Between 14 and 22 May, João Valadas Coriel will take part in three consecutive events organised by the International Bar Association (IBA), moving from Rome to Vienna and then to Prague.
A week that combines a speaking engagement, conference participation and presence at the association’s leadership table — reflecting the VCA managing partner’s active role in the international legal landscape.
IBA Conference at the Palazzo di Giustizia — Rome, Italy (15 May)
The week begins with an event jointly presented by the IBA Senior Lawyers Committee (SLC), the Young Lawyers’ Committee, the Law Firm Management Committee and the European Regional Forum, hosted by the Rome Bar Council (Consiglio dell’Ordine degli Avvocati di Roma). The conference, titled “How junior and senior lawyers can cooperate in the current digital era“, will take place at the Palazzo di Giustizia and will address one of the profession’s most pressing questions: how lawyers from different generations can work together in the face of the challenges and opportunities brought by the digital age.
João Valadas Coriel will speak in the conference’s second session, focused on the practical dynamics of intergenerational collaboration — from adapting to technology to the ways lawyers work and learn together in a rapidly changing legal world. The panel brings together practitioners from various jurisdictions and career stages, with the session drawing on a real-life case study of a senior partner and his son who worked side by side in London during the pandemic.
10th IBA Global Entrepreneurship Conference — Vienna, Austria (17–19 May)
From Rome, João heads directly to Vienna for the 10th edition of the IBA Global Entrepreneurship Conference, presented by the Closely Held Companies Committee under the theme “Legal Challenges in Closely Held Businesses: Strategies for Success and Sustainability”. Sold out well in advance, the conference gathers practitioners from across the globe to discuss the issues most relevant to closely held and family-owned businesses — from governance and shareholder dispute prevention, to valuation challenges in M&A, digital transformation of SMEs, venture capital approaches and the impact of artificial intelligence on legal practice.
IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meetings — Prague, Czech Republic (20–22 May)
The week closes in Prague with the IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meetings — an invitation-only gathering of the association’s leadership. This year’s programme includes interactive roundtable discussions on wellbeing in the profession, business and human rights, anti-corruption, election integrity, climate change, artificial intelligence and the rule of law. A space for bar leaders from across the world to exchange ideas on the forces shaping the profession.
Attending three consecutive IBA events — each with a distinct scope and purpose — reflects how VCA approaches international engagement: not as a passive observer, but as an active participant in the structures shaping global legal practice. From a speaking role in a debate on the profession’s intergenerational future, to a conference addressing the challenges of closely held businesses, to the IBA’s strategic leadership table, this week captures an approach the firm has steadily built over the years.
