SWIICL Newsletter
Spring 2024
- Editor – Brandon White
SWIICL News
59th Academy of American and International Law - Registration is now open for SWIICL's premier event, the Academy of American and International Law. The Academy is set to be held for the 59th time from May 27 - June 27, 2024. Since 1964, this multi-week program has attracted over 3,300 participants from 121 countries. The Academy is an activity-packed program designed for lawyers from outside the United States and focuses on U.S. law and international business transactions. Through its extraordinary classroom and extracurricular schedule, the Academy offers opportunities to forge valuable international relationships that last a lifetime.
Alumni Directory Website and Free Lifetime Academy Alumni Membership - Please spread the word to your fellow Alumni, Lifetime Academy Alumni Membership is completely free. This alumni membership will allow them to access a new alumni directory to share information and connect with other alumni, as well as to stay informed about SWIICL and the Academy. It will also allow alumni to attend SWIICL webinars for free and to participate in alumni committees we plan to create. To claim their free membership and set up their profile on the new Academy Alumni Online Directory, please give them this link click here.
Legal News
The Modernization of the Partnership Law – Impacts on the GmbH & Co. KG
By Dr. Steffen Fortun & Dr. Anjella Neveling, Mazars
The Act to Modernize the Law on Partnerships ("MoPeG") entered into force on January 1, 2024. The Act is regarded as the reform of the century in corporate law. The changes also have a particular impact on the corporate form of the GmbH & Co. KG. In this article you will find the main points of the reform with regard to the limited partnership and the GmbH & Co. KG.
Case-flow Management in Nepal
By Dr. Bijaya Prasad Mishra, Associate Professor, Nepal Law Campus, Tribhuvan University
Justice is delayed due to case flow management issue as well. Many cases are appealed in higher courts. The mediation is also seen as formality. The cause list system is now handled on the basis of lottery replacing the authority of the Chief justice in assigning the cases. This change has increased fairness and trust over the judiciary.
Navigating the New Beneficial Ownership Reporting Rule: A Guide for Businesses
By Jeremy A. Royal, Partner & Jason E. Tapp, Partner, Royal Tapp & Clemko, PLLC
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) requires U.S. businesses to report beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The rules in the CTA can be complex, and the fines for noncompliance steep. Surprisingly, the CTA may even require businesses that are dissolved or inactive to report BOI. Getting it right the first time is as important as ever.
Current Developments on Food Industry and Consumer Law in Brazil
By Luciana Bazan Martins Bisetti, TozziniFreire Advogados
The purpose of this article is to analyze the recent debates surrounding the new regulations issued by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency for the food sector. The article presents the situation in Brazil in comparison with the United States and Europe, and highlights some of the measures adopted by the Brazilian Legislative and Judiciary Branches on the subject.
Alumni Focus
This issue we caught up with Alumnus Steffen Fortun, of the 1996 Academy Class. Steffen is currently a Partner at Mazars in Stuttgart, Germany.
What was your motivation to attend the Academy of American and International Law?
Steffen: At the time I attended the Academy, I was an associate at one of the biggest German law firms. Attending the Academy gave me the chance to broaden my experience on international law issues and to enlarge my firm’s and my own professional and personal network. It was also a chance to return to the exciting city of Dallas for some weeks where I spent a three-month internship in a law firm in 1990.
What stands out about your time at the Academy?
Steffen: It was a perfect mix of work hard and party hard with lawyers from all over the world. It was my entry into handling with international law projects I would never miss this 5-week-Dallas-experience
Do you have a special Academy memory that you are fond of?
Steffen: Beneath the classes with excellent professors I remember the great cohesion in the group. We arrived as strangers and left as friends. We had wonderful events outside of the courses, such as visiting a baseball match of the Texas Rangers in the Arlington Ballpark or the unforgettable barbecue party at Southfork Ranch, home of the TV series “Dallas”, which was very popular at that time.
How did participation in the Academy benefit you professionally and personally?
Steffen: The international experience and my broad network gave me the chance to become a partner in three major German law firms, finally at KPMG Law. After retiring there, I now work as partner/of counsel at Mazars, also an internationally active player in the field of law, auditing, taxation and consulting.
What have you been doing since leaving the Academy?
Steffen: I was a participant in the Academy in 1996. Since then a lot has happened. I joined Arthur Andersen in Germany 1999, had a wonderful and very interesting time with brilliant colleagues there. But I also experienced the downfall of this worldwide organization in 2003 because of the Enron case. But life went on, I had the chance to be partner other internationally working law organizations, Luther, KPMG Law and now Mazars Legal, where I work now as Partner/Of Counsel after being retired at KPMG. Mazars is also an internationally active player in the field of law, audit, tax and consulting. Personally, I have been married with my wife Uschi since 2001 and together we have three wonderful sons. One of them already graduated as Bachelor of Arts (International Business) in 2023 at Judson University, Ill., in the suburbs of Chicago, the second one is currently student there in International Business. Both were playing college tennis for the Judson Eagles and have earned respective scholarships
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about attending the Academy in 2024?
Steffen: Don't think about it, just attend the Academy in 2024.
The SWIICL Newsletter carries news about SWIICL members and Academy Alumni. If you have some news to report (promotion, changing firm or company, receiving an award, publishing a book or article, etc.), please send details along with a photograph to Brandon White.