On this page, you will see the Program and the Speakers' Bios
Program
10th & 11th September – McGill Faculty Club, Montreal
Thursday, 10 September 2026
08.00-08.40 Registration
08.40-09.00 Conference opening by Chair; Welcome from Vincent Correia, IASL Co-Director and Dean Faculty of Law
09.00-10.15 Geopolitical Challenges and the State of the Aviation Industry
Sanctions, airspace closures, supply chain fractures, rising fuel costs and shifting alliances are redrawing the map of commercial aviation. Industry leaders assess how airlines and their advisers are managing legal and operational risk in a world where geopolitics increasingly dictates route networks, fleet strategy, and commercial relationships.
Moderator: Arnold Agaba, McGill IASL
Speakers:
• Anita Mosner, Holland & Knight
• Michael Carbone, JetBlue
• Donald Gray, Onex Partners
• Thomas Reynaert, IATA
• Rob Hager, Crowell & Moring
10.15-10.45 Refreshment Break
10.45-12.00 Air Carrier Liability - Recent Developments
Courts worldwide continue to test the limits of the Montreal Convention: expanding the meaning of 'accident,' redefining 'bodily injury,' and grappling with mental harm claims. Leading practitioners dissect the most significant recent rulings and ask whether judicial creativity is strengthening or undermining the treaty's uniformity.
Moderator: Rainer Amann, Urwantschky Dangel Borst
Speakers:
• Steven Truxal, Leiden International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL)
• Jamie Thornback, CMF Lawyers
• Bart Banino, Condon & Forsyth
• Jean-François Bisson-Ross, Air Canada
12.00-13.00 Focus on Manufacturers
The 737 MAX aftermath, the rise of China's C919, and Boom's supersonic ambitions are reshaping the manufacturer landscape. This panel examines product liability exposure, certification challenges, and supply chain accountability as the industry moves beyond the Airbus-Boeing duopoly into uncharted territory.
Moderator: Tony Payne, DLA Piper
Speakers:
• Mildred Troegeler, Boeing
• Lea Bucciero, Podhurst Orseck
• Justin Green, Kreindler
• Jennifer P. Griffin, AAR
13.00-14.15 Lunch
14.15-15.30 Providers
Beyond Airlines: Airports, Ground Handlers, Air Navigation and Other Service
In the aviation industry, the airline is generally the front line when it comes to responsibility towards passengers. But behind the airline, there is a much broader chain of stakeholders—including airports, Air
Navigation Service Providers, ground handlers and other service providers—whose responsibilities and liabilities can overlap. This raises some interesting questions. For example, who is responsible for passengers with reduced mobility? Where does the airline’s responsibility end and the airport’s begin? And who bears responsibility for issues such as noise management or soil contamination? Our four panellists will explore these questions from different perspectives, looking at how liability is allocated across the aviation chain.
Moderator: Laura Pierallini, Studio Pierallini
Speakers:
• Sophie Prégent, Aéroports de Montréal
• Francis Schubert, McGill IASL
• Darryl Dowd, ACI World
• Stamatis Varsamos, Athens International Airport
15.30-16.00 Refreshment Break
16.00-17.15 Intersection of Military and Civil Aviation
From the downing of PS752 and MH17 to GPS jamming and conflict-zone routing, the collision of military operations and civil aviation raises urgent questions of State responsibility, intelligence-sharing, and victim compensation. Practitioners and policymakers confront the legal grey zones.
Moderator: Dan Barks, Ammons Law
Speakers:
• Kevin Mahoney, Kreindler
• Chris Petras, ICAO
• Andrea Buitrago Carranza, McGill IASL
• Ken Quinn, International Aviation Law
• Simon Ellis, Hugh James
• Col. Sarah Mountin, US Air Force
17.15-20.00 Cocktail and Dinner
Friday 11 September 2026
08.40-08.45 Moment of silence to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11 2001
08.45-09.00 Keynote Address by Michael Gill, ICAO
09.00-10.00 Artificial Intelligence, eVTOL and Emerging Technologies
Air transport is subject to technical development and a technological shift that ranges from Air Navigation to Air Traffic Control as well as to Aircraft Maintenance. This will occur through AI and other forms of autonomous systems. We will even see novel forms of aircraft and the development will impact the application of the Chicago Convention and also liability under the Montreal 99 Convention. This panel will present and elaborate on some of the hot topics we stand to confront.
