Zen & The Art of Legal Networking : Lawyers & Attorneys in an International Legal Network for Relationships & Referrals

Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Dimpy Mohanty of our member firm LexCounsel Law Offices in New Delhi, India.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Responsive and business-oriented.

Who would be your typical client?
One looking for advice which is well-rounded and covers diverse practice areas. 

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
That we at LexCounsel offer practical solutions based on, but not bogged down by a narrow reading of, law. 

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
A transaction involving the transfer of an educational institution to a client. Other than the complexity of the matter stemming from the education sector being a highly regulated sector, the matter required bringing in the skills of a UN diplomat! The older generation of the transferring family was (i) sentimentally attached to the institution which they had founded and hence prone to heart stopping frequent doubts, and (ii) being ignorant of the due diligence process, regarded every request for information and documents as an act of distrust and invasion of privacy.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
There has been so much joy, but the proudest I believe it is still to come.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
Read, travel, watch the world.

What would surprise people most about you?
Initially, that I am a woman - since my name is not suggestive of my gender. Later, that I have an inordinate capacity for and store of trivia.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
It’s the fellowship which ensures that you seek out fellow ILN members even at non-ILN events – the most recent being chasing down a fellow member through five days, multiple venues and over 3000 delegates at the IBA conference to meet finally on the last day.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
Public Relations, Writing, Mystery Shopping or a combination of all three.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Sandra Bullock.

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who could be counted on.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Thomas Büchli of our member firm Schmidt, Jaton & Associés in Geneva, Switzerland.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Our firm offers tailor-made and comprehensive solutions that also work in practice. 

Who would be your typical client? 
Life is so varied, that there is no typical client. 

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you? 
Everything they may consider important for them to work with me. 

What has been your most challenging case? Why? 
The one I am working on now, and in the past, when I worked for a princess in trouble. 

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer? 
When a former adverse party engaged me as its new lawyer. 

What do you do when you’re not practicing law? 
I listen to Mahlers' and Bruckners' wonderful musical landscapes.

What would surprise people most about you? 
That I am terribly scared of lightning, but always look at it. 

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
A lunch in Vienna in 2010 with very funny ILN colleagues. 

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer? 
A choreographer or music-director, since I am a conductor of wind bands. 

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you? 
I think that Woody Allen could probably show perfectly the complexity of my life...

How would you like to be remembered? 
I hope this question comes much too early...Today, I would say as somebody who did it "his way." 

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Bill Holder of our member firm Clark Wilson in Vancouver, Canada.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
I am engaged in the practice of business litigation with about 50% of my files involving real estate/commercial tenancy disputes and the other 50% being larger collection matters. 

Who would be your typical client? 
Real estate developers, commercial landlords/shopping centers, and international creditors.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you? 
I've been with my firm for just over 30 years - this experience allows me to offer efficient and practical advice.   

What has been your most challenging case? Why? 
For the past 8 years, I've been representing an elderly couple who are trying to obtain judicial recognition of a 999 year lease of a waterfront property in my Province's lake district.  The legal issues are complex, but my clients are, in my opinion, in the right. It's just one of those cases I personally feel we have to win. The law must find a way to help them. 

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer? 
I mentored a junior associate in taking her first case to trial. She was nervous, but only because she didn't recognize the talent she possessed. I'll always remember the look on her face when she was successful. An advocate was born, and I don't think she ever looked back. 

What do you do when you’re not practicing law? 
I spend most of my free time enjoying life with my wife and three children.  During a rare pause in the action, I'll hide in the modest wine cellar in the basement of our home. 

What would surprise people most about you? 
I am a sandan (third degree) black belt in the Shito-Ryu style of traditional Japanese karate. I teach at a local dojo each week where one of my sons is an advanced student. 

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
I wouldn't point to a single ILN experience as being the most memorable - I am very grateful to have participated in a number of wonderful conferences. The most singular idea that strikes me at every ILN get together is the common bond we all share as lawyers.  I leave each conference impressed by the wonderful individuals who make up our organization. 

