Mission:

Composed of senior outside counsel, governmental affairs specialists, and in-house lawyers from U.S. and French law firms and companies, the Legal Affairs Working Committee treats legal and legislative subjects of concern to AmCham member firms. It formulates positions for use with the media and government. While the focus is on French laws and regulations, the Working Committee also keeps abreast of U.S. legislative developments that could have a bearing on business operations overseas.

Chair: Marc-Olivier Langlois langlois@hugheshubbard.com

Vice-chair: Evelyne de la Chesnaye evelyne.de-la-chesnaye@fra.dupont.com

Vice-chair: Richard S. Goldstein richardgoldstein@goldsteinvisa.com

WIL's 4th Anniversary with Viviane Reding and Pervenche Beres, WTP Launch

On 6th of March 2012, four years after WIL’s kick off meeting, Viviane Reding, Vice-president of the European Commission for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship met with us again, for a discussion on ‘Female Talent in the Pipeline. Accountability in the Boardroom’.

The Commissioner was joined by WIL Board member Pervenche Berès, Chair Committee on Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament.

WIL’s 4th anniversary, one of the network’s biggest events, with over 70 attendees, was also an opportunity to present the Women Talent Pool (WTP) – a programme built to support high potential women in mid-management positions by offering them mentoring, training and networking opportunities, and which was officially launched by Elena Bonfiglioli, Microsoft, Senior Health Director, EMEA, and WTP Lead.

Saluting the network for its four years of achievements, Vice-president Viviane Reding encouraged WIL to carry on providing to women what ‘gentlemen do so well’ – networking.

MEP Pervenche Berès strengthened the message that netting is a battle needed on top of the one on quotas, sharing some inspiring experiences from her political career. One example she recalled was her collaboration with other female MEPs when writing the Charter for Fundamental Rights for Europe.

The Question of Boards

In early 2011 Vice-president Reding appealed to European companies to implement voluntary changes to increase the proportion of women in their Boards. Considering the results unsatisfactory, Vice-president Reding promised to use her “regulatory creativity” to achieve her objective. In this context, she announced the launch of a public consultation (based on her Progress Report) to assess possible EU-level measures to enhance female participation in economic decision-making.

“I don’t like quotas myself but I like what quotas do (…) the goal is to have a world where we don’t need to speak about quotas”, Vice-president Reding said.

MEP Pervenche Berès, Chair Committee on Employment and Social Affairs stressed the importance of looking at different dimensions of the issue and dealing with the question of corporate governance and the question of women in society in general. The MEP also shared her conviction, that self-regulation is not a solution.

“I believe in fair, proportionate, well-written laws (…) [their implementation] is a way to influence and change behaviors”, she stated.

While Isabella Lenarduzzi, CEO JUMP, presented an overview of the current state of female representation on boards, Thaima Samman, WIL President, shared WIL’s stand that while quotas might be necessary, they are only one out of the many solutions to improve the gender balance situation; there is a need to nourish the pipeline at different levels and address the issues women face during earlier stages of their careers.

In this context, WIL shared with its guest speakers the WIL Compendium of Gender-Related Best Practices. The document is composed of examples of programmes and initiatives supporting women in leadership, created by a joint effort of WIL Members, and is open to gathering other practices that can support drawing policies with long-term results.

The Launch of the Women Talent Pool (WTP) Programme

Elena Bonfiglioli, Microsoft, Senior Health Director EMEA and WTP Lead, officially launched the WTP, a program whose goals are to enable early identification of talents and peer to peer learning through tapping into the potential of more senior women leaders (WIL Members), nourishing talents to offering them opportunities to learn out of the boundaries of their roles, helping them develop as leaders in a holistic way and, finally, giving the new talents a voice.

While describing the successful kick-off of the WTP, she referred to the Emerging Leaders (EL) participating in the programme as ”pearls” and offered them a round of applause.

WTP participants benefited from a full day of training, learning and networking opportunities organised as part of the programme launch.

They participated in a morning of intensive trainings, offered by four professors from the Center for Evolutionary Learning: Wolfgang Hackl, Benoit de Bellefroid, Maurizio Zollo and Kris Vander Velpen, who discussed different aspects of leadership and entrepreneurship, as well as demonstrated to the WTP Participants the practice of meditation, which, according to recent studies, has a positive impact on professional performance.

The Emerging Leaders were also given the opportunity to visit the European Parliament, during which MEP Mary Honeyball shared her insights on possible career paths in EU institutions and discussed the challenges women often need to overcome to become successful leaders.

During an organised speed dating session, the EL had a chance to network with WTP Role Models and other WIL Members, who offered their advice and shared experiences with the young talents. The session proved to be very successful; we have received excellent feedback from its participants, who encourage us to carry on the initiative as part of our future events.



To read the full report of the event, please click here

AmCham Visa Seminar Notes

On November 30th, 2011, The Legal Affairs Committee held an event on "Business Visa Policy and Adjudications" at the AmCham France offices. The event was moderated by Richard S. Goldstein, Senior Partner, Law offices of Richard Goldstein, Mark O’Connor, Chief of Visa Services, American Embassy Paris,  Gary Schumann, Consular Officer, American Embassy Paris & Robert Brennan, Chief, Non-Immigrant Visa Unit, American Embassy Paris. 

