Introduction
Criteria for Membership of our international legal network
Benefits of Membership
Membership Obligations
Applications for Membership/Acceptance Procedure
Recruitment Policy

Introduction

One of World Link for Law's principal aims is to ensure that we have a member in every major commercial centre in the world. We are therefore always keen to discuss potential membership from appropriate firms and also to forge alliances with other professionals and networks.

World Link for Law exists to support member firms' clients who are involved in international trade (or private client matters). Membership is an opportunity to receive and make referrals to/from responsive lawyers that you meet and know from conferences and events, and who are bound by the World Link for Law quality code. The association also exists for the mutual education and fraternal contacts of its members and it acts as a facilitator of international legal services for the international business community, in-house lawyers, lawyers in private practice, or individuals needing a lawyer in another country.

Currently there are over 300 partners and a further 500 professional staff in World Link for Law member firms. World Link for Law is one of the largest international legal associations in the world. The combined individual turnover of all members is approximately £90 million GBP (or €140 million Euros; $144.7 million USD; or $250 million AUS).

The Association is entirely funded by membership fees to cover general administration and conference organisation. There are no referral fees and no other financial or contractual obligations of membership.

We are currently looking for members in the locations shown opposite

Criteria for Membership of our international legal network

Member firms should meet the following criteria:

minimum 3 partners
English speaking capability
mostly commercial/corporate law
ideally not part of another association
excellent electronic communications

Benefits of Membership

Our members say that the benefits of membership are as follows:

Opportunity to receive and make referrals to/from responsive lawyers that you meet and know from conferences and events, who are bound by a quality code.
Broad range of commercial legal skills.
A network that works together to create initiatives for the benefit of all its members (for example, we have recently created a Mergers & Acquisitions Due Diligence Checklist; and also an Agency and Distribution Agreement Checklist).
The use of the World Link for Law name can increase your profile with your clients.
Specilaist legal working groups (e.g intellectual property)
Very competitive membership fees, from only £1000GBP (€1600) per annum or £500 (€800) per annum for firms in emerging economies or if approved by the Board.
No referral fees.
Established quality code.
Support of an administration and marketing service with contacts around the world.
A comprehensive web site that is aimed at providing business support for you and your clients.
An annual marketing plan and various marketing initiatives to support members.

Membership obligations

As a member your main duties are to abide by our quality code and to pay the annual membership fees. Additionally, we ask members to send at least one representative to our annual conference - by doing so you also benefit from the first year discount to the membership fee. We encourage you to send a representative to our conferences regularly as making personal contact is important to develop working relationships with other members.

There are other various good member obligations as follows: to respond to the Administration Service's requests for information for our annual newsletter or information for our website; to complete a members’ survey (every 2 years); to support other members if there are tender opportunities; to provide details of referrals made to other members; to advise the Administration Service of any changes to your contact details for the members' database and web site, and to try to promote World Link for Law to your clients and contacts. These are very informal duties and therefore the obligations are generally minimal. Please also note that there are no contractual commitments to membership of World Link for Law.

Application for membership/acceptance procedure

Application for membership is made by completing an application form, which is available upon request. There is no cost to make an application. This form asks for general details about your firm; experience of providing international legal services, details of your skills/experience and two references. Once completed, this is circulated to our Board of Directors for acceptance (or to ask further questions). Where possible we arrange for a meeting with one of our Board directors. Membership starts after payment of the ‘one off’ joining fee (£250GBP) and the annual membership fee (pro rata to the time of joining), which is based on the number of partners in your firm. New members are also obliged to sign World Link for Law’s Quality Code (to identify their compliance with it) and to acknowledge the Rules and Regulations of the Association. (These are available to view upon request).

Recruitment policy

World Link for Law does not offer exclusivity, but equally it has no desire to create conflict and does not aim to attract a new firm in a country where there is already an existing member. The possible appointment of another member in the same country or region of an existing member depends on many factors - for example the size of the existing firm, the size of the country/economy, regional cultures/languages, legal specialisations, the wishes of other members. The final decision to appoint a new member rests with the Board, but an existing full member must be consulted about the potential appointment of another firm in the country of an existing member and the Board must also consider their views.
A profile document and an application form are available for firms of lawyers who are interested in membership. The profile document provides information on World Link for Law's organisation, structure and annual membership fees. If you would like to receive these please contact World Link for Law's Administration Service or complete the enquiry form in the Contact Us section.