Webinar: So You Want to be an Ex Pat Lawyer Part 4 International Mediation and Arbitration.
2026-05-26 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
**Program hosted in (ET) Time Zone**

This final segment of our four part series, “So You Want to be an Ex Pat Lawyer” will focus on International Arbitration and Mediation.
Rachel Irura serves as the Regional Ombudsman for the United Nations, based in Kenya.
Velislava Hristova is a foreign association with Hogan Lovells, based in Munich, Germany. Ms. Hristova represents clients in investor-State arbitration, complex commercial arbitration, and public international law matters.
The range of legal practice opportunities in international mediation and arbitration will be the subject in this fourth segment detailing international legal practice opportunities.
Presented by the Federal Bar Association’s International Law Section

Presenters
Rachel Irura, Regional Ombudsman, Nairobi, United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services (UNOMS).

Rachel Irura joined the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services (UNOMS) in December 2022 as the Regional Ombudsman and Head of the Regional Ombudsman branch in Nairobi, Kenya. Rachel is an accredited civil and commercial mediator and served on the Staff Union of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the Hague, the Netherlands. Her most recent role was the Head of the Witness Support and Protection Unit (WISP) in Arusha, Tanzania, and the Head of the Kigali Field Office of the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (“Mechanism”) in Kigali, supporting witnesses who testified before the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (UNIRMCT). Rachel also worked for CIVICUS, an umbrella body for civil society organisations in Johannesburg, South Africa. She began her career with the United Nations in January 2005 as a Legal Assistant with the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She subsequently worked as a Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), in Fishtown, Liberia. Ms. Irura also worked as a Court Officer with the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), Sub-office in the Hague, the Netherlands. She served as a Legal Officer at the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) from June 2011 to February 2020. She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) Degree in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Velislava Hristova, International Arbitration Lawyer.
Velislava Hristova is an international arbitration lawyer with over a decade of experience advising clients in investor–State arbitration, complex commercial arbitration, and public international law disputes. She is currently a member of the international arbitration team at Hogan Lovells in Germany.
She represents States, investors, and private parties in high-value proceedings under the rules of leading arbitral institutions, including ICSID, ICC, LCIA, PCA, SCC, and UNCITRAL, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations governed by a range of substantive and procedural laws. Her practice also includes advising on the protection of foreign investments and acting in arbitration-related court proceedings.
Velislava is dual-qualified as an Attorney in Bulgaria and a Solicitor in England & Wales and is admitted to the Munich Bar as a European Attorney. She is multilingual and works fluently across several languages, enabling her to operate seamlessly in cross-border and culturally diverse dispute settings. She has worked with the international arbitration teams of leading US and Magic Circle law firms in major European arbitration hubs, including London, Vienna, and Stockholm, as well as with two of the largest law firms in Bulgaria. Her experience spans disputes across multiple industries and jurisdictions.
In addition to her counsel work, she accepts appointments as an arbitrator and is listed in the databases of leading arbitral institutions worldwide.Velislava is actively engaged in the international arbitration community and contributes to the development of international dispute resolution. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the International Arbitration Committee of the ABA International Law Section, is a member of the Y-ADR Steering Committee, and acts as a Peer Reviewer for the Journal of International Dispute Settlement. She has been appointed as a delegate to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and regularly participates as a delegate observer in UNCITRAL Working Group III meetings on ISDS reform. In 2020, she co-founded the Young Bulgarian Arbitration Practitioners to promote arbitration in Bulgaria.
She frequently publishes and speaks on international arbitration and has authored over 30 publications in leading dispute resolution journals and blogs. Her work has been recognized with several awards, including first place in the 2022 European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration’s Young Practitioners and Scholars Essay Competition and the 2023 CPR Institute Outstanding Professional Short Article Award.
Velislava holds an LL.M. in International Commercial Arbitration from Stockholm University and has completed advanced arbitration training in the United States, France, and Germany.

Col (USAF, Ret) Linda Strite Murnane (Moderator)
University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D. 1981
Linda recently completed two years as an Associate Justice serving on the High Court of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Her previous judicial experience included ten consecutive years as a military judge and chief circuit military judge for the United States Air Force. She served in a variety of United Nations positions at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, including service in Trial Chamber 3 as the Senior Legal Officer, three years as the Chief Court Management Services, and short terms as the Acting Head of Chambers and Acting Deputy Registrar. She also served three years as the Chief, Court Management Services at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
She currently serves on the Board of Governors for the American Bar Association (ABA) and American Judges Association (AJA) and is the co-District Director for District 7 of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ). She previously served as Chair of the ABA Judicial Division and National Conference of Specialized Court Judges, as the Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law, and as an ABA UN Representative and Special Observer. She served on the ABA International Law Section’s Executive Council for six years. She is an ABA Sustaining Life Fellow, and a past recipient of the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement and International Law Section’s Mayre Rasmussen Award.
Justice Murnane is the editor of “Women’s Voices: A Global Perspective on the Right to Vote”, and is a chapter contributor to “Her Honor” both published by ABA Publications.
She is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and is married to Kevin M. Murnane, USAF, Ret. They have two daughters, Rachel Manuel and Christina Veillon, who are both teachers, and three grandchildren, Abrial, Cody and Aidan.

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2026 Insurance Tax Seminar
2026-05-28 - 2026-05-29 | JW Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20004
Save the Date
Join the Section on Taxation for its 41st Annual Insurance Tax Seminar at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC. The seminar will feature timely discussions on insurance tax issues led by industry tax professionals, advisors, consultants, and government officials. Attendees can expect updates on IRS guidance, legislative changes, and regulatory developments, as well as “fundamentals” sessions and an ethics credit-eligible session. Panels are carefully crafted to bring diverse perspectives on insurance company, insurance product, international, and other insurance tax topics—ensuring a well-rounded program that is both practical and forward-looking.
Last year’s seminar welcomed nearly 500 participants, and we anticipate another strong turnout in 2026. Early registration is encouraged.
Registration Opening December 2025.

The P. Michael Mahoney (Rockford, Illinois) Chapter: AI for Attorneys Seminar
2026-05-28 13:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Stanley J. Roszkowski United States Courthouse, Rockford, IL, 327 S. Church Street, Rockford, IL, 61101, United States
Panelists Maura R. Grossman, Research Professor, University of Waterloo; Adjunct Professor of Law, York University; Principal, Maura Grossman Law, Phil Favro, Founder and President, Favro Law PLLC, and the Honorable Michael F. Iasparro, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Northern District of Illinois, will discuss artificial intelligence for attorneys both in and out of the courtroom.
To register for the event, please click the following link to fill out the sign-up form: AI for Attorneys: Risks and Rewards
