Globalaw was born in 1994 when approximately 30 law firms first met in Boston and Chicago during the month of May to bring alive the vision of its creator Dennis Campbell. Dennis wished to connect independent law firms located around the world to create a global legal network. The driving force behind the initial membership was a collection of United States law firms based in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas.


More Recently

Globalaw has always been a non-exclusive network and, until 2001, relatively informal in its structure. During the late 90s Globalaw members increasingly expressed a desire to “own their network.” An action plan was approved in Philadelphia in 2000 culminating in a series of resolutions voted on at the Annual Members Meeting in Panama in 2001. As a result of those resolutions, Globalaw Limited was created to acquire all Globalaw assets from Dennis Campbell. A Board elected in Panama and three committees were formed—the Finance Committee, the Membership & Nominating Committee and the Business Development Committee.

To facilitate overall administration, a secretariat was appointed. Jersey Trust Company, a Jersey and London-based company, was chosen to perform this role.  In early 2004, the secretariat was transferred to Association Global Services (AGS), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.


The Present

A clear agenda has been approved to take Globalaw forward. Each committee and the Board meet regularly in person or by conference call. Globalaw holds three annual regional meetings, an annual members meeting, and an annual marketing forum in both the Americas and in Europe.


The Future

The principal aim for Globalaw is to focus on strategic growth through its business initiatives, client programs, addition of quality members, and continued commitment to delivering quality legal services around the globe.