Attendees at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) Annual Meeting and Conference will have a plethora of subjects to dive into on Friday, 27 February 2026, with six concurrent sessions, featuring topics from geopolitics and foreign investment screening to AI, ESG, insolvency, maritime law and the future of legal practice.
The morning opens with a plenary session entitled, Enhancing the Business Environment in the Asia-Pacific Region: The Leading Role of the Rule of Law. Senior representatives from the All-China Lawyers Association and leading practitioners will examine how legal certainty, institutional trust and regulatory transparency underpin sustainable growth across the region. It will set a strategic tone for day two of the conference focusing on cross-border business realities.
Under Concurrent Committee Sessions 3, AI will be prominent. In How the Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Affects the Practice of M&A, speakers will explore how AI is reshaping due diligence, deal structuring and valuation. Meanwhile, AI in the workplace – a cutting-edge spotlight on what’s new and hot in the world of big tech and HR will look at algorithmic management, compliance exposure and workforce transformation.
Tax specialists will debate litigation trends in Who are the Winners in Tax Litigation: Tax Authority, Taxpayer, or Tax Lawyer? A Brief Review of the Current Trends Around the Globe, while finance practitioners will examine market stability and investor protection in The Investors’ Rights in Relation to their Investments in AT-1 Bonds.
Leadership and representation is on the agenda in Real Talk: Women Lawyers Conquering Challenges (The Sequel). Sustainability and digital infrastructure will intersect in Data Centres under Scrutiny: Powering Sustainability, Privacy and Security. Construction lawyers will tackle global access and protectionism in Opening or Closing Gates? Market Access in Global Infrastructure Construction: Between Openness and Strategic Protection.
Concurrent Committee Sessions 4 will widen the lens on insolvency, regional investment and other issues. Energy lawyers will consider shifting global dynamics in Geopolitics and Energy Security: Is Energy Transitioning Back? Insolvency practitioners will examine co-ordinated strategies in Group Insolvency: Co-ordinated Insolvency Resolution for Interconnected Entities, a Way Forward: Domestic and International Perspective.
Regional investment trends will be analysed in The Next Frontier: Developments in South and Southeast Asia, while dispute specialists will confront overlapping risks in When Business Disputes and Criminal Law Collide. Technical construction expertise will be the focus in Role of Experts in Major Construction Project for Delay and Cost Overruns Claims.
The legal profession will come under scrutiny in Partner Compensation Models: Balancing Tradition and Innovation, and ESG advisers will navigate regulatory complexity in Carbon Crossroads: Navigating the Legal Labyrinth of a Net-Zero Future.
Concurrent Committee Sessions 5 will turn to regulatory tension and global strategy. Cross-Border Business in a Brave New World of International Trade and Regulation: Managing Conflicting Legal Requirements will address compliance in a fragmented world. Trade barriers will be examined in Impact of Barriers to Trade on Financing and Foreign Investment, while defence sector growth will feature in Acquisitions & Arms: Up-and-Coming Opportunities in the Defence Sector.
Arbitration practitioners will assess enforcement developments in An Asian Perspective on Enforcement of ISDS Awards – Trends and Developments. Tax structuring will be reviewed in Recent Structures and Trends to Pass Anti-Avoidance Tests, maritime specialists will present Global Developments in Maritime Law, and law firm leaders will discuss expansion strategy in Building a Cross-Border Legal Practice: Strategies for Growth and Collaboration.
The final round, Concurrent Committee Sessions 6, will address structural and technological risk. National security screening will dominate in Evolvement of FDI National Security Review Regimes in a Segmented World. Digital vulnerabilities will be explored in Cybersecurity, Data Integrity, and Real-Time Dispute Resolution in International Construction Projects.
Insurance and technology specialists will confront accountability in Robo-Liability: Who Pays When Intelligent Machines Fail? Navigating Liability and Insurance in the Age of Autonomy. Gender rights will be discussed in Comparative Perspectives on Women’s Legal Rights: Cross-Border Insights and Legal Evolutions.
Workforce restructuring will culminate the technical agenda in Navigating cross-border corporate restructurings: a guided tour with practical survival/emergency tips and special focus on key employment and immigration considerations. The aviation sector will be examined in Aviation Hubs: Risky Business or Growing Opportunities? and competition lawyers will provide essential Jurisdictional updates.
