Members of ij International Jurists from across the world attended the network’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bulgaria.

The AGM, from June 17 to 19, was attended by lawyers from as far afield as Chile, Columbia and South Africa, as well as European countries including the UK, France and Germany.

The meeting, held in the city of Burgas and hosted by ij member Lukanov & Gencheva, reviewed the past year for the network and looked to the 12 months ahead and beyond.

Next year, ij celebrates its 25th anniversary, and the AGM for 2017 is to be held in Nuremberg, Germany – home of Dr Kreuzer & Coll, one of the founder members of the global legal network.

The concept of ij was born through a desire to create a legal community of like-minded lawyers and law firms, who can work and network together across continents to share ideas and refer business to fellow professionals they know and trust.

It has grown significantly since its inception, and now has a membership of more than 1,350 lawyers and support staff from over 30 countries worldwide.

Christopher Welch, member of the ij management board and Partner in Sintons in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, attended the AGM. Sintons held the AGM in 2013 in their home city in England.

“As well as the formal business of the AGM, which is one of the most important events in our calendar, it is always good to meet with our friends and colleagues from other jurisdictions. We have the opportunity to share common experiences, as well as having the opportunity to enjoy a bit of ‘down time’ together. This helps to create strong working relationships across the continents, and enables us to work with people we have come to know and trust.

“Membership of ij enables lawyers to direct clients who work internationally to exactly the right legal representation for them, in whichever country they need it. That can be a very valuable resource for any business which conducts cross-border transactions.”

Dr Gunther Kreuzer, Chairman of International Jurists and Senior Partner of Dr. Kreuzer & Coll, which will host the AGM for 2017, said: “International Jurists is a growing international network of high-quality law firms, and our AGM is a very important opportunity to meet new members, build our relationships with existing ones, and to decide together how we should approach the year ahead.”