Final Meeting with Argentine Bar
Article Date: Thursday, June 12, 2008
Written By: Russell Rawlings
From Allison Holmes
(Thursday, June 12)
Today was our final day meeting with Argentine attorneys. We spent the morning learning about mediation in Buenos Aires from a distinguished panel of six local mediators. Mediation is mandatory in many types of civil disputes in Buenos Aires and must occur before suit can be filed. Although some of our panel members thought that the pre-filing requirement stifled settlement in some cases, the attorneys all agreed that the Buenos Aires mediation system is a successful one that has helped tremendously with the backlog of cases in the city.
In the afternoon we had a presentation on the Argentine tax system. Our group had many questions about taxes and the effect they have on doing business in Argentina. One interesting aspect of the Argentine tax code that we learned during our tax talk was that while not all capital gains trigger tax consequences, capital gains and ordinary income are taxed at the same rate here, a rate similar to US ordinary income rates.
During the evening, we hosted members of the Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires at dinner at a local restaurant. While much of the conversation centered on the practice of law in the United States and in Argentina, we also discussed our respective families, cultures, and even politics. Our hosts were often very curious about our upcoming elections, and we were curious about the current regime in Argentina.
As we finished our week of interchange with the Argentine lawyers, we continued to be struck by the warmth we experienced from our gracious hosts. We came to Argentina not knowing what to expect and encountered lawyers who are extremely knowledgeable, personable, experienced, and motivated. Our hosts seemed very appreciative of the chance to exchange ideas with us and are excited about making the trip to North Carolina in 2009. We can’t wait to have them visit us in North Carolina.
End of Day 6 in Argentina