Greenberg Traurig Attorneys Ashley C. Brown and Vicky B. McPherson Serve as Panelists at the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act Conference
Boston & Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) August 13, 2013 -- Attorneys Ashley C. Brown and Vicky B. McPherson with the international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, spoke at The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Civil Society Session (CSO) of the 12th AGOA – US-Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum. This year’s forum titled “Sustainable Transformation through Trade and Technology” was hosted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and took place Aug. 10-12, 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
According to the U.S. Department of State website, AGOA enables the 39 eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export most products duty-free to the United States. It provides incentives for African countries to improve their investment climates, reduce corruption, respect human and labor rights and the rule of law, improve infrastructure and harmonize trade standards to help them become more competitive in the global marketplace. The 2013 AGOA Forum highlighted the progress achieved since the Act’s inception in 2000 and launch a dialogue on the future of United States-sub-Saharan Africa trade and economic cooperation.
Brown, who focuses his practice on domestic and international energy and infrastructure regulation and market design, joined a panel titled: “Energy Africa: Opportunities and Challenges.” Panelists discussed the commercial, fiscal, and regulatory incentives that are needed to attract investment in Africa’s power sector and how international companies can partner with the local public and private sectors to meet the power demands of the continent. Brown serves as of counsel in Greenberg Traurig’s Global Energy & Infrastructure practice group and is based in the firm’s Boston office.
McPherson, a shareholder in the firm’s Corporate & Securities and Global Africa practice groups, spoke on a panel titled “Achieving an African Green Growth through Trade and Technology.” She and other panelists discussed various topics including: the pathway to sustainable development through Green Growth strategies and policies; Achieving Green Growth through strengthening Africa’s renewable energy resources through technical assistance and capacity building; and trade and technology as a means of attaining Green Growth, among others.
In addition to his role at Greenberg Traurig, Brown is currently serving as Executive Director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has served as a consultant for foreign countries worldwide providing counsel on drafting laws, policies and regulations for energy, public utilities, air quality and electricity matters. Brown frequently serves as a speaker at conferences and seminars worldwide related to energy and infrastructure regulation and has written extensively on these topics.
McPherson is based out of the firm’s Washington D.C. office and represents clients from around the world, including those located in Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and South America. She focuses her practice on corporate transactions, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and project finance and also has experience advising on initial and follow-on private equity investments for early-stage companies and strategic investments on behalf of private equity firms. McPherson’s representative matters on behalf of institutional and private equity investors include domestic and international fund formation, real estate joint ventures and corporate finance in connection with the acquisition and management of portfolio companies.
To find out more about the conference, please visit: http://www.agoa2013ethiopia.org/
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, full-service law firm with approximately 1750 attorneys serving clients from 36 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In the U.S., the firm has more offices than any other among the Top 10 on The National Law Journal's 2012 NLJ 250. For additional information, please visit http://www.gtlaw.com.
Lourdes Brezo-Martinez, Greenberg Traurig, + 1 212 801 2131, [email protected]
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