Prior to joining MFA, Mr Bernardes Neto was a founding partner of Xavier, Bernardes, Bragança – Sociedade de Advogados; a partner at Bomchil, Castro, Goodrich, Claro, Arosemena and Associates; and was with Dr Graf von der Goltz, Dr Wessing & Partners in Düsseldorf and London. His main areas of expertise are mergers and acquisitions, general corporate law, private equity, antitrust, contracts and arbitration.

The  theme for this  year’s  conference “EAC @20:  THE ROLE OF LAWYERS IN DEVELOPING REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES” has  been carefully selected to celebrate the  twenty years of existence of the  EAC.

The following sub-themes shall be explored, in addition to the main theme:

1. “Role of the Legal Profession in the 4th Industrial Revolution”   
2. “The Promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) Agreement”
3. “Rule of Law and Development  in the East African Community”

This is an initiative of the East Africa Law Society to promote the profession and build the capacity of lawyers in the region through training. The EALS institute provides world-class training in key areas of practice, governance and other key sectors to spur integration and development. The trainings are conducted by way of partnership with world leading institutions for collaborative trainings and accreditation.

Trainings are conducted both onsite and online. Trainers are sourced from our massive database of experts across East Africa as well as internationally recognized experts. The institute also serves as the research arm of East Africa Law Society and is a respectable source of information on governance, rule of law, EAC integration, constitutionalism, human rights among others.