Note that Groups and Associations of individual lawyers (as distinct from firms) are kept
here. There is some overlap between these two
categories (groups of firms and groups of individual lawyers) so it is
worth checking both pages if you are looking for something.
Please note also that the descriptions draw from the words used by the
groups themselves!
Advoc, The
International Network of Independent Lawyers,
provides access to legal services across frontiers, throughout Europe,
Asia and the Middle East.
Appleton Group Legal Network -
a source of expert lawyers and news summaries for
the international legal and business professional.
Association of Commercial
Lawyers International (ACL International) - a network of 38 firms
comprising over 800 lawyers. Member firms around the world offer
advice and a global service to clients. ACL offers clients the
benefits of local representation in a foreign jurisdiction and
local knowledge of cross-border transactions.
Association of European Lawyers
The Association of European Lawyers (AEL) was created in 1989 with the
object of providing readily available expert services across Europe.
Originally established by the combining of resources of five leading law
firms in the UK, a network of correspondent firms throughout Europe has been
developed, offering a broad range of legal services for business, with high
standards of care and efficiency.
Association of Independent European Lawyers
is a network of English speaking legal firms across the EU which refer and interact
on behalf of clients over the various legal systems. Border countries are included and
referrals are available to the expanding Eastern European Markets.
BakerPlatt are a new specialist services group
that consists of both English and Jersey lawyers. Extensively experienced in matters of international
co-operation, compliance and the restitution of the proceeds of crime BakerPlatt brings together the law
firm Baker Associates and the compliance specialists FSCA. They run various training programmes in Jersey
and publish briefings on financial topics such as money laundering on the site.
The Bridge Group is a non-exclusive network of
law firms in the United States, England, France, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic.
The Bridge Group members are all independent firms but they are able to call upon the expertise and services
of other group members in order to most efficiently and professionally represent each client.
CMS is a "transnational"
legal services organisation, involving (in the UK) Cameron McKenna
which now calls itself CMS Cameron McKenna. The site
says "As one of the world's largest legal groups, CMS has the resources
and experience to advise on cross-border transactions and
address multi-jurisdictional legal issues, backed up by strong
domestic practices."
The Commercial Law Group in Europe (CLG)
is an organisation of independent member lawyers in the major centres of Europe.
The group is formally organised through its head office in Dublin. The members are in regular
contact with each other, most of them having worked together since 1992. The present members
are situated in Amsterdam, Athenis, Berlin, Dublin, Duisburg, Geneva, Glasgow, London, Milan,
Paris and Tel Aviv. Expansion is planned to other centres in Europe as a logical consequence
of the groups service ethos. Members represent personally led commercial law firms whose
principle ethos is to provide efficient and co-ordinated legal services to clients seeking legal
and taxation advice internationally.
DLA Group is a
pan-European association of successful legal businesses with a shared vision - to
provide a comprehensive and co-ordinated service to clients, locally and globally.
There are 1,100 lawyers involved in the firms.
EU-LEX is an association of independent lawyers, accountants, tax
advisers and other professionals who know each other well and co-operate
to transact international business cost-effectively and to the highest
professional standards.
It consists of 65 firms of lawyers,
Accountancy firms and/or tax advisors. It also includes a trust
management company and a patent Attorney as associate members.
The Group attaches great importance to regular personal contact between
the members, and this is achieved at biannual conferences, which cover
topical cross- border issues and to which potential members are also
invited.
European Advertising Lawyers Association
is an organization of lawyers located throughout the European Union and in Canada
and the United States wishing to enhance their ability to give advice to clients
involved in cross-border commercial communications. It was one of the first of the
so called "European Economic Interest Groupings" to be formed after they became EC
recognized corporate entities in July 1989. Since then, EALA members have assisted
local, multinational and global advertisers in producing, publishing and distributing
advertising that adheres to differing international legal standards.
Euro Defi EEIG is
the only pan European multi disciplinary network of lawyers and accountants.
There are 17 member firms with 171 partners in 34 towns.
Eurojuris International -
a grouping of over 720 law firms in 18 countries throughout Europe
and Scandinavia and covering 650 different cities/locations. The group
is composed of 18 national EUROJURIS Associations, bringing together
medium-sized law firms from its country.
Euro-Link for Lawyers is now World Link for Law - see below.
European Law Firm -
a grouping of EU law firms and non-EU associate members offering legal services
throughout the European Union, and across its internal and external frontiers.
