Month: March 2025

For 25 years the Institute represents and protects the interests of the profession in general and of the company lawyer in particular. Through the institute more than 2 400 company lawyers in Belgium have a protected title and their legal advice to their employer is confidential. At IBJ/IJE Belgian company lawyers are subject to their own professional code of ethics, which guarantees their intellectual independence and continued training.

We congratulate for hosting such an outstanding and memorable festivity in the Skyhall of Brussels airport with 800+ registered participants, key-note speeches by the president of IBJ/IJE Nicolas ISTAS, and the minister of justice in Belgium Annelies Verlinden. Congratulations to all the past presidents, managers and supporters of IBJ/IJE for creating such a success story for 25 years: Els Steen, Marc BEYENS, Saskia Mermans, Hugues Delescaille, Pierre Schaubroeck, Jean CATTARUZZA, Pascal de Roeck, Philippe Marchandise, Julie Dutordoir, Simon Vander Putten, Anne De Wolf, Jettie Van Caenegem. With Stephanie Fougou, Mark Cockerill, Silvia Bonacossa, Waldemar Koper, Laure Lavorel, Richard Bacek, Eric Lennerth, Marcus M. Schmitt, Jonathan Marsh, Stéphane BARTHE, Philippe Coen and many more…

We look forward to continuing our great European partnership for further advancing our profession as in-house lawyers.

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Brussels, 19 March 2025

The European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA), representing the interests of the approx. 160.000 in-house legal professionals across Europe, expresses deep concern over recent executive orders by the current U.S. administration targeting law firms based on their client representations. These actions include the revocation of security clearances and the termination of federal contracts for law firms that represent parties against the government.

Furthermore, ECLA sides with the American Bar Association (ABA) and the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in criticizing recent efforts to intimidate judges, by calling for the impeachment of judges simply because they do not rule as the government desires.

Law firms, legal professionals and judges play a vital role in ensuring access to justice and upholding the integrity of legal systems. The ability of lawyers to represent clients – regardless of political affiliations – and judges to make rulings based on their oaths to only follow the law, without fear of government retaliation is a cornerstone of democratic societies.

These unprecedented measures against law firms and judges pose a significant threat to the fundamental principles of legal independence, impartiality, public trust, attorney-client privilege, access to justice, the rule of law, and democratic legal systems.

ECLA stands in solidarity with the broader legal community in denouncing any interference that compromises the independence of legal practitioners and therefore infringes the democratic principle of the separation of powers. At a time when the global legal framework faces increasing pressures, it is crucial that we collectively uphold the core values of justice, fairness, and autonomy in jurisprudence. ECLA remains committed to safeguarding these principles and supporting all efforts to preserve the integrity of the legal profession and the rule of law.

For further inquiries, please contact:
Stephanie Fougou (President) / Marcus M. Schmitt (General Manager)
European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA)
www.ecla.eu
info@ecla.eu

To download the press release as a .pdf file, please click here.