EYBA SPRING CONFERENCE - COPENHAGEN 13-14 MARCH 2009

The 2009 edition of the EYBA Spring Conference took place in “Wonderful Copenhagen”, on 13th and 14th March.

Delegates from across Europe and overseas who arrived in Copenhagen on Thursday evening had the opportunity of meeting before the conference programme kicked off, at an informal welcome drinks evening at the trendy 1105 cocktail bar very close to StrØget, the most famous shopping street in Copenhagen.

It was an opportunity for delegates to relax, to catch-up with old friends they had not met in a while and also to get to know new people, in an informal and cosy atmosphere.

On Friday morning after some much needed coffee the conference was officially opened with a welcome from Mrs. Simona Oliskeviciute-Ciceniene, EYBA President and by Mr. Martin Cumberland, Vice President of FAAF (Danish Association of Attorneys and Assistant Attorneys.

The delegates had immediately the opportunity of familiarizing themselves with the host country and a different legal environment.

The morning session started with a detailed introduction about “Living & Working as a lawyer in Denmark” by Sys Rovsing, President of the Danish Law Society and Henrik Rothe, General Secretary of the Danish Law Society. In particular  the attendees learned about the Danish legal education system, about the Danish qualification process to be admitted to the Danish Bar and how  to be admitted to the Danish Bar if you are a lawyer from another EU Member State.

After a short coffee break the second part of the conference continued with a presentation by Malene W. Plas, of Danske Advokater, who is also a Partner at Lind & Cadovius Law Firm. Her presentation focused on a topic of major global relevance nowadays - the effects of financial downturn and how it has effected Denmark as a place to do business, with particular attention on how Denmark is trying to tackle the current economic crisis in order to offer still good opportunities for foreign inward investment.

At 1:00 p.m. a sumptuous buffet lunch was hosted at the Marriott Hotel, where the conference was taking place, and foreign delegates had a significant networking opportunity to exchange their views with a number of Danish lawyers who were also in attendance. That was extremely appreciated due to the sensitivity of the matter of discussion and to the global character of its effects.
 
The afternoon session was entirely dedicated to the great expertise of Mr. Richard R. Gesteland, who kept the audience’s attention for hours, dealing with Patterns of cross-cultural negotiating behaviour, and the importance of being aware of your counterpart’s behaviour and cultural environment in order to conduct a truly successful negotiation. After an eye opening introduction, the participants were immediately involved in the first of three Skills Training sessions, during which they were split into group and had to analyze some true and relevant  cases. After each group discussion the results were debated among all the attendees under Mr Gesteland’s guidance. The afternoon was conducted by alternating theory and skills training sessions and group discussions, and it ended with an unforgettable presentation about “Preparation, Presentation, and Debriefing of a Negotiation”.

The session conducted by Mr. Gesteland was absolutely the highlight of the educational part of the event! All the participants expressed their highest appreciation for the ability of the speaker and for the significance of the subject matter for a lawyer in today’s global legal marketplace.

Before heading for the dinner & dancing at Park Café in the Østerbro area of Copenhagen, the participants were welcomed at Lund Elmer Sandager, a Copenhagen law firm and one of our sponsors, for a champagne reception.

At Park Café the delegates enjoyed a drinks reception followed by an Italian style buffet where they had the chance to network and discuss the highlights of the conference. After dinner the group finished the evening in the club area of Park Café and danced the night away.
 
Saturday morning was especially important for the EYBA Member Groups. During the EYBA European Committee Meeting, the executive committee presented:

  • The Long-term strategy and activities plan;
  • The Management Structure and Executive Officers’ Manuals;
  • The renewed format of Eurolawyer.

It was a very constructive session, which allowed attending representatives from EYBA Member Group to have a clear picture of the current and planned future activities of EYBA. The meeting was concluded by a very positive debate about how to improve the EYBA activities in the near future. A delicious buffet lunch was then served at the restaurant of IDA building, a very pleasant environment overlooking the waterfront!
 
The delegates had free time in the afternoon, a well deserved opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing of Copenhagen and to enjoy a burst of sunlight!

The attendees met again for a wonderful dinner at Bistroen KBH, where international cuisine flavoured with a Danish touch is the house speciality.

In a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere foreign and local lawyers enjoyed food and wine whilst networking and socialising, giving them the chance to build new contacts and strengthen existing friendships. The extremely pleasant evening was concluded at a club nearby, where after  many hours of dancing time the young European lawyers said goodbye and promised to see each other again soon for the AGM in June.

See you all soon in Amsterdam!   

Gabriella Geatti
EYBA Executive Officer for Marketing & Communication