It brings together some 380 lawyers practising in all areas of business law.
European Law Firms Association -
originally a European group but now a global network. Partners and associates
around the world maintain contact with each other through client work,
individual visits to other offices,
regional meetings of partners and associates, multi-office practice group meetings, meetings of committees of the firm and a
bi-annual meeting of all partners.
The European Legal Alliance is a focused group of
international independent law firms under a single brand. The Alliance comprises Beauchamps in Ireland,
Buse Heberer Fromm in Germany, Dubarry Le Douarin Veil in France, Field Fisher Waterhouse in London,
Harper Macleod LLP in Scotland, Jiménez de Parga Abogados in Spain and La Scala & Associati in Italy.
The group provides clients with legal representation in the major European economies with access to over
220 Partners and over 700 lawyers. The close working relationships and structure of the Alliance meets
the cross-jurisdictional legal needs of their clients, offering a single point of contact for all
their European legal advice.
Fidelis International
is an informal network of law firms whose members satisfy the criteria of being responsive,
commercially minded firms, experienced in handling transactions on behalf of overseas
clients and willing to work quickly and efficiently with other member firms to achieve
clients objectives. Fidelis International enables law firms to provide services to
overseas clients with legal and commercial interests in either the UK, Europe or Worldwide.
Globalaw is a non-exclusive worldwide network of
88 independent law firms, with over 5,000 lawyers located in 69 countries. Its central purpose
is to provide the clients of its members with an international legal resource. Globalaw also
provides local expertise, lawyer exchanges, connections with local business networks and global
friendship. In short, the aim is to develop an effective global legal community.
Globalex (reached via the
Nicholson Graham & Jones site) is an international strategic alliance of
independent law firms.
IAG International is
a multi-disciplinary group, including lawyers, accountants, tax advisors, real
estate advisors, fiduciaries and others. The group is designed for
the business person or private individual with cross border transactions or
investments to execute or manage.
International Correspondence Lawyers is a directory provided
by a German publisher Daten Info Service Eibl GmbH. The directory provides lawyers worldwide with an opportunity
to present their company details, correspondence languages and fields of expertise.
There is also an associated directory of financial advisors and tax consultants.
The site also provides general information on tax rates, legal forms of companies and requirements for
setting up a company in more than 70 countries. There is also a section called Law National Organizations
which lists significant organisations (Bar Associations, Law Societies, Courts, Parliament, legislation)
for all these countries which would be a good starting point for any search relating to legal information.
There is a similar listing of International Law Organizations.
IFLR 1000 is an international legal directory
of the world's leading financial law firms. It ranks firms
that specialise in financial law in 115 jurisdictions, providing information about recommended firms and
highlighting expert individuals. Law firms have the option to take out listings.
Interdebt - a group of
international lawyers who specialize in debt recovery.
International Bar Association,
founded in 1947, is the world's largest international organisation of Law
Societies, Bar Associations and individual lawyers engaged in
international law. It is composed of over 18,000 individual lawyer
members in 183 countries and 173 Law Societies and Bar
Associations together representing more than 2.5 million lawyers.
Interlaw, founded in 1981, is an
international organization of independent law firms. Today its
members number over fifty-four firms and over 3,300 attorneys, with
offices in over one hundred major cities spanning the Americas,
Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific regions.
Interleges - International
Association of independent law firms, with offices across the countries of the
European Union, Eastern Europe, North America, the Middle East and in other
key commercial regions of the world.
The International Business Law Consortium (IBLC) brings together
over 100 independent law, tax and consultancy firms with more than 1300 professionals from across the globe.
Operating under the auspices of the Center for International Legal Studies, the IBLC cultivates and manages
transnational legal knowledge to promote efficient and effective professional services.
IBLC members translate local expertise into transnational capabilities. Each IBLC member firm combines its local
acumen with international perspective and relationships for the effective and efficient delivery of independent
advice and concerted transnational representation -- meaning better results for businesses, communities
and individuals.
The International Bar Association (IBA), established in 1947,
is the world’s leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies.
The IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession
throughout the world.
It has a membership of 30,000 individual lawyers and more than 195 bar associations and law societies
spanning all continents. It has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community.
