AIJA is the only global association devoted to lawyers and in-house counsel aged 45 and under. Devotion to young lawyers is the first of 3 driving forces I would like to focus on as AIJA’s President.
The legal profession is evolving rapidly. New technologies change the way we work and global challenges require innovative solutions. This impacts law firms and their clients. It impacts lawyers, too.
It is of paramount importance that AIJA continues to be on the forefront of innovation by putting young lawyers in the driver’s seat and enabling them to shape our profession going forward. Leadership does not revolve about being in charge. As a president, I want to support the people who are in charge. AIJA is the sum of its members, and I will put all of those members first.
I want to empower all AIJA members through:
Access – Any young lawyer should be able to join and stay active within AIJA. We need to ensure balanced and affordable events, in person and online, while focusing on different needs for different lawyers in different parts of the world. Structural sponsorships can and will facilitate this. Participation and representation are key, in all commissions. As a former Commission Officer I have experienced how important it is to create a community that lives also in between (in person) events, through regular (online) gatherings or social media, launching or engaging in projects for international clients and encouraging “cross-selling” by putting other members forward for opportunities inside and outside of AIJA or submitting positive peer reviews in legal directories. AIJA is a community of people willing to say each other’s name in a room full of opportunity and I want to help and encourage commissions in continuing to achieve this within their field of practice. Finally, I find it equally important to help young lawyers spread the word on the added value of AIJA membership within their law firms and among their peers, in their own jurisdiction and across the globe.
Content fuelled by legal pioneers – AIJA’s core value is to provide outstanding international opportunities for young lawyers to network, learn and develop. I want to honour this commitment to excellence without compromise, with exceptional and diverse academic content along with networking that is both fun and business-oriented. I want to focus on attracting external speakers and facilitating inhouse legal counsel participation which will drive excellent content and fuel interesting business development opportunities. I would also like to encourage and facilitate joint publications in law reviews and news letters. Finally, I want to leverage the knowledge and expertise of experienced members within AIJA to serve new members through a voluntary mentorship program, thus further developing the currently existing buddy program that the SCILL commission has implemented.
Resilience – Practicing law is a demanding profession. Yet, for many of us, it is the only job we will be doing until (the currently still far-off future of) retirement. For a successful career, lawyers should have in depth expertise, strong commercial insight and efficient management and communication skills. These require training and continuous learning, along with stress management and the ability to get back up after (inevitably) falling down. There are so many tools and support mechanisms available and already used in other professions and personal lives that are still unchartered territory for lawyers. In strong cooperation with the SCILL commission, I want to tap into this potential to prevent lawyers from unwillingly or reluctantly switching to a different career, or for those committed to staying in it, making the ride more enjoyable and enriching than it already is.
The bad news is time flies. The good news however, is that you are the pilot.