To view the notes from the event, click on the following link:  AmCham Visa Seminar Notes

 

AmCham France Starts Legal English Training Program!

The American Chamber of Commerce’s Training and Education Task Force, in conjunction with Legal Lingua, LLC today announced the launch of the first Legal English Training Program for avocats, juristes, legal staff and students in preparation for the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) developed by the University of Cambridge.  The training program is designed to improve the legal English skills of non-native English speaking legal professionals who work in an international environment.

11 Oct 2012-
U.S. Business Visa Adjudications for the French Business Community

Visas, Doing Business in the U.S.
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08 Mar 2012-
Roundtable gathering with Kevin TURNER, COO of Microsoft International

AmCham Women Leaders Event
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07 Dec 2011-8.15AM
Amcham Breakfast with Xavier Tessier and Darcy Bradbury

Current initiatives regarding financial regulation and the underlying challenges
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30 Nov 2011-6:30 to 8:15 p.m.
Business VISA Update for the French Business Community

Business visa policy and adjudications, including administrative processing delays and 214(b) and 221(g) refusals
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06 Oct 2011-8:15 - 12:00
Improving Corporate Governance: AmCham, Wil Network, Administration Moderne

On 6 October, over 70 high-profile attendees joined us at Swisslife Banque Privée to discuss and propose solutions to improve governance in the context of the financial crisis, which go beyond the sole use of quotas on Boards...
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08 Jun 2010-18:30-20:30
«Cours rudimentaire» en français sur le droit d’immigration américain

Un panel sur l’immigration vers les Etats-Unis en français
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08 Mar 2010-19h-21h
Legal English Training Program

In preparation for the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) developed by Cambridge University
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28 Jan 2010-18:30-21:00
U.S. Visa and Immigration Seminar

Visa and immigration procedures
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30 Apr 2009-18:30
U.S. Visa and Citizenship Seminar

Immigration
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22 Jan 2009-18:30-20:00
"Making Arbitration Deliver: costs, delays and outcomes”

arbitration vs litigation
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01 Dec 2008-18:00-20:00h
Fonctionnement des cours suprêmes françaises et américaines - regards croisés franco-américains

Legal experts compare the differences between the U.S. Supreme Court and the three French "supreme" courts (CE, Cour de Cassation, and Conseil Constitutionnel)
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13 Nov 2008-18:30
Roundtable Discussion with Commission Darrois--Presenterd by the Legal Affairs Task Force

Findings of an in-depth study of the legal profession in France, with a special comparison to the "Anglo-Saxon" system
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13 Oct 2008-18:45
Class Action Lawsuits presented by the Legal Affairs Task Force

Law
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07 Oct 2008-18:30-21:00
Industry site selection for an affiliate in the U.S. ****Event Posponed until further notice due to pending strike that day******

Practical aspects of establishing a manufacturing facility in the United States - Finding and evaluating a site - Maximizing available inducements and incentives
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22 Sep 2008-19:00-21:00 Every Monday evening from September 8-November 10
Legal English Training Program 10-weeks

Class of Legal English, in preparation for the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) developed by Cambridge University
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15 Sep 2008-19:00-21:00 Every Monday evening for 10 Weeks from September 8, 2008
Legal English Training Program (10-weeks)

Class of Legal English, in preparation for the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) developed by Cambridge University
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08 Sep 2008-19:00-21:00 [Every Monday, starting Sept. 8th, for 10 weeks]
Legal English Training Program 10-weeks

Class of Legal English, in preparation for the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) developed by Cambridge University
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18 Mar 2008-18:30-20:30
Fraud prevention in companies - French and US perspectives

Managing fraud, a US/French comparison of the legislation, an exposition of the investigation techniques
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14 Dec 2007-8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
EU Initiative - The Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base

Should the EU introduce a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base?
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15 Jun 2007-8:30-10:00
US Government Privacy Policy Roundtable

US Government Privacy Policy Roundtable
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14 Jun 2007-8:30-10:00
The Merits of Arbitration Versus Litigation

The Merits of Arbitration Versus Litigation
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24 May 2007-8:30-10:00
Intellectual Property Rights – French, EU and worldwide perspectives

Intellectual Property Rights – French, EU and worldwide perspectives
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New Respect for Hague Evidence Convention in Discovery : A number of practitioners in the United States erroneously believe that conducting discovery in France pursuant to the procedures of the Hague Evidence Convention is more cumbersome and less productive than doing so under the Federal Rules of Civil P
Mission confiée par le Président de la République--Rapport sur les professions du droit : Maitre Darrois met with AmCham lawyers on November 13th, 2008 for input for this report.
AmCham Visa Seminar Notes :

 On November 30th, 2011, The Legal Affairs Committee held an event on "Business Visa Policy and Adjudications" at the AmCham France offices. The event was moderated by Richard S. Goldstein, Senior Partner, Law offices of Richard

AmCham - BIAC Report on the Business Case for Women's Economic Empowerment :

 Presented at the 2012 OECD Ministerial Meetings (May 2012 OECD Forum)