Minsk Legal Forum 2016: afterword with Glenn Kolleeny

The dates of October 20-22, 2016 were highlighted remarkable in a lot of calendars. At least, in lawyers’ ones. Exactly in that weekend Minsk Legal Forum 2016 became a place for friendly meetings, fruitful discussions and indescribably memories that will not be expired until the next year – already the third one – of the Forum.

To give you a clearer overview of the event, we spoke to one of the Forum’s participants, and, at the same time, one of its organizers and speakers. Glenn Kolleeny, a senior partner of Denton's Moscow office, shared with us his impressions regarding Minsk Legal Forum 2016.

UJBL: Dear Glenn, as we know, you were not only a participant of Minsk Legal Forum, but also one of the organizers. How was the preparation process? Was it always easy for the organizing team to come to a common decision?

Glenn Kolleeny: The organizing committee functioned quite smoothly. Alexander Stepanovski managed the process very well. Of course there were some issues about speakers, but quite few actually.

UJBL: And you were not only an organizer and a participant, but also a speaker, weren’t you? Could you tell us a bit about your topic? Was it well received by the audience?

G. C.:  My presentation dealt with Dentons global expansion and our interactions with national, regional and local firms. In particular I focused on the NextLaw Global Referral Network recently rolled out by Dentons. This referral network has attracted a lot of interest among local and regional firms, and has almost 300 members, making it by far the largest international referral network. We received many inquiries, so I guess the presentation was well received!

UJBL: What is the difference of this year’s Forum from the previous one?

G. C.: I was unable to attend in 2015 due to a death in the family, but I understand this year the Forum attracted twice as many participants.

UJBL: And what is the difference of Minsk Legal Forum from the variety of other legal forums and conferences?

G. C.: What makes the Minsk Legal Forum unique is it's positioning as the only Legal Forum attended by lawyers from all parts of the former Soviet Union. This is extremely important given in particular the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

UJBL: What did you like most of all in the Forum?

G. C.:  The best part of the Forum was the ability to interact with a large number of colleagues from all parts of Russia as well as Belarus, Ukraine and even the Baltics.

UJBL: Three most remarkable moments of the Forum

G. C.:   Well, the first remarkable moment for me was en route to the Forum, since I came together with Umid Aripdjanov. Then of course the opening concert at Dom Radio was a high point. And Anton Tolmachev and Valery Papakul singing at the closing reception, and of course the excursion to BELAZ.

UJBL: For whom this event would be useful? 

G. C.:  The Minsk Legal Forum should appeal to lawyers, scholars and judges working in the post-Soviet space, particularly those law firms with an interest in developing internationally. I hope that next year we will attract even more participants - up to around 300 which would be the ideal number for this format.