EUROPEAN COMPANY LAWYERS ASSOCIATION

ECLA is the umbrella organisation for 17 company lawyer associations in Europe and represents common interests of European company lawyers.

ECLA was created in 1983. It is an international non-profit association governed by Belgian law. Membership is open to national associations only. While individuals are not members of ECLA directly, each company lawyer, who is a member of a national association, can share the benefits ECLA negotiates. These include discounts to conferences, legal education, training, free publications and more.

During the past almost 30 years, ECLA has gained recognition as the leading representative of European company lawyers associations and their individual members. In this unrivalled position, ECLA has a platform to respond to and influence the European in-house corporate counsel network, European organisations and policy making bodies.

ECLA's primary goals are:

• To enhance the acceptance and demand for an active role of company lawyers
• To identify, seize and exploit regulatory opportunities suitable to enhance the position of in-house lawyers
• To identify and eliminate regulatory threats to the position or practice of company lawyers

In order to achieve these goals, ECLA is active in:

• Monitoring of the position of company lawyers in members' jurisdictions
• Discussing and lobbying on freedom of choice of counsel for all European companies
• Liaising with other legal associations and international organizations
• Sharing best practices of company lawyers
• Networking of members
• Providing benefits to 42,000 individual company lawyers

Members

1. Belgium: Institut des juristes d’entreprise (IJE/IBJ) www.ije.be (Hugues Delescaille)
2. Croatia : Udruga korporativnih pravnika www.udruga-korporativnih-pravnika.hr (Marina Kralj Miliša)
3. Czech Republic:  Unie Podnikových Právníků České republiky (UPPČR) www.uppcr.cz (Marie Brejchová)
4. Denmark: Danske Virksomhedjurister (DVJ) www.dvj.dk (Laurits A. Jørgensen)
5. England and Wales: The Law Society www.lawsociety.org.uk (Pieter de Waal)
6. Estonia: Eesti Juristide Liidu Ettevõtlusjuristide Ühendus (EEJÜ.) www.juristideliit.ee ( Tiina Sepa)
7. Finland: Teollisuuslakimiesten Yhdistys ry / Industrijuristföreningen r.f. www.teollisuuslakimiehet.org (Piia Vuoti)
8. France: Association Française des Juristes d’Entreprise (AFJE) www.afje.org (Stephanie Fougou)
9. Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Syndikus-Anwälte im Deutschen Anwaltverein e. V. www.syndikusanwaelte.de (Max Groning)
10. The Law Society of Ireland www.lawsociety.ie (Brian Conolly)
11. Associazione Italiana Giuristi di Impresa (AIGI) www.aigi.it (Silvia Bonacossa)
12. Lithuania: Bendrovių ir institucijų teisininkų asociacija (B.I.T.A.) www.bitasociacija.lt (Dr. Vilius Nikitinas)
13. Norway: Norges Juristforbund, NJ-P Private Sector http://www.juristforbundet.non (Erik Normann Warberg)
14. Poland: Krajowa Izba Radców Prawnych (KIRP) www.kirp.pl (Waldemar Koper)
15. Portugal: Instituto dos Advogados de Empresa www.oa.pt (Marco Vieira Nunes)
16. Spain: Sección Abogados de Empresa del Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid www.icam.es (Stephan Barthe)
17. Sweden : Bolagsjuristernas Förening (BJF) www.bolagsjuristerna.com (Erik Domines)