International Corporate Counsel College Announces Special Guest Speakers

2011 IADC International Corporate Counsel College
Special Guest Speakers

Guy Canivet
Member of the French Constitutional Council, former Chief Justice of the Cour de Cassation (the French Supreme Court), former Presiding Judge of the Paris Court of Appeal

In a global economy, is there still room for the coexistence of legal systems as different as civil law and common law? At a time when UK or New York law seem to have taken over as the governing law of many major international contracts and tend to dominate today's business world, Guy Canivet, the former Chief Justice of the French Cour de Cassation and a current member of the French Constitutional Council, will explain why civil law systems still have a future as an efficient and modern legal system.

Carol Xueref
General Counsel of Essilor, Member of the French Competition Authority, former Chair of the Cercle Montesquieu (French Association of In-house Counsel)

The recent Akzo Nobel decision of the European Court of Justice has drawn attention to the status of European in-house counsel in terms of privilege and confidentiality. French in-house counsel are in a particular position as they do not benefit from any of the protection generally granted to lawyers. How can they properly do their job and serve the corporations that employ them if they are treated as standard employees? In a global environment, how can they interact with their international colleagues? Is a change of status required and is this going to happen any time soon?

Carol Xueref, General Counsel of a leading French company doing business around the world and former Chair of the French leading association of in-house counsel, will provide precious insight into this topic.


Robert Bennett
Hogan Lovells LLP, Washington, District of Columbia USA

From the Washingtonian litigation rings to the International Corporate Counsel College in Paris, Bob Bennett, who has represented Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones/Monica Lewinsky case as well as many other famous clients in almost every high-profile dispute related to the elite of US politics over the last decades, will tell us stories about his most memorable cases and the practice of the law.


NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
There will be a Luncheon as well as a Cocktail Reception and Dinner on Thursday, 6 October for registered attendees and their guests. Also, the IADC is holding a Regional Meeting reception sponsored by the International Committee on Wednesday, October 5 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the conference hotel. These events provide the chance to network with fellow IADC members and their clients in an intimate environment to engage in candid discussions that will offer tremendous insight to issues that may affect your practice.