International section has a hand in bringing attorneys from around the world to Florida.

A major international conference on business arbitration will be coming to Miami in 2014, thanks to efforts of several Florida lawyers and the Bar's International Law Section.

The biannual congress for the International Council for Commercial Arbitration is expected to bring 800 to 1,000 lawyers from around the world to South Florida.

"The fact that we were awarded the congress in 2014 is recognition of the importance of Miami and Florida in the world of international arbitration," said Miami attorney Burton Landy, a former section chair who worked with a group of attorneys to get the congress.

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He said it is also a confirmation of the state and city's importance in international trade.

"Florida is very much involved, and obviously Miami is an important center for trade and commerce," Landy said. "It's a very important arm of trade and commerce that when disputes arise that there's a mechanism for resolving these disputes in an efficient, economic, and expeditious manner.

"International arbitration has been recognized as probably the most important way for resolving these disputes. As it turns out, Miami has held either second or third place [New York City has the top spot] in recent years in the number of international arbitrations that are held in the United States."

Ed Mullins, current chair of the International Law Section, said the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) was founded 50 years ago as a way to facilitate arbitration of cross-border business and trade disputes and has become the leading organization pursuing that goal.

"It's a congress that has presentations on international arbitration, both to talk about practical situations and also theoretical issues," Mullins said. "It's a pretty significant think tank congress."

Getting the 2014 meeting in Miami was akin to a bid seeking to host the Olympic Games, he said.

A group of lawyers, including Landy, Jose I. Astigarraga, John Barkett, Judy Freedberg, and Dan Gonzalez went to an ICCA meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to make a pitch...