By: Lulu Rumsey

Jaime Carey’s appointment as chair of the IBA Legal Practice Division (LPD) is thought to be the highest-ranking position held by a Chilean lawyer at the association.

Carey managing partner Jaime Carey will take office on 1 January for a two-year period. He was appointed during the IBA’s annual conference, held in September in Washington, DC.

The prominent corporate and tax lawyer plans to increase the LPD’s profile worldwide during his tenure. “My goal is to give the LPD as much visibility as possible in the global legal scene and to have its different committees and foras undertake more worldwide projects,” he says. In particular, he plans to expand the IBA’s reach in the legal markets of China, India, the Middle East and Africa.

He expects to spend more time away from Carey’s Santiago base in the coming years. “I foresee that I will spend at least 40% of my time undertaking IBA responsibilities,” he predicts. “I have been participating in the IBA for 33 years and have held many positions [so] I have learned to make my practice compatible with IBA responsibilities,” he says, acknowledging that the chairmanship will demand more from him than the positions he previously held.

Carey is the first Chilean lawyer to chair the LPD. The division has had a Latin American leader in the past though: Hoet Peláez Castillo & Duque partner Fernando Pelaez-Pier chaired in 2003. He went on to become IBA president in 2010.z/pZ

Meanwhile, Brazilian Horacio Bernardes-Neto is preparing to take on the vice-presidency of the IBA next year, becoming president in 2018. He is the association’s first Brazilian and native Portuguese-speaking president and was previously secretary general.