Your Legal Partners

Your Legal Partners and The Alliance

Key Facts

We act for major Greek and international clients with an emphasis on

• 11 lawyers focusing on high-end

high-end corporate and finance transactions. Our motto has always been

Alliance members are flexible and practical in handling ad hoc

corporate and finance transactions • Main Practices: Aviation, Banking and Finance, Competition, Corporate, Employment, Energy, Dispute Resolution, Mergers and Acquisitions, PPP, PFIs, Projects, Privatizations

to see our relationship with each client as a long term partnership helping client achieve its business plans. Our motto has become our name, Your Legal Partners.

inquiries. They provide sensible advice at fee levels far below global firms.

Your Legal Partners combines in depth legal knowledge with focused expertise which allows us to assume mandates in several practice areas including niche areas and areas which require specialized competence. We understand the business environment and the commercial needs of the

In 2010, the International Alliance

Membership in the Alliance is

Alliance membership conveys

of Law Firms (the Alliance) named

limited to independent law firms

several distinct advantages to

Your Legal Partners as its exclusive

headquartered in the jurisdiction

clients.

Greek member firm.

in which membership is sought.

Contacts

clients. Our involvement ensures that we will not focus only on the execution

Katerina Christodoulou

and technical part of the transaction but we will offer solution, where others

[email protected]

just pick on problems. We are proud to be a law firm which was quickly

The Alliance provides member

Konstantin Karagiannis

established as producing high quality, sophisticated and innovative legal

firms and their clients with carefully-

advice with dynamic, talented lawyers who do not afraid challenges in

vetted lawyers and law firms in

legal thinking.

major business centers worldwide.

[email protected] +30 210 3388831

Since 1990, its members have

yourlegalpartners.gr

We act for major Greek and international clients with an emphasis on high-end corporate and finance transactions.

collaborated to en-sure clients receive attentive and personalized service wherever their legal needs arise, without the conflicts, bureaucracy, or fee levels common in global firms. The Alliance is currently composed of 63 member firms in 43 countries.

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The membership process is highly selective, and candidates must undergo a detailed selection procedure to ensure that every member firm delivers • Professional excellence • The highest standard of ethics • Timeliness • Service strength • Practical solutions • Knowledge of local business culture

Alliance members deliver practical results for clients. Corporations active in several countries often have specific questions in individual jurisdictions. They want an answer or at least a preliminary point of view quickly and at a modest cost. Sometimes, more re-search or analysis is appropriate. Occasionally, a more extensive engagement is needed. Not only are Alliance members rarely conflicted out of these situations, but they are also well-suited to this practical approach to clients’ needs.

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Lawyer Monthly is a global legal business magazine published each month for in-house lawyers around the world. Recently, Lawyer Monthly profiled the International Alliance of Law Firms in a special feature on leading legal networks. Editor Claire Middleton spoke with Wendy Horn, the Executive Director of the Alliance, about the achievements and benefits of the Alliance for clients. Alliance members are flexible

no individual person or office has

conduct annual evaluations of every

Q: Tell us about the International

and flux in the legal industry. We

We are experienced in working

and practical in handling ad hoc

“control” over any other person or

Alliance member.

Alliance of Law Firms

are also serious about tracking

closely together and have strong

inquiries. They provide sensible

office. As a result, global firms face

The Alliance provides a vetted

client service satisfaction, ensuring

client references for our performance

advice at fee levels far below those

an organizational impediment to

and collaborative platform to assist

responsiveness and getting firms

on national and international

of global firms.

delivering uniformly high-quality

clients in more than 40 countries

together on a frequent basis so that

assignments from the world’s best

worldwide. Our legal services

a strong connection exists among

known corporations.

delivery model

members. This attention to culture

is responsive, cost-effective and

and relationships as components of

practical. We have been building

effective client service distinguishes

our organization for over two

us from some of our larger

decades and we’re a strong

financially integrated competitors.