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer? 
It's a toss up between being a chef or a winery owner. 

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you? 
Brad Pitt and Daniel Craig have already offered their services. 

How would you like to be remembered? 
What, I'm going somewhere?

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose longtime ILN member and Director, Marc Udink of our member firm Udink & De Jong in the Hague, the Netherlands.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Banking & Restructuring. All turn around issues in almost every industry. 

Who would be your typical client? 
Upper middle market CEO's and CFO's and non-executive board members. 

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you? 
We really care and advise on a high level, taking every aspect into consideration in finding the solution. The law is not leading; finding the right solution is leading.  

What has been your most challenging case? Why? 
I was appointed by the Minister as the CEO of a large healthcare company, employing almost 30,000 employees. The whole country was worried and we needed to find a solution within a week. Unions, political parties, TV networks and an overstressed Corporate Governance atmosphere made it a testing affair. The company was saved and more than 2 million clients were happy. 

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer? 
Becoming one. 

What do you do when you’re not practicing law? 
When not practicing, I am lobbying within political circles and having a good time at home, reading, watching TV.

What would surprise people most about you? 
If I left the ILN. All members know by now I feel the ILN is indeed a family of true friends. I have been privileged to be a part of this for 20 years or so. I miss all the guys that retired and some of them have even passed away. I think of all of them regularly. 

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer? 
I would be a CEO somewhere and a politician. I am often contemplating this. 

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you? 
Robert Redford. There has been a lot of history in my life. Partly public, some of it tragic, and most of it as a leader of people and friends. Redford has the right combination of New England elegance and Southern heroism. 

How would you like to be remembered? 
As somebody who cares about people and at times, can bring insights into their lives.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Emre Özcan of our member firm Özcan & Natan in Istanbul, Turkey.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Our practice is working to expand in the corporate-commercial, finance and real estate fields of law without losing its boutique nature.

Who would be your typical client? 
Foreign or local entities who have business with an international nature.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you? 
I would like them to know me as a solution-provider and problem/dispute preventative.

What has been your most challenging case? Why? 
A case to strike a decision issued by the Turkish Treasury, for the cancellation of the Free Zone license of a factory.  We had to file an action for the cancellation of the complete communiqué issued by the Prime Ministry, but in the end succeeded and forced the administration to amend the communiqué and re-issue the license.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer? 
The day I took the attorneys' oath at the Istanbul Bar Association.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law? 
I like to follow local and foreign politics as well as football. Politics is sometimes more fun!

What would surprise people most about you? 
I was almost entering auditions of state acting school instead of the university exams.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
The fun we had when we hosted the European Meeting in Istanbul in 2007, especially when I saw how good lawyers could party at the club we went to after the gala dinner!!!

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer? 
I would either choose to be an actor or a diplomat.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you? 
Bruce Willis

How would you like to be remembered? 
Knew how to enjoy life to the fullest!

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Paul Feldman of our newest member firm, Davis, Malm & D'Agostine in Boston.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
I have a business practice specializing in real estate, environmental, and contract disputes.

Who would be your typical client?
Large publically traded companies and mid-sized closely held companies.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
My style of practice is to get the job done effectively and efficiently.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
A multi-million dollar contract dispute, that involved calculating damages by analyzing some 80,000 transactions.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
The US First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trial judge’s jury instruction in a copyright infringement case I tried resulting in a new trial and a favorable outcome for the client.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
I spend time with my family, attempt to play golf and frequently attend music concerts.

What would surprise people most about you?
Despite my Type A personality and aggressive advocacy for my clients, I am a softie.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
The Saturday evening dinner at the Palace in Lisbon.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
I love seeing things built- a real estate developer or architect.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Harrison Ford.

How would you like to be remembered?
Great dad and husband.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Anders Lundberg of Hellström in Stockholm, Sweden.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
It’s a business law practice with a focus on mergers & acquisitions, but also specialized advice to the finance and energy sectors and to businesses in general. Hellström, where I am a partner, is a 30 lawyers business practice located in Stockholm.

