IAG International Annual General Assembly
Paris
31st January 2009
MINUTES
Present: see list attached at end
1. Chairman’s welcome
The Chairman welcomed all delegates, and potential members whom he asked to identify themselves, whereupon they were warmly welcomed by the Assembly.
2. Minutes of previous meeting
The minutes of the Assembly held in Chicago on 3rd October 2008 were proposed for approval by Anders Grundberg, seconded by Peter van der Mersch, and approved unanimously.
3. Committee Update
The Chairman gave an update on Committee activity since the last meeting, mentioning development of the new website and corporate identity, and continuing recruitment activity. He also commented on the general current economic climate. He reminded delegates of the 20th anniversary of IAG in which would be celebrated in May 2009, and that nominations could be made for the committee elections to be held then.
4. Any Other Business
The Chairman invited members to raise any items of business not specifically covered on the agenda: none were raised.
5. Membership matters
The Chairman reported the resignations of Studio Tosi and of Gilliss Valla and Dalsin.
He invited Bernardo Llaca, of observers Cuesta Llaca y Esquivel, lawyers from Mexico, attending as observers, to make a presentation on his firm, which once made was warmly received by the Assembly.
After asking all representatives of potential member firms to leave the meeting temporarily, the Chairman:-
-reminded the Assembly of the presence of Wegman Hessler & Vanderburg, attending for the second time as prospective members
-explained the presence of Ellebye, who wished to continue the membership of Valentin Law Office which had merged into their firm: although not listed on the agenda the Committee intended to treat this meeting as their first (observer) attendance.
He also proposed for ratification Aksan Law Firm (Turkey) and Zhonglun W&D Law Firm (China). The meeting gave a show of hands and both firms were ratified as follows:
Aksan: 40 votes in favour, none against, no abstentions
Zhonglun: 39 votes in favour, none against, 1 abstention
The representatives of potential members were invited to rejoin the meeting. Aksan and Zhonglun were warmly congratulated on their ratification as members of IAG.
6. Host firm presentation, and ‘doing business in France’.
The Assembly heard excellent presentations on these topics from Guillaume Fouquet, Marc-Olivier Deblanc, and Ariane Olive of host firm La Boetie.
7. Insolvency topic.
The Assembly heard enlightening presentations on developments and opportunities in insolvency from Nick Hood of Begbies Traynor, and on business development cooperation in Sweden from Mikael Holst of Gunnard & Co and Katarina Hallin from Rosengrens.
8. Legal work on the Beijing Olympics
The Assembly heard an interesting presentation on this topic from Zhaohua Xu of Zhonglun.
9. IAG New Corporate identity and website
Vice Chairman Denis Simon presented an advance view of the new IAG corporate identity, and the corresponding website, which were warmly received.
10. Specialist groups
The Assembly then divided into specialist groups for separate discussions.
11. Future meetings
On reconvening, the Assembly heard an impressive presentation on the plans for the next (General) Assembly in Exeter, 14-17 May 2009, from Simon Barnett and Tim Richards of Michelmores.
There being no further business, the Chairman thanked all for their participation, thanked the hosts La Boetie for their kind hospitality, and declared the meeting closed.