The International Bar Association pro bono website has been created
by the International Bar Association "to bring together the global community of professionals of every level
who are involved in pro bono legal work on a local and on an international scale." It is a very comprehensive site
with resources (for example, papers from conferences), articles written especially for the web site,
information on events, discussion groups and various useful sets of links to other legal bodies worldwide.
The International Format Lawyers Association (IFLA) was founded in 2004
by specialist media and entertainment lawyers Dr Marc Heinkelein and Jonathan Coad. They identified the need
for the television industry to have access to an international network of leading format lawyers in order
to be able to protect the creative and financial investment that goes into developing internationally successful
television formats.
The IFLA seeks to establish adequate worldwide protection for the multi billion dollar trade in
television formats which has now existed for over 50 years so that the creators,and developers
of television formats receive appropriate recognition and revenue in the form of license fees from this
important source of innovative televison programmes.
All IFLA members will be acknowledged experts in the key fields of copyright, passing off and unfair competition;
they will have substantial experience of the television industry, and the various legal issues arising from format
disputes and transactions. They will also be fluent in English.
IT Law Europe is a network of specialist computer
lawyers covering the European Union, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. The member firms provide legal services
on IT/computer and internet/e-commerce issues and projects.
The network was established in 1989 and is the first and largest of its kind, giving
clients the benefits of speedy access to specialist computer and e-commerce lawyers across Europe.
Ius Laboris is an alliance of leading law firms, providing specialist
services in employment, labor, pensions and employee benefits law primarily
for employers. The Alliance is based in Belgium, covering most of the major
European jurisdictions and North and South America.
Ius laboris now covers 48 cities in 12 countries, with 800 lawyers
specialised in these fast moving areas of law and practice. It is the
largest group of independent and specialist lawyers ever brought together
within this niche practice.
Kent Accident link is made up of 10 leading firms of solicitors
based in Kent. There is information on the site and a map of the locations where the solicitors are based.
All the firms have a Law Society Personal Injury Panel member.
Landwell is a leading
provider of international legal services to organisations around the world,
working with lawyers in over 40 countries. They provide a full range of
business law services and consult with clients to provide effective business solutions.
Law Europe
originally came into existence in 1991 as a very loose grouping
of a number of internationally minded law firms from some of the member
states of the European Union. It soon became clear, however, that its initial
objective, the facilitating of cooperation, would benefit from a more formal
structure and in 1993 Law Europe was registered in England as a European
Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG).
The group currently has members in most states of the European Union
providing representation across Europe and in due course will recruit member
firms in the remaining states. It has also developed strong links with
transatlantic law firms.
LawGroup UK - national network
of independent solicitors' firms. The group comprises more than 80 firms
and over 200 offices throughout the UK with over 1,000 qualified solicitors.
LAWrope was one of the first of the current trend of
international associations of firms which, with a proven track record and a professional reputation,
have coordinated their services to offer a complete and international structure with a quality guarantee.
LawNet is a major grouping
of firms in many locations throughout the United Kingdom,
the Republic of Ireland and the Channel slands.
Law South is group of 10 major firms in the South of England
which aims to promote best practice within the member firms and assist them in fulfilling their business goals.
Each firm in the group is committed to delivering high quality legal services to a range of individual and
commercial clients.
Legal Counsel International
is a network of individual lawyers and law firms which have significant experience
and a practical approach to international business transactions and cross border commercial ventures.
LCI's member lawyers are dedicated to providing creative legal and business solutions
with a high degree of personal service to companies, individuals and law firms worldwide.
Lexicom is a network of independent commercial
law firms based mainly in Europe who have grouped together so as to enhance their legal services to
their clients. They seek to attract new clients who wish for a legal service in different European
jurisdictions who want to use small to medium sized independent legal practices who emphasise
personal service, rather than one large pan-European organisation which may not be so in
tune with the client’s objectives.
LexLINK is an international network of
lawyers engaged in general practise. Each member of LEXLINK is authorised to
practice law within their own country and can provide services there for clients
of other members using at least English as a language to conduct matters of
corporate and business law, international transactions, commercial ligitation,
arbitration and taxation. The members meet annually and otherwise instruct one
another on behalf of clients as and when required.
Lex Mundi is a leading association of independent law firms.
Member firms are present in 160 countries, states and provinces, with more than 21,000 member firm lawyers worldwide.
Membership provides its member firms with extensive global reach and access to legal resources and
expertise that enhance their ability to serve their clients. Working together, Lex Mundi member firms
are able to provide cost-effective solutions for clients just about anywhere on the globe.
