Brazil is focus of conference on legal and policy issues in the Americas

April 10, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — President George W. Bush’s recent meetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have brought increased attention to relations between the two countries, particularly with respect to continuing trade negotiations.

These and other issues will be topics of discussion at the Center for Governmental Responsibility’s Eighth Annual Conference on Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas, April 11-12 at the Holiday Inn-West in Gainesville. Speakers at the conference include former U.S. Senator Bob Graham and Minister Carlos Mário da Silva Velloso, Past President, Supreme Federal Tribunal of Brazil. Media attendance at this event is welcome.

The conference will feature day-long workshops and discussions on selected topics, including: Brazilian perspectives on legal and policy issues in the Americas; street crime, organized crime & terrorism; parliamentary reform; new directions in property law and policy in Latin America and the Caribbean; human rights; justice reform; legal education, professional responsibility and ethics; and environment and agriculture. The conference and workshops are designed to define and develop a research agenda for the 2008 conference, scheduled to be held in Brazil.

Elizabeth Lowe, associate director of the UF Center for Latin American Studies, and Terry L. McCoy, director of the Latin American Business Environment Program and associate director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at UF, will be honored with the 2007 Jon Mills Award for Significant Contributions to Relations Between Florida and the Americas.

Along with CGR, the sponsors of the conference include the Law & Policy in the Americas Program, Florida Journal of International Law, Hughes Hubbard & Reed of Miami, the Pontifica Universidade Catolica of Rio de Janeiro, and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at UF. Several UF Law faculty members will participate, including CGR Director Jon Mills and Conservation Clinic Director Tom Ankersen. For more information, go to http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/ or contact JoAnn Klein at the Center for Governmental Responsibility at 352-273-0835 or klein@law.ufl.edu.