Moderator: Urban Olson, Advokatfirman Urban Olson
Speakers:
• Eric Oehy, DLA Piper
• Raphaëlle De Gagné, Air Canada
• Stephan Eriksson, Astra Advokater
10.00-11.00 Manufacturers
Just culture under siege: the Criminalisation of Aviation Accidents for Airlines and
Prosecutors in France, Brazil, and beyond are increasingly treating aviation accidents as crimes. This panel debates whether criminalisation deters negligence or destroys safety culture, examining the chilling effect on reporting, the erosion of just culture principles, and what practitioners can do to protect their clients.
Moderator: Martine De Serres, Air CanadaSpeakers:
• Diego Olmedo, PionAirLaw
• Erin Applebaum, Kreindler
• Kara Greene, ESi
11.00-11.30 Refreshment Break
11.30-12.30 Managing Capital Risk: Financing and Leasing
With 70% of the commercial aircraft fleet being leased and most of the remainder being financed, aviation lawyers need to keep up-to-date with the main legal developments in aircraft leasing and finance. This panel of leading private practice lawyers and in-house counsel will discuss what you need to know regardless of what area within air law you practice.
Moderator: Michelle Ancona Reynolds, Lesha Bank
Speakers:
• Andrea Sepinwall, McMillan
• Marie-Aude Gagnon Rousseau, Air Canada
• Carlos Sierra, Abogados Sierra, S.C.
• Heather Diver, Aviation Capital Group
12.30-13.45 Lunch
13.45-14.45 Managing Liability Risk: Insurance
War-risk exclusions, cyber exposure, sanctions complications, and emerging aerospace operations are straining traditional aviation insurance models. Plaintiff and defence counsel join insurance professionals to examine coverage gaps, policy disputes, and whether the market is keeping pace with the risks.
Moderator: Andrea Harrington, McGill IASL
Speakers:
• Ricardo Martinez-Cid, Podhurst Orseck
• Christopher Loxton, XXIV Old Buildings
• Amy Karnikian, Crowell & Moring
14.45-15.45 Delay, Deny, Compensate: The Global Passenger Rights Battleground
With Canada's APPR, EC261 revision attempts, and new regimes emerging worldwide, airlines face a patchwork of overlapping - and sometimes conflicting - passenger rights obligations that have generated growing mountains of claims. This panel reviews recent trends in the regulatory landscape, new tools toeffectively manage claims, examines enforcement trends, and asks whether harmonisation is achievable or merely aspirational.
Moderator: Julius Dunton, Air Canada
Speakers:
• Claudia Hess, Urwantschky Dangel Borst
• Lydia Johansson, SAS
• Diego Ferrari, CYFA Abogados
• Lawrence Chow, Canadian Transportation Agency
15.45-16.15 Refreshment Break
16.15-17.30 Debate: Is it Time to Revisit the Aviation Liability Regime?
Twenty-seven years on, does the Montreal Convention still serve the needs of a transformed industry? Two teams of leading advocates go head-to-head on whether the regime's liability limits, jurisdictional rules, and scope remain fit for purpose — or whether it's time to go back to the drafting table.
Moderator: Vincent Correia, McGill IASL
Speakers:
Yes/Plaintiff Team:
• José Ignacio Garcia Arboleda, GarciaArboleda
• Tracy Brammeier, Clifford Law
• Sara Prager KC, Deka Chambers
No/Defendant Team:
• Clay Hunter, Patterson MacDougall LLP
• Paul Dempsey, Emeritus Professor McGill IASL
• Louise-Helene Senecal, LH Senecal Legal Services Inc.
17:30-17.45 Closing Remarks by Co-Directors and Conference Closing
17:30 -19:00 Farewell Reception
