Ally Law 1990 – 2020

1990 – 2020

Beyond Boundaries

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Björn Welinder Lindmark Welinder, Sweden Ally Law President 2019 – 2021

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Ally Law 1990 – 2020 A History to Celebrate, a Future to Anticipate Where were you 30 years ago? I have many fond memories of our beginnings, with groups of early members, enjoying dinner or in discussions, getting to know each other, talking of common clients and strategizing about our new, international network of law firms.

Sometimes when we look at decisions made in the past, we may say, “Never in my wildest dreams…” For me to say such a thing about the founding of our network would be somewhat dishonest as I always had high hopes for our organization. But Ally Law in 2020 has surpassed my ideas about where we would be today.

The growth of our global network, the quality of our member firms and delegates, our ability to serve clients capably and effectively around the world… these are all the things I hoped our network would become, and more. We have every reason to celebrate our successes and to take pride in the accomplishments and contributions of all of our member firms these past three decades.

The majority of you who are reading this message were not gathered in our early meetings, some 30 years ago. In fact, a significant number of you may have been children and teenagers sitting at your family’s

dining table, doing schoolwork, eating meals and dreaming about your futures. And that is a wonderful thing, because here you are today.

You are the future of Ally Law! Of all of our network’s strengths — talented lawyers, energetic, innovative law firms, a commitment to quality and client service — one of our most important assets has been our ability to take a clear-eyed look at what is coming down the road and to prepare ourselves and our clients for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The initiatives we are pursuing today, including our newest members, our Young Leaders Development Program, our innovation forums, our Zoom conferences, our new website and new technology tools - all contribute to our strong, real-world network grounded in personal relationships and collaboration.

The future of Ally Law depends on all of you.

Please know that I could not be more confident in your capabilities and your leadership. As I look ahead to the next 30 years — and in my wildest dreams — I see a new generation of leaders who will take us to even higher heights.

Thank you all for 30 wonderful years. Here’s to 30 more.

Björn Welinder

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1990

2020

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Ally Law was built on a simple premise—that global legal services providers can be results-oriented and cost-effective.

Beyond Boundaries Our 70+ independent law firms and 2,800+

Close coordination among member firms

professionals provide comprehensive legal

allows our group to better service business

services to major corporations worldwide.

clients with their worldwide legal needs.

As an organization of mid-size, local law

Ally Law has an extensive process to screen

firms, Ally Law has eliminated the expensive overhead found in the largest law firms, so that attention and resources can be focused

members and monitor their service through regular evaluation by clients. Members must demonstrate consistent client satisfaction to

where it counts—providing the best legal

remain in Ally Law.

advice possible.

This allows clients using Ally Law member firms the comfort of knowing their legal work will be handled reliably and consistently around the world.

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First AGM

March 15, London London Toronto Edinburgh New York Dublin Los Angeles Montreal Mumbai Vienna Munich Amsterdam Copenhagen Tel Aviv Lisbon Lund

‌firm attendees

03.1990 01.2007 03.2016

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London Toronto Torkin Manes Edinburgh New York Dublin Los Angeles Montreal Mumbai Vienna Gibel Zirm Munich Amsterdam Copenhagen ‌are still members Tel Aviv Lisbon Lund Lindmark Welinder

Association of Commercial Lawyers, ACL International

International Alliance of Law Firms

Ally Law

Lawyers

Business referrals

Business centers

Countries

Member firms

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Our new name: International Alliance of Law Firms. First Asia Pacific AGM, Auckland/AU.

Meeting to organize Association of Commercial Lawyers International held Nov. 17 in London.

First AGM in London – Torkin Manes, ON/CA, Gibel Zirm, Austria and Lindmark Welinder, Sweden.

19 8 9

Berlin Wall comes down Nov. 9

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19 9 0

World Wide Web prototyped

19 9 3

The EU is founded

ACL creates its first marketing materials and website.

19 94

NAFTA treaty signed

20 03

LinkedIn debuts

2 0 07

iPhone debuts

Microsoft launches Outlook AOL is created

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Liftoff selected to run the Secretariat; IALF operations move to the USA + Executive Director joins.

20th Anniversary: Alliance Day competition held on September 2.

Lindmark Welinder wins!

Pilot project launched to test a client-directed marketing initiative.

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2 010

Chilean miners rescued WikiLeaks

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2 011

Arab Spring

2 013

Nelson Mandela dies

International Alliance of Law Firms (IALF) rebranded as Ally Law. Global Matters Blog launched.

