Companies should set clear policies to combat regulatory grey areas, advise lawyers

Lack of regulation on how Latin American companies should accommodate employees suffering from health-related issues in and outside the workplace means employers should establish clear company-wide policies to avoid falling foul of discrimination claims, heard delegates at the sixth annual Latin Lawyer Labour & Employment conference held on 9 October in Miami.

Bolivia settles dispute over silver mine

Canada’s TriMetals Mining has reached a US$26 million settlement with Bolivia to satisfy an investment treaty award that held the state liable for nationalising a silver mining project targeted by protests from indigenous communities.

Exposing the gap

For the past two years, many UK law firms have been compelled to publicly disclose the difference between what they pay male and female lawyers. Gender pay gap reporting can be a blunt instrument, but acknowledging a problem is the first step to solving it. We consider the implications for Latin America’s legal market.

Why fewer women than men become partners

Partners sit at the top of the law firm pyramid structure and they have the biggest pay packets. The fact that women are in the minority in most law firm partnerships in Latin America – and indeed the world – is the main reason behind the gender wage gap in the legal profession. Here, we list four common explanations put forward to explain why more women don’t rise through the ranks to become partners.