CBA Record May-June 2024

Hola! Mexico City CBA CLE Abroad Travels to Mexico By Trisha M. Rich, Holland & Knight LLP and CBA Record Editorial Board Member, and Adam Zebelian, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck

T his year’s annual CBA CLE Abroad trip took place in Mexico City on March 24-26, 2024, marking the first time the CBA has traveled to Mexico City for CLE. Approxi mately 50 CBA members and guests, led by CBA President Ray J. Koenig III, escaped the Chicago weather and made the journey to this vibrant city. Over three busy days, participants were treated to a behind the-scenes look at Mexico’s legal system. Mexican lawyers and members of the Mexican Bar Association joined five CLE panels to discuss issues including immigration and migration, medical tourism, judicial independence, family law and custody matters, and other comparative law issues. The CBA also visited the coun try’s highest federal court, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. There, participants received an insider’s view of the Court, including a tour of the building’s many art murals depicting vari ous themes of criminal and civil liability, fairness, and justice. In addition to the CLE programming and the Supreme Court tour, participants had a welcome dinner at Blanco Castelar, a restaurant located in a renovated mansion that was the child hood home of one of Mexico’s former first ladies. Attendees also attended a group tour and wine reception at Chapultepec Castle and a group tour of Templo Mayor, historically the main temple of the Mexican people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan.

Following their time in Mexico City, about half of the par ticipants continued to an optional side trip in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a colonial-era city in the central highlands of Guanajuato. Participants opting for this trip boarded two buses Wednesday morning and headed north from Mexico City, stop ping on the way for lunch at a vineyard, Viñedo Rancho Santa Marina, in the state of Querétaro. The next day, participants toured the beautiful city of San Miguel de Allende, a section of which has been declared a World Heritage Site. They explored the magnificent cathedrals in the heart of downtown, including Parroquia de San Miguel Arcán gel, which is among the most photographed churches in Mexico. They also enjoyed shopping at the outdoor market and visiting some of the numerous art galleries. Participants enjoyed a group farewell dinner on the Zumo Res taurant rooftop overlooking the historic skyline of San Miguel de Allende before returning to Chicago.

Watch your email this Fall for updates on CBA CLE Abroad in Sicily, the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy.

12 May/June 2024