30th Anniversary; First virtual AGM and regional conference. COVIDAlly launched.

First Annual Client Conference launched in conjunction with the AGM, New York – 175 attendees!

2 016

Rio hosts the Summer Olympics

2 017

Brexit

2020

Covid

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Ally Law “More and more, our clients’ expectations are that their local law firm should be able to deal with issues across the globe. Sophisticated clients demand that firms, such as ours, be a member of an association, so that all of their legal needs can be met.”

David Gross Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot AK/USA “Being part of a high-quality international network allows us to get on the radar of multi/international clients and allows us to stay relevant with existing clients who are internationally expanding their business, without losing our local roots and identity.”

Karel Mortier Lallemand Legros & Joyn Belgium “ Legal networks are a good source when one needs a recommendation in other jurisdictions.”

Alamo Laiman Legisperitus Indonesia

“Ally Law provides a happy medium for midsized law firms such as ours. We wanted to expand our regional presence but did not want to join a multinational firm. Membership in a legal network offers a perfect solution, enabling us to expand our contacts, referrals and marketing tools while also allowing us to maintain the independence and commitment to quality that inspired us to launch our firm in the first place.”

Juan Pablo Cardinal Richards, Cardinal, Tützer, Zabala, Zaefferer Argentina “The lockdown forced millions around the world to work from their home. Ally Law helped us know that we were each doing our best to cope with a difficult situation. Legal networks serve as a psychological support network for their members, especially when lawyers are separated from their immediate colleagues.”

Paola Sangiovanni Gitti and Partners Italy “Ally Law enables midsize firms such as ours to deliver the type of quality and value multinational companies expect from law firms.

In the end, we can offer our clients a costeffective alternative to Big Law.” Mathieu Shapiro Obermayer PA/USA

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“Legal networks are a great way to retain a better understanding of the broader legal world and give us a look into the future, how China’s legal market will develop and what we can do as a law firm to stay ahead of the curve.”

Maarten Roos R&P China Lawyers China “ Networks offer better value for money as they do not have to support the huge infrastructure or high overheads associated with a large law firm.

Consistency in quality of service between firms is addressed robustly at Ally Law with our regular internal evaluation mechanism and client feedback for existing members, and in our due diligence concerning new firms.

Networks are disrupters to the international law firm model in the same way that Uber is to the taxi industry, Airbnb is to the hotel industry and Facebook and Twitter are to the news and media scene.”

Colin Cohen Boase Cohen & Collins Hong Kong

“ Our clients rely upon us to be able to assist them in all aspects of their business whether that is local, national, or international. Much Shelist cannot provide that assistance without having trusted “partners” in key geographic locations throughout the world.”

Marty O’Hara Much IL/USA “The world is interconnected; our clients operate in many jurisdictions. Being in a network allows us to deliver solutions in multiple jurisdictions at the same time…”

Ansis Spridzāns Spridzans Law Office Latvia “Ally Law certainly fills a need in the legal market.

Boutique corporate firms, often founded by former lawyers at the largest law firms, have begun challenging the largest law firms for the most sought-after matters.”

