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ECLA General Assembly (London)

Posted on October 19, 2017 by admin

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On October 2017 20, ECLA held its General Assembly on the premises of the Law Society of England and Wales in London. Apart from the usual topics, such as the 2018 budget and financial situation, the discussion focused on the possibility of outsourcing administrative, lobbying and consulting services to a specialized company, which would have the task of assisting ECLA’S professional development and influence. There was quite some debate on the pro’s and con’s of such outsourcing, but finally a conclusion was reached. ECLA will conclude a contract with the German service company dfv, located at Frankfurt. A separate dedicated company will be formed in Brussels, providing and ensuring the agreed services to ECLA. More details of this form of co-operation will be presented in the coming months. In the afternoon session there were presentations on various topics: Brexit, ICW, Catalonia and the progress in the joint ECLA/CMS interview program.

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Meeting IFA/ECLA

Posted on October 19, 2017 by admin

ECLA General Manager Han Kooy met with the International Fiscal Association (IFA) to discuss mutual areas of interest. Han Kooy presented the Book: Company Lawyers: Independent by Design to the resigning president Prof. Han Kogels and General Manager Cécile Riphagen, while the latter presented Kooy with interesting material concerning the IFA. It was once again emphasized that the IFA is the only non-governmental and non-sectoral international organization dealing with fiscal matters.

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ECLA General Assembly 2016 (Paris)

Posted on September 29, 2017 by admin

On October 23, 2016, ECLA will hold its autumn General Assembly in Paris, where the national association of company lawyers of France, AFJE, will be the host. The agenda includes the usual topics, such as communication, goals, possible projects, budget, etc. Brexit and TTIP will be discussed, as these matters may have an impact on the work of company lawyers. Many ECLA members will also attend the ICW World Summit, which will be organized on the days following the General Assembly.

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Meeting with ECLA and Madrid Bar’s In-House Lawyers Committees (Madrid)

Posted on September 9, 2017 by admin

The Sección de Abogados de Empresa in partnership with ECLA and our esteemed sponsor DLA Piper is preparing a conference to be held on September 22, 2015 on the topic: “Meeting (other) In-house lawyers”

Among the attendees, Sergio Marini, President of ECLA and General Counsel at Fendi will present ECLA focusing on its role, its targets and its achievements . The event offers the opportunity to introduce the DLA Piper Handbook on Legal Privilege which is the core argument for the In-house lawyers’ activity in Europe. In addition, the Chairwoman of the Madrid bar will debate about the situation of the In-house lawyers in Spain and the Sección de Abogados de Empresa will present the ideas proposed by its working group to defend the In-house lawyers’ Legal Privilege.

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Special services for company lawyers of sponsor DLA Piper

Posted on August 11, 2017 by admin

DLA Piper offers specific services to our company lawyers. Under the icon Sponsors, you will find an information about the services that are currently offered. In the near future, DLA Piper intends to expand its service offering. An announcement in this regard will be posted under Sponsors on a regular basis

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Meet the Swedish BJF

Posted on July 12, 2017 by admin

Meet the Swedish Association of Company Lawyers, Bolagsjuristernas Foringen (BJF). BJF was founded in 1953 by some in-house lawyers and now has already 1050 members.

BJF has a lot of activities during the year among which an educational and mentor program at the beginning of the year.
They organize around 40 seminars with 4/5 dedicated law firms in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö Lund. These events are free of charge or with a special rate for our members. Especially worth mentioning is the one-day seminar on the Company/Board Secretary function which plays a crucial role nowadays, as the Board Secretary provides legal support to the whole business.

The Swedish Association regularly cooperates with Deloitte, Baker McKenzie in order to provide educational programs, while in collaboration with a top law firm, a top financial paper and they organize the “Company Lawyer of the year” addressed not only to their members but also to all the company lawyers in the country.

Last but not least, they are very dynamic on the job side – they work with a recruiting company specialized on In-house lawyers in order to investigate the salary level and the expectations of employers.

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ECLA General Assembly (Rome)

Posted on February 5, 2017 by admin

On March 31, 2017 ECLA held its Annual General Assembly in Rome, where the national association AIGI was an excellent host. The meeting’s agenda included its usual topics, such as the annual accounts, communication, etc. There was also an intensive discussion on the goals, aspirations, and future of ECLA, for which the new President Jonathan Marsh earlier made an appeal to the national associations. The outcome of the discussions, which took place in workgroups, will form a solid basis for further discussions later in the year. Stephan Barthe (Spain) was elected as new secretary of the Executive Board. The topic of young lawyers in AIGI was presented by a young member of AIGI, followed by an interesting discussion.