Who would be your typical client?
Swedish and foreign corporations.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
That I am an experienced and skilled lawyer who is dedicated to my clients' success!

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
Probably some litigations early on in my career that kept me up at night worrying about the outcome. Some were eventually won, others lost. I can think of a few major transactions as well that were challenging because of the complexity and values at stake. My latest transaction was in the food wholesale business, a merger between two large Swedish corporate.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
Again, winning in the court room early on in my career. Nothing compares to that as far as professional satisfaction goes.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
I am married and a father of two daughters. Much time is spent with the family. In the summer we go boat riding in the archipelago outside Stockholm. I also enjoy hunting a couple of times each year and pictorial art and art history.

What would surprise people most about you?
No surprises I’m afraid – or perhaps that I actually managed to quit smoking some time ago! A lot of people had given up on me in that regard.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
The ILN-events in New York and Houston were both great. I have always enjoyed the U.S. and all the friendly people over there. In terms of referrals, I had the opportunity to work with Epstein Becker a few years ago and they did great work.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
Good question, when younger, I saw myself as potentially a great writer of fiction!

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Bill Murray..? Only I’m not that funny so he would have to hold back.

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who grew wiser with age but managed to keep a youthful mind.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Mark Weintraub of Clark Wilson in Vancouver, Canada.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
My British Columbia practice is estate and trust litigation and adult guardianship. My practice consists of challenging Wills based upon incapacity and undue influence and dealing with negligently or fraudulently administered estates.

Who would be your typical client?
We have two types of typical clients- individuals and institutions. Individuals can find themselves embroiled in any number of different types of disputes:

Adult children, not infrequently challenge a Will based upon undue influence; incapacity or some technical defect in a Will and in our jurisdiction, may seek to vary a will if it does not provide adequate support which may under circumstances include the judicial imposition of moral obligations.

Spouses, particularly spouses of second marriages, also seek our counsel for similar types of challenges. Of course there are numerous other issues related to estate litigation including negligent or fraudulent adminstration of an estate; estate and power of attorney accountings; and adult guardianship applications all of which involve individuals.

Our institutional clients, if they are trust companies, are often engaged in adminstration disputes while our non- profit or charitable clients who are named in wills as beneficiaries, endure "collateral damage" in the event that a spouse or child challenges a will.

I am of course simplifying matters and there are a myriad of other situations that involve both our individual and institutional clients.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
I would like our clients to know that we have one of the largest group of estate litigators in Canada such that we are able to provide an appropriate skill and billing level for every circumstance. We endeavour to run a file like a business file. And finally the watchword of our firm is "service" and we use our best efforts to provide the highest level of service to our clients.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
There is no one challenging case; but the most challenging cases are typically a second wife who has been left out of a Will and has attracted the emnity of the children from the first marriage. Typically she is not sophisticated and foresees herself as cast out on the street. The emotion permeating such a case makes resolution very difficult.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
There is no one proudest moment; of course when you receive a winning judgment or you negotiate what you know is an excellent settlement there is a sense of pride. But most lawyers try to invest in each file- irrespective of the amount involved- a committment to excellence so that when an excellent result is achieved, one naturally feels a sense of pride.

More specifically I think it would be fair to say that those cases that involve the most creative arguments; those cases that don't have precedent and you are charting new ground; and those cases where there is a lot at stake for the individual- those are the cases that engender that special sense of satisfaction.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
When I am not practicing law I am thinking about how to develop the practice of law; spend time with my family including two wonderful daughters and their husbands and great friends.

What would surprise people most about you?
I don't know- none of us are one -dimensional and nothing should ever surprise us about another person- but if I had to choose- that I put myself through University of Toronto Law School while working for the Toronto Parks Board.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
A file I received acting for the State of Israel in an estate matter. It was a great honour to provide this service since much of my volunteer work has been centred on charitable causes for Israel.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
Hands Down: Bridge Engineer.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
I actually was in a movie and I played a Rabbi; if a movie was made of me, I would have wanted Norman Mailer to play me.