Michael Park Hankyul Law Group South Korea

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In deep appreciation

Claude Blum 2001 – 2003

Xavier Marti 2005 – 2007

Darryl Mann 2007 – 2009

Monica Fitzgerald 2009 – 2011

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Presidents

Colin Cohen 2011 – 2013

Michael Gorton 2013 – 2015

Alfonso González Uribe 2017 – 2019

Björn Welinder 2019 – 2021

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Regional meetings

Firms

1991 Berlin, Germany

Austria

Gibel Zirm

1992 Edinburgh, Scotland

Bahrain

Al Jabal Consultancy

Belgium

Lallemand Legros & Joyn

Bulgaria

Kalaidjiev & Georgiev

1997 Athens, Greece

Cyprus

Georgiades & Pelides

1998 Limassol, Cyprus

Czech Republic

Holec Zuska & Partners

1999 Milan, Italy

Denmark

TVC Law Firm

England – Wales

Edwin Coe LLP

1993 Paris, France 1994 Zurich, Switzerland 1995 Madrid, Spain

2000 Barcelona, Spain 2001 Munich, Germany 2002 Lund, Sweden

Finland Applex

2003 Helsinki, Finland

France Alerion

2004 London, England

Germany

Melchers

2005 Istanbul, Turkey

Greece

Your Legal Partners

Hungary

KCG Partners

2008 Copenhagen, Denmark

Israel

Lipa Meir & Co

2009 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Italy

Gitti and Partners

2010 Sofia, Bulgaria

Latvia

Spridzans Law Office

Malta

WH Partners

Mauritius

Lallemand Legros & Joyn

2014 Prague, Czech Republic

Netherlands

De Metz Advocaten

2015 Marrakech, Morocco

Nigeria

Adepetun Caxton - Martins Agbor Segun

2916 Warsaw, Poland

Poland

Izabella Ĺťyglicka

Portugal

Teixeira de Freitas, Rodrigues & Associados

Spain

Marti & Associats

Sweden

Lindmark Welinder

Switzerland

Blum & Grob Attorneys at Law Ltd

Ukraine

Dynasty Legal

2006 St Helier, Channel Islands 2007 Lisbon, Portugal

2011 Eilat, Israel 2012 Vienna, Austria 2013 Moscow, Russia

2017 Dubai, India 2018 Paris, France 2019 Valletta, Malta

United Arab Emirates Kalbian Hagerty 16

Regional strength: EMEA

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Regional meetings

Firms

1992 Los Angeles, USA

Canada Alberta Quebec British Columbia Ontario

Bryan & Company Spiegel Sohmer Kornfeld Torkin Manes

Mexico Mexico City NL

Cornejo Méndez González & Duarte D & A Morales & Asociados SC

South America Argentina

Brazil Chile Colombia Uruguay Peru Venezuela

Richards Cardinal Tützer Zabala Zaefferer Cascione Pulino Boulos Advogados Arteaga | Gorziglia Cuberos Cortés Gutiérrez Lapique & Santeugini Santiváñez Abogados Perez Duin, Gutierrez & Rodriguez

USA Alaska Northern California Southern California Colorado Delaware Florida Illinois Kansas Massachusetts Michigan Missouri Nebraska Nevada New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Texas Utah Washington Washington, DC

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Berliner Cohen LLP Musick Peeler Moye White Stewart Law Williams Parker Much Evans & Dixon Rich May Varnum Evans & Dixon Evans & Dixon Fabian VanCott Phillips Nizer Smith Anderson Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease Fabian VanCott Summit Law Group Kalbian Hagerty

1993 Chicago, USA 1994 Toronto, Canada 1995 Tortola, British

Virgin Islands 1997 New York, USA 1998 Richmond, USA 1999 New York, USA 2000 Chicago, USA 2002 Vancouver, Canada 2003 Houston, USA 2004 Monterrey, Mexico 2005 Montreal, Canada 2006 Denver, USA 2007 Richmond, USA 2008 Montevideo, Uruguay 2009 Boston, USA 2010 Recife, Brazil 2011 Aspen, USA 2012 Philadelphia, USA 2013 Los Angeles, USA 2014 Sao Paulo, Brazil 2015 Sarasota, USA 2016 St. Louis, USA 2017 San Jose, USA 2018 Montreal, Canada 2019 Grand Rapids, USA

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Regional strength: Americas

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Regional meetings

Firms

2006 Hong Kong

Australia QLD VIC NSW WA

Thynne & Macartney Russell Kennedy Russell Kennedy Civic Legal

China Hong Kong Shanghai + Beijing

Boase Cohen & Collins R&P China Lawyers

2007 Sydney 2008 Kuala Lumpur 2009 Brisbane, Australia 2010 Tokyo, Japan 2011 Auckland, Australia 2012 Shanghai, China 2013 Singapore 2014 Sydney, Australia 2015 Mumbai, India 2016 Bangkok, China 2017 Perth, Australia 2018 Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam 2019 Hong Kong, China

India Advaya Legal Indonesia Legisperitus Lawyers Japan Blakemore & Mitsuki Malaysia Raslaan Loong, Shen & Eow New Zealand McVeagh Fleming Philippines ZGLaw Singapore A. Ang Seah & Hoe South Korea Hankyul Law Group Taiwan Formosan Brothers Thailand Duensing Kippen Vietnam LNT Partners

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Regional strength: Asia Pacific

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Thank you to our committees

Executive Members

Vice Presidents

President Björn Welinder Lindmark Welinder Sweden

Erich Gibel Gibel Zirm Austria

Executive Director Wendy Horn YUC/MX First Vice President Paul Franke Moye White LLP CO/USA Treasurer Andrew Parlour Russell Kennedy VIC/AU Secretary Roger Franklin Edwin Coe LLP United Kingdom

