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Jaime Carey, Senior Partner of Carey, Chile’s largest law firm, has assumed the presidency of the International Bar Association (IBA). Mr Carey is the first Chilean to occupy the office in the Association’s nearly 80-year history. His tenure for the 2025 calendar year began on 1 January. He succeeds Spain’s Almudena Arpón de Mendívil y Aldama.
Consistently recognised as a leading lawyer by several international publications, Mr Carey has been a member of the IBA – the global voice of the legal profession – for more than four decades, 41 years to be precise. Prior to becoming President, he held many senior positions in the IBA, including: Co-Vice President, Co-Secretary-General, Chair of the Legal Practice Division (LPD), Member of the Council of the LPD, Officer of the Diversity and Inclusion Council, Chair of the Latin American Regional Forum, Co-Chair of the Corporate and M&A Section, Member of the Advisory Board of the Law Firm Management Committee, Member of the Advisory Board of the Women's Interest Group and was named a Male Champion for Change Ambassador by the Women Lawyers' Committee. Also, he has been a member of the IBA Management Board since 2011.
Mr Carey commented: ‘I feel honoured to have been elected President of the International Bar Association and will carry out the duties of this office with full conviction and high resolve, building on the efforts of predecessors. Knowing that I am part of a continuum working to uphold the rule of law fills me with pride. During my tenure, I hope to increase the IBA’s visibility in Africa and Asia and encourage more peers in those regions to get involved in the Association’s work. Additionally, because I am from Latin America, I will work to increase the region’s visibility in the international legal community by creating more opportunities for interaction with colleagues from other jurisdictions.’
He continued: ‘Undoubtedly, our world is rapidly changing and becoming more divided. Legal professionals have a role to play in countering division. Since unity, collaboration, diversity and integration are essential to improving the world, it is my intention to encourage these things as widely as possible across all IBA constituents and as many jurisdictions as possible.
Click here to download photo – Source: Jaime Carey.
Mr Carey’s election has made history on two counts: in addition to being the only Chilean to occupy the role of IBA President, it is also the first time there has been a joint presidency of the Association. On 19 September 2024 the IBA Council adopted a Resolution that ratified this arrangement for the years 2025–2026 for Mr Carey and Claudio Visco, Senior Partner at Italian law firm Lipani.
Being good friends since 1991, when they met at an IBA Conference in Hong Kong, Mr Carey and Mr Visco decided they would divide the two-year term and collaborate, with each serving as IBA President for a year.
In a joint statement, Mr Carey and Mr Visco commented: ‘We are grateful that this historic agreement was supported by the IBA Council. Our joint presidency reflects the collaborative approach of IBA members who freely and voluntarily share their knowledge with legal professionals around the world. As we continue the work that embodies the IBA’s founders’ vision of promoting and defending the rule of law and human rights globally in an environment of mutual respect, cooperation, and shared objectives, this shared two-year mandate will ensure order, coordination, and continuity.’
Other joint objectives include, inter alia:
defending the independence of the legal profession and judiciary;
addressing the implications of and regulations around artificial intelligence (AI) and advancing AI projects;
promoting gender parity and diversity in the legal profession;
increasing accessibility to Annual Conferences for underrepresented groups in the IBA; and
continuing promotion of the IBA report on the social and economic impact of the legal profession.
Read more in the IBA President’s Brochure.
With Mr Carey as IBA President for 2025, Mr Visco is serving as President-Elect. In 2026, Mr Visco will take over as President, and the title of Immediate Past President will be assigned to Mr Carey. Both will attend IBA Management Board meetings: one as President and the other as observer.
The Association’s primary office holders are completed by the new IBA Vice-President Jörg Menzer, Partner of the European law firm Noerr, and the new IBA Secretary-General Deborah Enix-Ross, Senior Advisor, Global Engagement at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton in New York, United States.