How would you like to be remembered?
Sounds like writing my own obituary- but it is actually an important question; I think I would like to be remembered the way many of us would be: that I lived life to my potential- to the best of my abilities; that I have brought more healing than harm into the world; that I was a good friend; loyal business partner; devoted family member and caring of those parts of the natural world such as gardens or animals that have come into my charge.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Carole Barrett of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin in San Francisco, California.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice? 
Everything branding.

Who would be your typical client?
My clients come in all shapes and sizes and are at various stages of the business cycle, from start-ups to well-established global companies - all of whom are concerned about protecting and enforcing their intellectual property.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
I have been both in-house and in private practice, so my advice is practical, business-focused and tailored to clients' long-term goals.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
Strategic planning and coordination of a massive global trademark filing where all of the marks had to be filed on the same day. Amazingly, it went off without a hitch.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
My proudest moments as a lawyer have been seeing young lawyers I have mentored succeed.

What do you do when you‚re not practicing law?
My husband Ned and I are avid boaters and members of the Golden Gate Yacht Club. So we are either out on the Bay on our boat or getting ready to welcome everyone to San Francisco for the America's Cup.

What would surprise people most about you?
I think people would be surprised to learn that I studied ballet because my parents were worried about my being shy.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
ILN has been an wonderful global resource for locating attorneys who are experts in their field. I have enjoyed meeting with various ILN members at INTA and acting as a referral source.

What career would you have chosen if you weren't a lawyer?
Ballerina!

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Meryl Streep.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a mentor. 

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Margie Bodas of Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, P.A. in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
I help creditors who find themselves at odds with a bankruptcy trustee work through the bankruptcy system.

Who would be your typical client?
A mortgage lender, a title insurance company, businesses who receive preference claims.  

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
My knowledge and experience make me very effective and efficient in handling client matters.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
The most challenging -- or maybe most frustrating -- was a couple decades ago when I was doing a lot of workers' compensation work. A man was injured while working as a millright and could not go back to the heavy work and the bending and twisting. He wanted to be retrained in turf management to work at a golf course. Turf management is also very heavy work with lots of bending and twisting. We litigated the case and I lost. The guy got a job with an Arnold Palmer golf course and the employer had to pay him wage loss benefits because, even after being retrained, he was not making as much as he did as a millright. The outcome did not seem to serve either party in the long run.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
A great moment for me -- and our firm -- was obtaining a very large settlement in a RICO claim against a rent-to-own business on claims of usury. We were able to refund a lot of money to people who really couldn't afford the interest rates charged.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
Travel, photography, garden, home renovation, read.

What would surprise people most about you?
I was a journalist before becoming a lawyer. I interviewed President Carter once.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
The webinars have been a great resource -- not only for the information they provide but for their ability to bring the lawyers here together with other ILN lawyers across the world.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
I was a journalist before becoming a lawyer and loved it. I choose law school over the seminary, but would also like to explore that avenue. And I'd like to work in a garden shop when I retire.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Kathy Bates.

How would you like to be remembered?
She sought out ways to serve others . She shared her joys (and hardships) of life with her friends and family.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. in Washington, D.C.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Representing corporations, many of them in health care and finance, in federal civil and criminal litigations and investigations, at both the trial and appellate levels, in areas including the defense of fraud, securities and antitrust matters, and where the United States government is often the opposing party.

Who would be your typical client?
A corporation, its management or board of directors, often involved in the business of health care, insurance or finance, and subject to a government investigation or private fraud suit.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
That I believe the law is a service business and that the client's interests must be served, and that we win for our clients.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
I once tried a criminal antitrust case in which there were originally 24 defendants. 23 of them pleaded guilty or nolo contendere, and many of them testified against my client, who insisted upon his and his company's innocence. Notwithstanding the mass of the government's case, the jury returned a verdict of acquittal.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
Serving first as Assistant and then Acting Attorney General of the United States, working directly with Presidents of both parties.

