20th Annual Dominick L. DiCarlo U.S. Court of International Trade Lecture: A Conversation with Hon. Jimmie V. Reyna

Join UIC Law’s Center for International Law for its 20th Annual Dominick L. DiCarlo U.S. Court of International Trade Lecture. This year’s DiCarlo Lecture will feature a keynote conversation between Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna, circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and Lawrence M. Friedman, a partner with Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, LLP. Following the conversation, Honorable Leo M. Gordon, senior judge of U.S. Court of International Trade, will facilitate a series of expert presentations discussing efforts by businesses and the government to ensure that products of forced labor are not imported to the United States.

Register online.

Presentation schedule:

1 p.m., Introductions

• Hon. Leo M. Gordon, senior judge, U.S. Court of International Trade

1:10 p.m., Keynote Conversation with Hon. Jimmie V. Reyna

• Hon. Jimmie V. Reyna, circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Lawrence M. Friedman (JD ’89, LLM ’01), partner, Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, LLP

1:45 p.m., Eliminating Forced Labor from the Supply Chain
The law requires that U.S. Customs and Border Protection exclude from the United States goods that are the product of forced labor. With public awareness and enforcement increasing, attorneys and compliance professionals are working to create systems to identify and eliminate forced labor from the supply chain. This session will set the stage for further detailed discussions of these challenges.

• Lawrence M. Friedman (JD ’89, LLM ’01), partner, Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, LLP

1:50 p.m., What Exactly is Forced Labor?
This session will examine the impact of forced labor on individuals, families, and communities and explore some of its underlying causes, including poor corporate governance and internal controls, financial performance measurements, organized crime, migration. and limited mechanisms of accountability. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

• Duncan Jepson, managing director, Liberty Shared

2:20 p.m., Customs Enforcement and Withhold Release Orders

• AnnMarie Highsmith, executive assistant commissioner, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs & Border Protection

2:50 p.m., Break

3 p.m., How to Respond to a WRO
When Customs and Border Protection issues a Withhold Release Order importers have a limited time in which to respond to show that forced labor was not used to produce their imported goods. Responding requires detailed records from the supplier, may involve third-party audits, and likely will involve coordination between the producer and the importer. Foreign producers whose goods are targeted by a WRO must formulate their own response to CBP, as well. This session will focus on the development of a successful response strategy by both foreign producers and importers, and how to execute that strategy. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

• Jessica Rifkin, senior attorney, Benjamin L. England & Associates, LLC

3:30 p.m., Contracting for Compliance
This session will review the ABA-developed 33 model contract clauses (MCCs) and responsible purchasing code of conduct (the Buyer Code) intended to better protect workers’ human rights in supply chains by breaking down the barriers between procurement, compliance, and legal departments by including specific human rights expectations in contracts between buyer and its suppliers at every tier. These clauses contractually operationalize the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

• Susan A. Maslow, co-founder, partner, Antheil Maslow & MacMinn LLP
• Sarah Dadush, professor of law, Rutgers Law School

4 p.m., Corporate Diligence
Corporate compliance professionals are keenly aware of the need to take reasonable steps to eliminate the use of forced labor from all parts of their companies’ supply chains. In addition to compliance with basic legal requirements and ensuring the uninterrupted flow of materials into the country, importers can’t ignore the risk of monetary penalties and, even more importantly, the reputational risk of having their brand associated with forced labor. As a result, compliance managers are carefully designing risk identification and mitigation programs that deploy contractual requirements, codes of conduct, supplier training, audits, and other tools to minimize the risk of forced labor in their supply chains. This concluding session will provide an overview of these considerations as well as strategies companies can use to manage their suppliers and reduce forced labor risk. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

• Gwen Lee Hassan, podcast founder, host, “Hidden Traffic with Gwen Hassan”; former general counsel; director, global compliance and ethics, CHN Industrial

4:30 p.m., Concluding Remarks

• Hon. Leo M. Gordon, senior judge, U.S. Court of International Trade