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ECLA General Assembly (Paris)

Posted on October 30, 2016 by admin

On Sunday October 23, 2016 ECLA had its autumn General Assembly in Paris hosted by the national association of company lawyers of France, AFJE. In addition to the usual agenda items, such as member matters, goals, communication and budget, there was a presentation (by Anna Drozd) and discussion on Brexit, and to a lesser extent on CETA and TTIP. It was generally recognized that these treaties may have an impact on the work of company lawyers in Europe.

Two members of the board, president Sergio Marini, and treasurer Jean Cattazuzza elected not to go for a new term and stepped down. The present secretary of the board, Jonathan Marsh, was elected as president and Giovanni Cerutti was elected as treasurer.

Many ECLA members also attended the ICW World Summit which was organized on the adjacent days after the General Assembly (24 and 25 October), with interesting speakers and discussions, amongst whom then former ECLA president Sergio Marini and honorary president Philippe Coen. The Summit was a great success and attended by more than 300 lawyers from all over the world. The Summit was concluded by a boat trip and dinner on the river Seine

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ICW World Summit: The In-House Counsel going global

Posted on September 29, 2016 by admin

The 5th edition of In-House Counsel World Summit will bring together more than 500 legal directors in Paris on October 24-25, 2016. This is one of the most important events in the legal industry, organized by ICW in cooperation with the French Association AFJE. Jonathan Marsh- member of the ECLA board, Vice President of AFJE and organizing committee- is very proud AFJE can contribute to an international summit of this caliber, which represents a unique opportunity to exchange best practices and to network among the global in-house community.

The Summit’s theme is around the neologism “glocalization” , the global localization. The concept allies global trends with local realities within the worldwide economy. Furthermore it reflects the daily working method of In-house Counsels and the practice of law: acting in an international environment but always within the local culture and business practices. With these premise the ICW Summit seems to open interesting implications for the future of the profession.

Don’t miss the opportunity to attend! All registration’s info on http://icwsummit.com/

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Meet with Giovanni Cerutti, the ECLA representative for Italian Association

Posted on June 14, 2016 by admin

Let’s meet today Giovanni Cerutti, who represents the Italian Association, AIGI (Associazione Italiana Giuristi di Impresa). “AIGI, established in 1976, is one of the founding members of ECLA and we proudly celebrate this year, 2016, the 40th anniversary”- says Giovanni.

He smiles and adds: “AIGI Members are aware of ECLA especially now that the current President is Italian…! Moreover, we do have a dedicated section on AIGI website with interviews and articles on ECLA”.

“Eligibility criteria to be admitted to AIGI – Giovanni explains – include inter alia the Law Degree plus evidence of at least 2-year practice period as a lawyer. In-house lawyer mission is defined in AIGI By-Laws with the following terms: providing legal advice and support to the Employer company, in the private or public sector, and contributing to the management strategies by combining legal knowledge with managerial skills. Last but not least, AIGI members must comply with the Professional Deontology Rules set forth in AIGI Ethics Code”.

Regarding the association’s activities: AIGI has coordinated and promoted the drafting of various Books and Papers on key legal topics. Moreover, AIGI regularly organizes seminars and conferences, either independently or in cooperation with universities, law firms, public entities. “We are however very careful in evaluating and selecting events to make sure that AIGI remains independent and that an adequate level of quality is ensured”, underlines Giovanni.

Giovanni adds: “AIGI regrets that the In-House lawyer profession is not officially recognized by the legal system in Italy. Qualified In-House lawyers are not even entitled to enroll in the Bar (with some limited exceptions for In-House lawyers employed by Public Sector Organizations). AIGI is therefore very keen on affirming In-House role and position in Italy, as such role and position is already recognized by some other European Legal systems. AIGI therefore strongly objects to obsolete dogma that employment status of In-House lawyers automatically leads to their lack of professional independence in providing legal advice to the Client-Employer. This dogma looks disproportionate and unreasonable today, as proven by the comparative analysis with other professionally recognized employees (e.g. physicians)”, is Giovanni’s conclusion.

On 2013, after a multi-year long appraisal and selective process, the Italian Ministry of Justice officially inserted AIGI among nationwide leading associations of unregulated professions pursuant to Italian Law implementing Directive 2005/36/UE. “Yet, this is regrettably far away from affirming in-House lawyers role and from recognizing AIGI as an official Professional Body”, affirms Giovanni.

Giovanni finally underlines an important success story: “I am very proud because AIGI established 12 years ago the Scuola Nazionale di Specializzazione per Giuristi di Impresa (National School of Specialization for In-house lawyers) and this initiative has been growing with great success ever since. It is not a generic post-degree course among others, but it is a training path conducive to the profession, leveraging on practical cases, addressed by senior In-house lawyers acting as teachers and mentors. That aspect is very important not only for the educational program itself but also for the job opportunities generated through contacts and relations.”

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