Chile’s Jaime Carey Emerges International Bar Association President

He will head the group alongside Claudio Visco, a Senior Partner at Italian law firm, Lipani, the first time the association is having a joint presidency.

On September 19, 2024, the IBA Council adopted a resolution that ratified this arrangement for the years 2025–2026.

Mr Carey is a Senior Partner of Carey, Chile’s largest law firm, and has been a member of the IBA for 41 years.

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.

‘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,” Mr Carey stated.

‘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,” he added.

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.’

With Mr Carey as IBA President for 2025, Mr Visco is serving as President-Elect, but will take over as President next year, with the title of immediate past president to be assigned to Mr Carey.