What do you do when you're not practicing law?
Active sports including running, tennis and fly fishing, and reading history and science.

What would surprise people most about you?
That I am a Lay Eucharistic Minister in the Episcopal Church.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
Clearly it has been forming close personal, family and professional relationships with excellent lawyers, particularly, in my case, in Europe and Scandanavia.

What career would you have chosen if you weren't a lawyer?
Cosmology.

If a movie were made out of your life, who would you want to play you?
My son; it would be a suitable revenge.

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who did his best to contribute to society and his profession.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Gary Kaplan of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin in San Francisco, California.  

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
I advise individuals and families on international business and tax matters.

Who would be your typical client?
In addition to individuals and families, I represent family-owned cross-border businesses and family offices.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
I'm sincere and soft-spoken, but highly competitive when pursuing clients' interests.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
Working with a wide variety of clients, from nervous to brazen, in connection with the Internal Revenue Service's initiatives to combat U.S. persons' undisclosed offshore bank accounts.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
Being asked to participate in an ILN-terview.

What do you do when you're not practicing law?
Sports and films.

What would surprise people most about you?
I held the world record for marathon golf (73 hours without a break) or perhaps that I stowed away on a cruise ship.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
The ILN has given me opportunities to visit countries throughout the world and amaze my clients by knowing top legal talents globally. The single most memorable experience was playing softball in New York's Central Park with players from 15 countries, many of whom, while athletic, had never hit or fielded a softball.

What career would you have chosen if you weren't a lawyer?
I would have liked professional golf (but couldn't and still can't putt) and probably would have been a stock picker, as the capital markets are a favorite hobby.

If a movie were made out of your life, who would you want to play you?
I'd choose a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Woody Allen.

How would you like to be remembered?
Kind, honest and funny.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network.

For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Plamen Peev of PETERKA & PARTNERS v.o.s. in Sofia, Bulgaria.  

 In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
We are a growing practice providing legal services in all main fields of business law – a young and ambitious team of professionals, which is the Bulgarian branch of the larger family of PETERKA & PARTNERS, operative in five countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Who would be your typical client?
A foreign investor expanding its activities to Bulgaria and often looking for the quality services already known or recommended from previous experience with PETERKA & PARTNERS in other countries. Recently, we’ve also had more work in dispute resolution and litigation both for international and local companies.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
That good work means more to us than being good with the law. We try to hear what clients say and use our creativity to support clients’ ideas or solve a particular problem.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
It’s a case which seemed to be in the beginning a more or less simple contractual dispute but gradually, it turned out to be a complex issue involving insolvency as well as criminal law aspects. We are still working on this case, trying to reach a happy end.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
Being 32, I am sure it is still ahead of me, but I feel proud each time when some problem has been forgotten because of my work.

What do you do when you're not practicing law?
Mostly enjoy the time with my wife and little daughter. I am also happy if there is time for a book, to meet friends or play tennis.

What would surprise people most about you?
Perhaps that would be the fact that I am not an awful singer.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
Our office has joined ILN only last year, so it’s quite a new experience to me, but the 2009 regional meeting in Athens showed me that the Network brings a wonderful opportunity to be part of a community of excellent professionals and also to find good friends.

What career would you have chosen if you weren't a lawyer?
Probably something related to art – writing, acting or singing.

If a movie were made out of your life, who would you want to play you?
Al Pacino. Nothing to do with the Devil’s Advocate. It’s just the fact that his acting is a piece of magic.

How would you like to be remembered?
As an open person who deserves to be remembered.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network.

For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Andreas Bauer of Brauneis Klauser Praendl Rechtsanwaelte GmbH in Vienna, Austria.  Andreas and his firm are hosting the 2010 European Regional Meeting in Vienna at the end of September.

In one sentence how would you describe your practice?
We are a midsized Austrian law firm, serving our clients in all fields of Austrian and EU Commercial Law.

Who would be your typical client?
Our typical client is a midsized or larger Austrian company, either family-owned or a subsidiary of an international company. We are also working for large consumer protection organisations.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
We are not one of the big “law factories,” but have the same professional approach as these big firms. The personal connection to our clients is much closer than in these “factories” and we care about our clients.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
I helped one of my clients to sell his family-owned business to a big US Company. My client was 74 years old at the time and had trouble adopting the “style” with which the American company tried to purchase his lifetime achievement. We finally sold the company for about 15 Million Euros.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
Working for my parents to sell their farm.

What do you do when you are not practicing law?
I try to dedicate most of my free time to my family, especially to my kids. I love to play soccer and to listen to classical music.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
I have to mention two things here.

First, my very first ILN experience more than fifteen years ago in Jerusalem where I met with other ILN lawyers in a more than impressive surrounding. Israel was, at that time, just signing the peace treaty with Jordan.

Second, the friendships that developed over the years within the Network. I don’t want to miss any of these experiences.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
I probably would have become some sort of manager, but luckily I decided to become a lawyer.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Tom Hanks.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a person having a “back bone,” meaning a person that is straightforward, kind and honest.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network.

For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Erik Bettin of Michel LLP in Berlin, Germany.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
We are a Berlin based mid-size law firm offering high quality services for companies, especially in the real-estate-business or in real-estate related matters.

Who would be your typical client?
Our typical client is a national or international company or individual investing in the German real-estate-market and asking for advice in such transactions.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
That we try to make a difference by being creative, knowing about our clients' business and offering a very personal approach.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
Several years ago a big commercial German bank was sued for a very large amount and the in-house counsel gave me the case, remarking that he saw no chance of avoiding payment for his bank. I disagreed and in the end, the German federal court dismissed all claims. It was my first case for this bank and surely it wasn’t the last one.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
Every time clients realize that it was the right decision to take our advice.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
Enjoying time with my wife and kids and practicing all sorts of sports.

What would surprise people most about you?
That as a kid, I lived in Peru for five years.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience)?
Dining in Castel Sant´Angelo on a very lovely night at our meeting in Rome.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
I was always dreaming about being a professional in sports, but I wasn´t talented enough.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Daniel Craig

How would you like to be remembered?
I hope life gives me some more time to think about that.

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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network.

For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, David Williams Russell of Harrison & Moberly LLP in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
I am a transactions and securities lawyer handling complex matters (including dispute resolution) in the U.S. and abroad.

Who would be your typical client?
Principally technology and manufacturing companies and financial institutions.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
In addition to my comprehensive grasp of business law, I hold an M.B.A. from Dartmouth (Tuck), and once managed a college; so I afford practical business savvy and experience with solid legal services.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
I once took on an appeal from the worst possible result in a trial in bankruptcy court and made such a persuasive argument for reversal that my client wound up settling for more money than he had been sued for.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
As a pro bono volunteer, I helped a disabled Vietnam veteran suffering post-traumatic shock syndrome and his wife avoid obligations under a home purchase contract they had been swindled into signing. They had been absolutely distraught, and their tears of joy and delight at being relieved of this burden remain with me still.

What do you do when you're not practicing law?
I am Vice Chairman of a foundation dedicated to establishing a new university in Cameroon. I write the annual updates to the four volume West Publishing Indiana business law treatises. I serve on the advisory board of the Supply Chain & Global Management Academy of the Kelley M.B.A. program at Indiana University. I hold a federal appointment as Chairman of the Indiana District Export Counsel.

What would surprise people most about you?
I am a published poet.

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to have had the opportunity to establish close, personal relationships with so many outstanding lawyers throughout the world during the time I have been privileged to participate in ILN. I am very grateful for the many courtesies and kindnesses of which I, and my law firm, have been the recipients as a result of our connection with ILN.

What career would you have chosen if you weren't a lawyer?
I would have been an educator (in a way, I have been).

If a movie were made out of your life, who would you want to play you?
Steve McQueen (if he were alive).

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who helped others reach solutions to their problems.

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