focuses on ethics and practical skills amid small class sizes – earned the Gambrell Professionalism Award from the ABA for its “depth of excellence.” With an enrollment of about 430 students, Mercer Law School is nationally recognized for its exceptional programs in legal writing, moot court, public service, and ethics and professionalism. For more information about Mercer Law School, visitwww.law.mercer.edu or call (478) 301-5000.
