The need for an association of in-house lawyers

In 2005 some in-house competition lawyers decided to set up an association to discuss matters of common interest. Initially membership was open only to lawyers in the UK but in 2010 ICLA became a larger association with more than a 270 members in 13 countries. Between 2012 and 2020 several ICLAs at national and regional level have been created (Italy / Spain / South East Asia, Nordic countries).

Eligibility Criteria

At the moment membership is free and open to all in-house lawyers who are responsible for competition law in their own company. ICLA does not represent companies but experts of competition law who work in-house. For reasons of space, only one representative from each company will usually attend the meetings.

Structure

ICLA is an informal gathering of lawyers run by a Steering Group. Meetings are held in Brussels twice a year, in May/June and in November/December. Ief Daems is the chairman of the association.

Main purposes

The main purposes of the association are:

1. 1)Share legal and compliance related developments at national and supranational level and update members on issues of common interest (such as regulatory initiatives, case law developments, specific members’ experience, events or conferences). In addition, develop and perform activities (on its own or jointly with others) to the benefit of the association;
   

2. 2)Discuss matters of interest members with competition authorities, regulators and public officials (e.g. legal privilege; compliance programs, impact of regulatory actions on business, etc.). Government officials and members of competition authorities may be invited to attend and present at ICLA meetings;
   

3. 3)Prepare and submit responses to consultations of interest to members. These responses on behalf of ICLA contribute to the public debate by bringing the specific in-house perspective of ICLA members. They also increase the visibility of ICLA and its reputation with competition authorities.
   

Confidentiality rules

All discussions within ICLA are to be in strict confidence and not to be shared outside the meetings (except for information which is not of a confidential nature and/or is in the public domain). Chatham House rules will apply to ICLA meetings