Ronald Hack Evans & Dixon MO/USA Marc Landis Phillips Nizer NY/USA Ewa Lejman Izabella Żyglicka Poland Martin O’Hara Much IL/USA James Turner McVeagh Fleming New Zealand Paola Sangiovanni Gitti and Partners Italy Ramesh Vaidyanathan Advaya Legal India

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Expansion Committee

Finance Committee

Marketing Committee

Colin Cohen, Chair Boase Cohen & Collins Hong Kong

Andrew Parlour, Treasury Russell Kennedy VIC/AU

Paul Franke, Chair Moye White CO/USA

Craig Andrews McVeagh Fleming New Zealand

Eric Krathwohl Rich May MA/USA

Katerina Christodoulou Your Legal Partners Greece

Alfonso Gonzalez Uribe, Cornejo Méndez González & Duarte CMX/MX

Erich Gibel Gibel Zirm Austria

Jerrold Kippen Duensing Kippen Thailand

David Pilotto Much IL/USA

Maarten Roos R+P China Lawyers China

Bodo Vinnen Melchers Germany

Robin Tabbers R+P China Lawyers China

Robert Korne Spiegel Sohmer QC/CA

Andre Wahrenberger, Blum&Grob Attorneys at Law Ltd Switzerland

James Turner McVeagh Fleming New Zealand

Marc Landis Phillips Nizer LLP NY/USA

James Turner McVeagh Fleming New Zealand

Marta Marti, Marti & Associats Spain

Alex Liu Boase Cohen & Collins Hong Kong

Pedro Gutierrez Perez Duin Venezuela Jim Hagerty Kalbian Hagerty DC/USA

Mark O’Connor Rich May MA/USA Fred Schubkegel Varnum LLP MI/USA Russel Shear Edwin Coe LLP United Kingdom Maximillian Zirm Gibel Zirm Austria Ramesh Vaidyanathan Advaya Legal India

Maximilian Zirm Gibel Zirm Austria Policy Committee Members Roger Franklin, Chair Edwin Coe LLP United Kingdom Bjorn Welinder, President Lindmark Welinder Sweden Ron Hack, Director Evans & Dixon MO/USA Marc Maskell Thynne & Macartney QLD/AU Gary Copelovitz Lipa Meir & Co Israel Paul Franke Moye White CO/USA 23

1998 Toronto, Canada

2007 Vancouver, Canada

2013 Seattle, USA

1991 Montreal, Canada 1994 Newmarket-on-Fergus, Ireland 2002 Paris, France 2011 Barcelona, Spain

2010 Chicago, USA 2001, 2016 New York, USA 1993 Santa Monica, USA

1995 Brussels, Belgium 1992 Eindhoven, Netherlands 2005 Zurich, Switzerland 2008 Heidelberg, Germany

2004 Buenos Aires, Argentina

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2003 Edinburgh, Scotland 1989, 1999, 2017 London, England 2000 Oslo, Norway 1990 Stockholm, Sweden 2019 Lund, Sweden 1997 Vienna, Austria 2014 Athens, Greece 1996 Jerusalem, Israel

2015 Shanghai, PRC 2009 Hong Kong 2018 New Delhi, India

AGMs 2012 Melbourne, Australia 2006 Auckland, New Zealand

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AGMs

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Our next

Decade

“I don’t see a future for mid-sized, independent law firms without participation in a legal network. It allows us to be competitive with multinational firms. If we increase the bidirectional flow of referrals, internationalize our teams, and add new, high-quality firms to Ally Law’s membership, we will see positive growth in client work across all of our network firms.”

Christophe Gerschel Alerion France “In the face of stiff competition by multinational law firms, accounting firms and other providers of the future, legal networks must be able to provide fluid, effective service. Member firms and their individual lawyers must be highly professional, fast and economical. With established service standards, predetermined agreements, and effective use of technology across member firms, networks can provide the type of one-stop-shop their clients seek, particularly in sophisticated, non-commodified areas of law.”

Alon Pomeranc Lipa Meir & Co Israel

“Digital innovation is the key to Ally Law’s future, allowing us to manage clients across multiple jurisdictions and giving member firms greater opportunity to communicate with clients and cross-sell.”

