Our law firm is member of International Law Firms (ILF) a worldwide network of independent law firms. On 5th October 2024 we hosted the Annual Conference of ILF which gathered 25 lawyers from 16 jurisdictions and 3 continents. The conference focused on Artificial Intelligence and its Impact on the Legal Profession. We report on this special event in our short article.
1. International Law Firms – ILF in a nutshell
INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS (ILF) is an association of 50+ independent law firms, covering all major jurisdictions worldwide. After being members in ILF from Hungary for 10 years, it was a great honour for our firm, to host the organization’s annual conference in Budapest.
The conference took place on the 5th October 2024 in the Budapest Marriott Hotel and provided for the 25 guests from 15 countries & 3 continents the opportunity to network and explore the beauty and flavours of Hungary.
2. Onboarding new members
The conference was opened by the opening speech of ILF Chair, Tony Maalouli (ProConsult Advocates, Dubai) and the welcoming words of Richard Schmidt (SMARTLEGAL Schmidt & Partners) as host of the conference.
Annual conferences provide great opportunity for ILF to onboard new law firm members who are interested in cross-border business relationships.
In the summer and autumn of 2024, 4 (four) new law firms joined the organization, Dimitrova, Cholakov and Partners from Sofia, Bulgaria, Ivkovic & Kruc Law Firm (Zagreb, Croatia), NCR Lawyers (Belgrade, Serbia) and Mr. Charles LECURIEUX-CLERVILLE (France).
The representatives of the new member firms, Desislava Dimitrova, Yordan Cholakov, Ivan Ivkovic, Jelena Curcic and Charles Lecurieux-Clerville presented on the Annual Conference in a nutshell their law firms, and the legal system & investment climate of their respective countries, as well.
3. Presentations on Artificial Intelligence & its Impact on the Legal Profession
In the second session three excellent presentations were held as part of the professional program.
First, our senior colleague, Anita Vereb (SMARTLEGAL Schmidt & Partners, Hungary) summarized the recently introduced EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which is a pioneer endeavour of the European Union to regulate AI on supranational level.
This was followed by Rupert Croft from (CROFT Solicitors, UK) with his presentation on resolving disputes in the digital age, showing how the use of AI becomes a game-changing advantage in litigations & arbitrations.
Finally, Ana Demsorean (Demsorean, Dinu si asociatii SPARL, Romania) analysed AI’s problem-solving mechanisms, comparing them with legal thinking.
4. Presentation on Legal Marketing
After lunch with a panoramic view of the Danube, Máté Bende (ProLawyer, Hungary) a legal marketing specialist, gave an insightful presentation on various legal marketing questions.
The presentation covered not only the special marketing issues of legal networks, but the current LinkedIn marketing trends for individual lawyers and law firms, as well.
5. Election of new executive committee & officers
Following the professional program, the association elected new executive committee and officers.
The former Chairwoman of ILF, Alexandra Bessone Cardoso (ABC Legal, Portugal) will support the organisation as Honorary Chairwoman.
Tony Maalouli (Proconsul Advocates), the Chair of ILF proposed a new executive committee, including our managing partner, Richard Schmidt (SMARTLEGAL Schmidt & Partners, Hungary) as Vice Chair, Richard B. Hein (Hein Law Firm, USA, St.Louis) as Secretary, and Alejandro Bettoni (Asejur, Costa Rica) as Treasurer.
Ana Demsorean (Demsorean, Dinu si asociatii SPARL, Romania), Chong Kuan Keong (CHONG CHIA & LIM LLC, Singapore), Orlando Viera Blanco (VIERA BLANCO & asociados, Venezuela), Rupert Croft (CROFT Sollicitors, UK), and Yordan Cholakov (Dimitrova, Cholakov and Partners) were elected to be members in the Board of ILF.
Christiana Theophilou (TSG Theophilou, Cyprus) Patrick Birden (Birden & Gilson, Luxembourg) and Ivan Ivkovic (Law Firm Ivkovic & Kruc, Croatia) were elected to me members in the ILF Membership Committee.
In addition, the following persons were elected as regional leaders: Lisa Croft (CROFT Sollicitors, UK) and Veronica Claudia Donella (Studio legale Donella, Italy) for Western Europe, Yordan Cholakov (Dimitrova, Cholakov and partners) for Eastern Europe.
Yinka Agidee (The Rock and Partners, Nigeria) & Lisa Croft (CROFT Sollicitors, UK) for Africa, Orlando Viera Blanco (VIERA BLANCO & asociados, Venezuela) and Richard Hein (Hein Law Firm, USA) for North America, Alejandro Bettoni (Asejur, Costa Rica), Orlando Viera Blanco and Richard Hein for South America, Chong Kuang Keong (CHONG CHIA & LIM LLC, Singapore) for Eastern Asia.
6. Social Program
In the remainder of the conference, members had the opportunity to savour Hungarian cuisine and the renowned Hungarian wines. We hope that both the professional and informal programs were to the participants’ satisfaction and that they left with fond memories of this successful conference in Budapest.