Overview

Geopolitics is no longer background noise.

It now shapes the daily operating environment of the legal profession.

Wars.

Elections.

Sanctions.

Export controls.

Tariffs.

Cyber conflict.

Data sovereignty.

AI competition.

Regulatory fragmentation.

The weaponization of law.

These are no longer issues for public policy specialists alone.

They are now part of the day-to-day reality of lawyers advising clients, managing risk, navigating disputes, structuring transactions, and protecting institutional reputation.

Geopolitics for the Legal Profession is a six-part roundtable series designed to help lawyers understand what has changed, what matters most, and how the profession must adapt.

Across six 60-minute discussions, we will explore how geopolitics is remaking legal practice from the inside out - changing the risks lawyers manage, the advice clients need, the operating models legal teams require, and the capabilities the next generation of lawyers must build.

This is not a foreign affairs series for legal spectators.

It is a practical geopolitics series for legal professionals who need to operate, lead, and advise in a world where power, policy, technology, and law are colliding every day.

Confirm your place and join the discussion.

Why Attend

Understand why geopolitics is no longer a background issue, but a daily legal reality shaping advice, risk, strategy, and decision-making.

Learn how leading lawyers and expert voices are interpreting sanctions, regulation, AI, cyber risk, supply-chain disruption, data sovereignty, and lawfare.

Hear practical insight on what legal teams need to do differently in a more fragmented, volatile, and politically charged operating environment.

Benchmark your thinking against peers facing the same pressure to advise faster, more strategically, and with greater cross-border awareness.

Who Should Attend

• General counsel, chief legal officers, and senior in-house counsel
• Law firm partners, counsel, and senior associates
• Heads of compliance, risk, investigations, and regulatory affairs
• Legal operations, innovation, knowledge, and data leaders
• Legal business leaders and strategists helping firms respond to geopolitical and regulatory change

Past Events

• GeoLegal: New York
• GeoLegal: London
• Legal ESG: London
• The ESG Reset
• Legal AI New York
• The Legal Foresight Summit

6 roundtables

June 2026

Roundtable 1

The New Legal Map:

Why Geopolitics Is Now a Daily Legal Issue

We open by frame-setting the discussion.

Geopolitics now belongs inside mainstream legal practice, It's no longer a specialist domain sitting off to the side of legal work. It runs through transactions, disputes, investigations, compliance, client counselling, supply chains, hiring, reputation, and strategy.

• What has changed in the last few years?
• Why are lawyers now expected to translate political volatility into legal judgment?
• Which geopolitical signals actually matter for legal teams, and which are just noise?

Roundtable 2

When Regulation Becomes Statecraft:

Sanctions, Tariffs, Export Controls and Lawfare

This is the hard-edged legal risk session. It focusses on how states increasingly use law, regulation, enforcement, and market access as tools of power.

The point here is not abstract geopolitics; it is the direct legal exposure created by sanctions regimes, export controls, foreign investment screening, anti-corruption enforcement, tariffs, lobbying rules, and cross-border investigations.

• How is law being used as an instrument of geopolitical competition?
• What happens when compliance in one jurisdiction creates exposure in another?
• How should lawyers advise when the rules are shifting faster than business plans?

Roundtable 3

The Geotech Era:

AI, Cyber, Data Sovereignty and Digital Power

Tech governance is now inseparable from geopolitical judgment.

This roundtable explores the collision of geopolitics and technology. It will connect AI governance, cyber preparedness, data localization, cloud dependence, platform risk, IP exposure, and cross-border information controls into one legal conversation.

The theme is simple: technology is now part of geopolitical power, and lawyers are increasingly responsible for governing the consequences.

• How does AI competition between states affect legal risk?
• What does data sovereignty mean in practical terms for legal teams and clients?
• How should lawyers think about cyber, vendors, infrastructure, and digital trust in a fragmented world?
  

Roundtable 4

Contracts Under Pressure:

Supply Chains, Energy, Crisis and Resilience

This is where the series becomes intensely commercial - highlighting how geopolitics is rewritting contracts, procurement models, insurance strategies, force majeure positions, pricing mechanisms, and business continuity decisions.

It will connect trade friction, shipping disruption, critical minerals, energy volatility, due diligence, and resilience planning to the day-to-day work of lawyers drafting and negotiating under stress.



• How are lawyers redesigning contracts for volatility?
• What clauses matter more in a geopolitically unstable environment?
• How should legal teams think about supply-chain fragility, energy politics, and resilience as legal design challenges?

Roundtable 5

Redesigning the Legal Function:

How GCs and Law Firms Must Adapt

This roundtable turns inward to the profession itself, examining how in-house departments and law firms need to change their operating models to deal with constant volatility.

From horizon scanning to intelligence capabilities, cross-functional crisis structures, escalation protocols, client communication, outside counsel resourcing, and the growing overlap between legal, risk, security, public affairs, and technology.

• What new capabilities should a modern legal team build?
• What does good geopolitical intelligence look like inside a legal function?
• How should law firms and legal departments redesign themselves for speed, ambiguity, and cross-border complexity?
  

Roundtable 6

The Future Lawyer:

Ethics, Reputation, Talent and the Profession’s New Social Contract

We close by asking - what kind of profession law is becoming?

We tackle neutrality versus values, employee activism, reputational exposure, lawyer safety, public positioning, leadership under pressure, and the capabilities that will define the most valuable lawyers in the years ahead.

When should law firms or legal leaders speak publicly, and when should they not?

How are geopolitics and polarization changing ethics, talent, and leadership expectations?

What capabilities will define the future lawyer in a more fragmented world?

Join us for Geopolitics for the Legal Profession.

We are curating a senior, expert-led faculty for Geopolitics for the Legal Profession and welcome proposals from those actively navigating how global power shifts, regulatory fragmentation, and international volatility are reshaping the practice of law.

Would you like to:

• Share a real-world case study on managing legal risk in high-stakes jurisdictions, navigating sanctions regimes, or responding to supply-chain disruptions?
• Lead a panel discussion covering topics like data sovereignty, the weaponization of law, or the impact of elections on global regulatory strategy?
• Facilitate a practical workshop on building geopolitical resilience into legal operating models, conducting "stress tests" for cross-border transactions, or briefing the board on macro-risks?
• Explore sponsorship or partnership opportunities to engage a senior community of General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, and Law Firm Partners shaping the future of international legal strategy?