DELEGATES
AUSTRIA
Neudorfer RechtsanwälteHelmut Neudorfer
Lawyers, ViennaWolfgang Zacherl
Saxinger Chalupsky & PartnersFranz Mittendorfer
Rechtsanwälte GmbHAlois Hutterer
Lawyers, Linz
BELGIUM
ERYV SprlEtienne Laurent
Tax Advisers & Accountants,Eric Laurent
Brussels
CHANNELISLANDS
Nigel Harris & PartnersMichael Shenkin
Lawyers, Jersey
CZECH REPUBLIC
Saxinger Chalupsky & Partner v.o.s.Monika Wetzlerova-Deisler
Lawyers, Pilsen & PragueCommittee Member
Roman Solc
DENMARK
Fjelsted & PartnersAli Bayrak
Lawyers, Copenhagen
Valentin law officesJohn Valentin Madsen
Lawyers, Odense
ENGLAND
Begbies TraynorArthur Bailey
Specialist Professional Services,Steve Bold
ManchesterChris Appleby
Geoff Hill
Blackstone Franks LLPSubhash Thakrar
Accountants, London
Grundberg Mocatta Rakison LLPAnders Grundberg
Lawyers, LondonBernard Mocatta
Claire Martin
Michelmores LLPTim Richards
Lawyers, ExeterSimon Barnett
Ward HadawayRobert Thompson
Lawyers, Newcastle upon Tyne
Wollastons LLPNicholas Burnett
Lawyers, ChelmsfordChairman
FRANCE
Colbert AvocatsDenis Simon
Lawyers, LyonVice-Chairman
Simon Wesley
Claire Panthou
HOST FIRM
La BoétieGuillaume Fouquet
Lawyers, ParisJosette Arnold
Claude Ravon
Ariane Olive
Odile Prot
Marc-Olivier Deblanc
Emma Smith-Thomas
Léa Roupioz
Daphné Peyrot de Gachons
Emmanuel Laporte
Agnès Tesseidre
GERMANY
de faria & partnerThomas Roeskens
Lawyers & Notaries, WiesbadenSilvia Schrade
Fingerhut RechtsanwälteGundo Kroh
Lawyers & Tax Advisers
schneider:schweglerHanjo Hillmann
rechtsanwälteFelix Laumen
Lawyers, DusseldorfClemens Rogge
Jorg Towara
THORWARTAlexander Frey
Lawyers, Tax Advisers and
Accountants, Nuremberg
Wollmann & Partner GbRMichael Bschorr
LawyersNotaries, BerlinCommittee Member
Ulrike Warneke
HUNGARY
Kalman Szilaski Sarkozy & PartnersAndras Szilasi
Lawyers, Budapest
IRELAND
Moran & RyanSeamus Connolly
Lawyers, DublinCaoimhe Connolly
Boylan and Dodd Corporate Donal Boylan
Services LtdChris Dodd
Corporate Finance Specialists,
Dublin
ITALY
Studio Legale Mondini RusconiElena Granatello
Lawyers, Milan
LIECHTENSTEIN
Juricon Trust Company Rupert Neudorfer
Establishment
Lawyers, Trustees & Accountants,
Vaduz
NETHERLANDS
Hoegen Dijkhof AdvocatenHans Hoegen Dijkhof
Lawyers & Tax Advisers, Honorary President
AmsterdamArnold Hoegen Dijkhof
Stephanie Poeliejoe Zewald
Harry Blik-Levy
Schipper Noordam AdvocatenPeter van der Mersch
Lawyers, RotterdamJan de Rooij
POLAND
Chajec, Don-Siemion & ZytoEwa Don-Siemion
Legal Advisors, Warsaw, Poland
PORTUGAL
Alves Pereira, Teixeira de SousaJosé Alves Pereira
& Associates
Lawyers, Lisbon
SPAIN
Fernando Scornik GersteinAntonio Arenas Lopez
Lawyers, Madrid, Barcelona
Las Palmas
SWEDEN
Advokatfirman Gunnard & Co. ABMikael Holst
Lawyers, Stockholm
FINNHAMMARSHans Sundstrand
Accountants and ManagementAnn Lindvall
Consultants, StockholmKjell Morberg
Håkan Fjelner
Rosengrens Advokatbyrå ABKatarina Hallin
Lawyers, GothenburgSecretary
SWITZERLAND
Staiger Schwald & Partner LtdMichael Hamm
Lawyer, Zurich
USA
Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLPNeil McCarthy
Lawyers, New York
Eichstaedt & Devereaux LLPMark Devereaux
Accountants & Tax Advisers,
San Francisco
Genovese Joblove & BattistaPaul Battista
Lawyers, MiamiGreg Garno
LYSR LLPRonald Kravitz
Lawyers & Tax Advisers, Committee Member
Los Angeles
Novack & Macey LLPAndrew Fleming
Lawyers, Chicago
RichardsTimothy Richards
Lawyers & Tax Advisers,
Miami
CANDIDATES FOR RATIFICATION (3rd Attendance)
Aksan Law FirmMuhammet Aksan
Lawyers, IstanbulRamazan Arslan
Zhonglun W & D LLPDazhong Wei
Lawyer, BeijingZhaohua Xu
PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS (2nd Attendance)
Wegman, Hessler & VanderburgLawrence Crowther
Lawyers, Cleveland
OBSERVERS (1st Attendance)
Cuesta Llaca Esquivel (CLLE)Bernardo Llaca Martínez
Lawyers, Mexico D.F.
GUESTS
Ellebye LawyersIben Lindhardt
Lawyers, Odense, DenmarkHenrik Bornebusch
Ole Oestergaard
GUEST SPEAKERNick Hood
Executive Chairman of Begbies Global Network
& Senior London Partner of Begbies Traynor
IAG Administration OfficeChristopher Whitamore