Colin Cohen Boase Cohen & Collins Hong Kong “ The main challenge will be in developing clients using new technology and communications platforms. The winner will have the best resources for doing so. We will need to invest massively in new technology, which will put pressure on cashflow.”

Caesar Loong Raslan Loong, Shen & Eow Indonesia

“COVID-19 and the growing social justice movement have made it clear that the world is changing. The advantage of a legal network is that we can take those differences into account, in terms of how Ally Law is organized, how our member firms work together, how we can help each other make positive changes in our own firms, and how we use that knowledge to help our clients.”

Paul Franke Moye White CO/USA

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Member predictions on what lies ahead “ It is important that member firms work together to develop standardized proposals, invoices and contracts, so that the one-stop-shop experience is indistinguishable from that of a global firm. This can also help member firms become more productive.”

Carsten Lutz Melchers Germany “We must be more proactive in how we communicate and collaborate with each other, whether that means handling a single transaction, preparing a combined pitch, or presenting a subject-matter- or industryfocused webinar.”

Eric Krathwohl Rich May MA/USA “ To succeed, legal networks need active management, careful selection of new members, a continued commitment to quality by existing members, exclusivity in jurisdictions, and a requirement to see each other regularly.

Clients don’t necessarily need to see all the ingredients in the sauce, but they need to know it’s there for them.”

Mike Saber Smith Anderson NC/USA

“Professionals will be more free to choose where they work, results achieved will be more important than long hours in the office, practice areas will be varied and balanced, and flexibility and innovation will be important values.”

Paola Sangiovanni Gitti and Partners Italy “We’ve learned that technology can allow for greater, more expanded collaboration. We’ve also been required to become more adaptable and agile, not just in how we manage our own firms but in how we help clients. Even after the pandemic ends, we will likely travel less and work from home offices more often — but we will have learned how to do so much more effectively.”

Andrew Parlour Russell Kennedy VIC/AU “ Even in an era of globalization — especially as we become more global — we need human relationships. So while we have come up with creative ways to stay connected to our clients when other types of face-to-face meetings are off the table, I expect that you will see real-time interactions bounce back as soon as health and public safety can be assured.”

Allan Bronstein Torkin Manes ON/CA

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Tomorrow’s leaders

Ally Law knows that strong organizations must invest in the future. In 2020, Ally launched the Young Leaders Development Program, which helps future Ally Law leaders learn how to approach business networking. Through a series of live, online, interactive workshops and individual coaching sessions, future delegates develop relationships with their peers across Ally Law. While they hone their business development and time management skills, the program creates an environment in which participants and their colleagues have deep confidence in each other and are pleased to create and share referral opportunities.

”I started thinking of my business development as a task, and not as something that will happen someday.” ”It’s interesting in how even though we live in different parts of the world, we have a lot in common.”

“The program is a great opportunity to meet people with similar life experiences, that could turn into both great friendships and great business opportunities.”

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2020 Young Leaders Graduates

Young Leaders 2020 Mythri Reddy Edwin Coe LLP United Kingdom

Michael Thom Obermayer PA/USA

Giles Podeur Alerion France

Sean Dolan Evans & Dixon MO/USA

Maria Del Pilar Olaso Richards Cardinal Argentina

Peter Helby TVC Law Firm Denmark

Marco Bertucci Gitti and Partners Italy

Justin Truesdale Smith Anderson NC/USA

Sebastian Petrack Melchers Germany

Kamila Spalinska Izabella Ĺťyglicka Poland

Ada Danelo Summit Law WA/USA

Laura Davis Summit Law WA/USA

Adrienn Megyesi KCG Partners Hungary

Erin Klug Varnum MI/USA

Allison Lee Boase Cohen & Collins Hong Kong

Maria Stakovska Lindmark Welinder Sweden

Patrick Massa WH Partners Malta

Sumana Murthy Phillips Nizer NY/USA

Zaki Robbins Moye White CO/USA

Prokopis Linardos Your Legal Partners Greece

Suzanne Rieschieck Russell Kennedy VIC/AU

Ursha Magajne Much IL/USA

Marta Marti Marti & Associats Spain

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“ A strong legal network is more than a piece of paper with a list of names. It is an organization based on professional knowledge and personal friendships between clients, delegates and memberfirm lawyers. It is built on a foundation of trust and a well-earned reputation for excellence. Above all, it grows and evolves.“ Björn Welinder, Lindmark Welinder

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ally-law.com

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