Member selection criteria are very stringent.
Each Lex Mundi member firm is committed to uniform service standards that provide clients
with consistency and confidence.
Logos - a network of independent
law firms in Europe. With one law firm in each of 12 countries of the European Union
and contacts in the other three, LOGOS can assist any business or law firm
around the world that needs legal support in Europe.
Mackrell International is one of the world's first, and most
innovative, associations of independent lawyers. Its global network of more than 55 law firms in 32 countries
is committed to providing immediate legal advice and assistance wherever in the world it is needed.
Law firms are only invited to join if they have demonstrated through working with existing members
that their expertise and concern for clients matches the organisation's exacting standards of integrity and competence.
Meritas is a worldwide alliance of nearly 200
independent business law firms with a 12-year record of successful cooperation. Meritas
firms offer clients the ability to access high quality legal service worldwide supported by
a common technology platform. The firms are subject to a rigorous selection and ongoing monitoring process.
Motor Accident
Solicitors Society (MASS) is an association of solicitors' firms
with experience and expertise in the handling of motor accident claims.
Member firms are located throughout the UK. The site provides a list
of firms which are part of MASS and which can be searched
by region.
MSI Global Alliance (previously MSI Legal & Accounting Network Worldwide)
is one of the world's largest networks of independent legal and accounting firms, with over 250 member
firms in 100 countries throughout Africa, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.
MSI was formed in 1990 in response to the growing need for cross-border co-operation
between professional service firms.
National Solicitors Network -
a leading network of independent solicitors' practices with
over 500 member offices throughout England and Wales which is setting new
standards in the provision of high quality, reasonably priced, legal
services to private, institutional and corporate clients.
Osborne Clarke Alliance is
an alliance of some of Europe's leading commercial law firms who work together
like a single firm. There are over 550 lawyers in 15 cities throughout Europe, plus Silicon Valley
and St Petersburg. They specialise in corporate finance, private equity
and M&A, as well as other commercial services, primarily to the technology, media and telecoms sectors.
Pannone Law Group was founded in November 1988
by lawyers from Great Britain, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy and was Europe's first integrated
international law practice taking the form of a European Economic Interest Grouping and working mainly
in the area of business law. The Group
brings together 700 lawyers, as well as civil law notaries, who offer quality advice throughout the
European Union, as well as in many other countries, including Brazil and Canada.
Proteus is an association of law firms providing
a multilingual network of international lawyers with a high level of legal expertise within the European
jurisdictions in which they practice. Individually, each member firm prides itself on its proficiency
and technical expertise as well as familiarity with local custom and practice.
Together they have assembled legal and business experience that enables the Proteus member firms to
provide an integrated pan-European legal service to their clients.
Solicitors for Independent Financial Advice
is open to all law firms which are authorised to conduct investment business or
are proposing to become authorised and to firms of financial advisors which
are owned by firms of solicitors.
Tax Planet is a global network of legal and accounting
professionals focusing on tax (domestic and international). International tax work without a global team
of professionals is virtually impossible, even for SMEs and individuals.
Tax Planet strives to achieve a global presence in numerous countries with the size of the team in
proportion to a country's size, complexity and international impact.
The site has a research section containing mainly tax and tax-related links and information on countries,
international organisations and global issues. There are many deep-links to selected pages with
useful contents to facilitate research work.
Transatlantic Law International
is a specialized international business law service with offices and affiliates throughout Europe,
as well as in New York, whose focus is to provide cost effective, business and legal solutions for U.S.
and European companies and investors seeking growth, investment or restructuring of operations in the
European region (including Eastern Europe and the Middle East).
With a full range of legal and related business services, they are specialized in cross border mergers
and acquisitions, restructurings and corporate projects, as well as in managing general commercial and
regulatory needs consistently across borders.
World Link for Law
(formerly Euro-Link for Lawyers) is a leading international association of law firms.
It was established as Euro-Link for Lawyers in the late 1980s and now comprises a network
of 50 law firms with 56 offices in 32 countries worldwide. It is one of the largest
international law networks in the world. Legally, it is formed as an association in Zurich
and there is also a regional centre firm in Hong Kong. The site provides free business
information (country by country) in relation to company formation options,
debt collection and enforcement, commercial property acquisition and labour law.
Note to any Groups of Firms:
* If you would like a signpost here
(free of charge), please email me:
