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.

Staffan%20Michelson.jpeg</aFor our latest interview, we chose longtime ILN member, Staffan Michelson of Hellström in Stockholm, Sweden. Staffan has been a part of the ILN since 1994, and is certainly one of the reasons we’re able to say that the ILN is a place “where lawyers become friends.”

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration, Property, Environmental Law and Intellectual Property.

Who would be your typical client?
This question is too difficult; none of my clients or potential clients are typical. They are public companies, medium market companies, small companies, private persons, municipalities, organisations…

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
That I am a senior partner of an excellent firm, Hellström, with lots of excellent lawyers.

What has been your most challenging case? Why?
My first “real” litigation many years ago. Thrilling and very successful.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
When I won my first case – just because it made my client so extremely happy.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
Reading. Or writing my next book – the recent one was about Water in History of Civilization. Or I play the violin, or the trombone or the banjo with my best friends.

What would surprise people most about you?
Sometimes people become quite surprised to find me in my wife’s art gallery close to our summer house, far away from Stockholm City, marketing her paintings, photos and ceramic sculptures. But in fact, there are secrets much more surprising…

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
My very first ILN conference in Copenhagen discovering, in a few days, the ILN spirit of lawyers making friends.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
May I dream without limits? I think I would have loved to become an author, an architect, a journalist, or a world famous film director.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a good father for my children, as a loved husband, as a lawyer my clients wanted on their side and as somebody who believed in the importance of justice, humor and fellow-feeling.
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Photo of Lindsay Griffiths Lindsay Griffiths

Lindsay Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Executive Director. She is a dynamic, influential international executive and marketing thought leader with a passion for relationship development and authoring impactful content. Griffiths is a driven, strategic leader who implements creative initiatives to achieve the…

Lindsay Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Executive Director. She is a dynamic, influential international executive and marketing thought leader with a passion for relationship development and authoring impactful content. Griffiths is a driven, strategic leader who implements creative initiatives to achieve the goals of a global professional services network. She manages all major aspects of the Network, including recruitment, member retention, and providing exceptional client service to an international membership base.

In her role as Executive Director, Griffiths manages a mix of international programs, engages a diverse global community, and develops an international membership base. She leads the development and successful implementation of major organizational initiatives, manages interpersonal relationships, and possesses executive presence with audiences of internal and external stakeholders. Griffiths excels at project management, organization, and planning, writes and speaks with influence and authority, and works independently while demonstrating flexibility in thinking, especially in challenging situations. She also adapts to diverse and dynamic environments with constant assessment and recalibration.

JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2019

In 2021, the ILN was honored as Global Law Firm Network of the Year by The Lawyer European Awards, and in 2016, 2017, and 2022, they were shortlisted as Global Law Firm Network of the Year. Since 2011, the Network has been listed as a Chambers & Partners Leading Law Firm Network, recently increasing this ranking to be included in the top two percent of law firm networks globally, as well as adding two regional rankings. She was awarded “Thought Leader of the Year” by the Legal Marketing Association’s New York chapter in 2014 for her substantive contributions to the industry and was included in Clio’s list of “34 People in Legal You Should Follow on Twitter.” She was also chosen for the American Bar Association Journal’s inaugural Web 100‘s Best Law Blogs, where judge Ivy Grey said “This blog is outstanding, thoughtful, and useful.” Ms. Griffiths was chosen as a Top Author by JD Supra in their 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards, for the level of engagement and visibility she attained with readers on the topic of marketing & business development. She has been the author of Zen & the Art of Legal Networking since February 2009.