Many attorneys in Alliance firms worked in global law firms earlier in their careers. They know first-hand that uneven quality across far-flung offices is a structural problem for those firms. In global law firms,

legal service consistently and at a fair price. In contrast, the Alliance’s leadership team, composed of elected management and full-time professional managers, is expressly accountable to the membership to

Member firms must meet the Alliance’s service standard to remain part of the network. Alliance member firms are independent, meaning they have fewer conflicts and less bureaucracy than global firms have, and can respond quickly to requests for flexible fee arrangements.

Alliance member firms are independent. This means we have fewer conflicts and less bureaucracy than global firms and can respond quickly to requests for flexible fee arrangements.

alternative to the traditional global firm model. Q: What are the main

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client in choosing a firm from the Alliance? One of the criticisms large law firms face is that their own financial health

Each Alliance firm can provide

and internal management issues

a global service as their clients

can trump the concerns of any one

expand internationally.

client. There are other drawbacks

achievements of the Alliance?

Alliance membership provides

The Alliance was formed more than

clients a ready forum for fast

22 years ago. It has been a remark-

answers on substantive legal issues

ably steady collection of excellent

and practical “doing business”

mid-sized firms. We’ve stayed the

concerns.

course in a time of great change

Q: What are the benefits to a

that clients experience when dealing with a glob- ally-integrated firm. These can range from an increase in client conflicts to the practice of setting firm-wide billing rates based on a single expensive headquarters 5

city. We don’t have such issues. As

the strength and depth office by

is exactly what our clients are telling

independent firms, our members are

office that the Alliance offers.

us they need most. We’re well-

not financially integrated. We work together in a voluntary cooperative model and the impact is that our firms have the freedom to truly focus on client service. Billing rates are set to local standards, conflicts of interest are greatly reduced and our selection process ensures the local firm is first class—not a small branch of a big firm based elsewhere. Secondly, as a delivery model, the Alliance has been very stable. We have firms who have worked together serving the same client in multiple countries for more than a decade. This means when our UK firm refers its British client to our German member, it’s with the knowledge that the two firms know each other well and have previously worked together for many years. This is not

from other legal networks ?

positioned, with the right structure, at the right time.

Advaya Legal • Mumbai, India Belo Belo Gozon Elma Parel Asuncion & Lucila Manila, Philippines Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot PC Anchorage, AK & Washington, DC, USA

The Alliance is unique in several

Q: What’s ahead for the Alliance ?

respects. First, unlike many networks

We are expanding the network in

Blum & Grob Attorneys at Law Ltd • Zurich, Switzerland

which first developed in the US,

North America, Southeast Asia and

Boase Cohen & Collins • Hong Kong

the Alliance began in Continental

Africa. We are also concentrating

Buzescu Ca Attorneys at Law • Bucharest, Romania

Europe and in London and then

on our practice groups in Litigation,

expanded. We have a global

Inter- national trusts and Estates,

orientation.

Real Estate and Construction,

Secondly, the Alliance is exclusive. We have a policy that our member firms may not be in other international networks which are deemed competitive with the Alliance. For our members, the Alliance is truly their firm’s corporate strategy for serving their clients outside their own jurisdiction. This concentrates attention, resources and commitment.

Energy, Health Law, Real Estate and Intellectual Property/ Information

Pérez Duin, Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Abogados Caracas, Venezuela Phillips Friedman Kotler • Montreal, QC, Canada Phillips Nizer LLP • New York, NY, USA

Cornejo Méndez González & Duarte Mexico City, Mexico

R&P China Lawyers • Shanghai, China

D & A Morales y Asociados • Monterrey, Mexico

Ramírez Asociados • Santiago, Chile

De Metz Advocaten • Amsterdam, Netherlands

Raslan Loong • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Evans & Dixon, LLC • St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield & St. Charles, MO, USA

Rich May • Boston, MA, USA Robles & Robles Abogados • Panama City, Panama

Gabler Gibel & Ortner • Vienna, Austria

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt • Portland, OR & Seattle, WA, USA

between firms and helps effectively serve clients in multiple jurisdictions.

Georgiades & Pelides • Nicosia, Cyprus

Russell Kennedy • Melbourne, VIC, Australia

For example, our new International

GM Advogados • Recife, Brazil

Schwartz Junell Greenberg & Oathout LLP Houston, TX, USA

Trusts & Estates Group was created

GSI Meridian • Istanbul, Turkey

Segal Turner & Asociados • Buenos Aires, Argentina

because many of our firms act for

Holec, Zuska & Partners • Prague, Czech Republic

Serrano Puig Abogados • Quito, Ecuador Shugol, Ketzef, Kerner & Co. • Ramat Gan, Israel

This work is often cross-border in

Izabella Zyglicka and Partners Attorneys at Law & Legal Counsels Limited Partnership Katowice & Warsaw, Poland

nature and involves traditional trusts

Jeffrey Green Russell • London, United Kingdom

and estates law as well as business

Kalaidjiev & Georgiev • Sofia, Bulgaria

succession planning.

Kemp Strang • Sydney, NSW, Australia

significant family-owned businesses.

exclusivity comes an expectation of

firm. The results for the client are

excellent service and responsiveness.

For more information on the

improved when a good relationship

As the sole member in a particular

International Alliance of Law Firms,

exists among the member firms. Our

market, our firms understand that

visit ialawfirms.com or contact

Kilroys Solicitors • Dublin, Ireland Kornfeld LLP • Vancouver, BC, Canada Küster Machado Advogados Associados Curibita-Paraná, Brazil Lanza Ceccon e Associati • Milan, Italy

rigorous selection process ensures

they risk the loss of the jurisdictional

Wendy Horn, Executive Director at

Alliance firms are typically among

franchise if they don’t perform with

+ 1 612 454 5242 or by email at

Lapique & Santeugini Abogados Montevideo, Uruguay

the finest full service firms in their

excellence on even the smallest client

[email protected]

Lindmark Welinder • Lund, Sweden

markets. Clients who use the Alliance

matter.

Szabó Keleman & Partners • Budapest, Hungary The Stewart Law Firm, LLLP • Wilmington, DE, USA Thynne & Macartney • Brisbane, QLD, Australia Torkin Manes LLP • Toronto, ON, Canada Varnum LLP Attorneys at Law • Grand Rapids, MI, USA Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen Sarasota, FL, USA Yabuki Law Offices • Tokyo, Japan Your Legal Partners • Athens, Greece

Martí & Associats • Barcelona, Spain McVeagh Fleming • Auckland, New Zealand

a closely-knit organization with a

Melchers Law Firm • Berlin, Frankfurt & Heidelberg, Germany

culture of devoted, collaborative and

Moye White LLP • Denver, CO, USA

client-focused firms. We find that this

Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP Philadelphia, PA, USA

Sameta Tax & Legal Consulting • Moscow, Russia

recent lateral partner in the same

very few international firms that have

Normand & Associés • Paris, France

collaboration and under- standing

by jurisdiction. With jurisdictional

large global law firms. There are

Nordic Law Attorneys-at-Law • Helsinki, Finland

Fernando Fraga e Associados, Sociedade de Advogado • Lisbon, Portugal

partner in a large firm to another

quality sometimes found with the

Nilton Serson Advogados Associados Sao Paulo, Brazil

Technology. These groups increase

Third, we’re generally exclusive

Over the years, this has produced

Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP • Los Angeles, CA, USA

Eurothemis • Brussels, Belgium

a ‘cold referral’ from a re-cent lateral

don’t have the difficulty of variable

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Q: How is the Alliance different

Member firms

Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun Lagos, Nigeria

Much Shelist Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C. Chicago, IL, USA 7

11 Omirou & 1 Vissarionos Str. 10672, Athens, Greece +30 210 3388831 yourlegalpartners.gr

527 Marquette Avenue South, Ste. 1925 Minneapolis, MN USA 55402 tel: +1 612.454.5242 ialawfirms.com