XXII Annual General Conference – Vigo 2019

The 8th of May, once all the attendees arrived at the fantastic National Parador of Santiago de Compostela, we met in the entrance hall to enjoy a cocktail while we got up to date and we waited for the stragglers. After which, we went to dinner at a restaurant not far from the Parador. The trip has been long for many and we need to rest.

The next day, after breakfast, we meet in one of the hotel lounges for the delivery of credentials and start the workday.

This year is a very important year for BGI, since it has the addition of eight new independent offices in Brazil, Romania, Gibraltar, Algeria, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Morocco, which consolidates it as the largest network of medium-sized law firms worldwide and with a presence in 26 countries and more than 40 offices.

The congress, as usual, began with the welcome of the president of Balms Abogados, Mr. Juan Luis Balmaseda de Ahumada to all attendees and the presentation of the annual accounts and referred cases of 2018 and economic objectives of 2019. This is always the dullest part of the congress, but it helps us to see how our network works and to establish some objectives for the following year.

After the accounts, Mr. Juan Luis Balmaseda de Ahumada presented the report of the president of BGI and later there was a presentation of the new firms of BGI and the potential firms and guests.

After the first part, the rest of the morning passed between debates and voting on the new corporate image of BGI, the presentation of new videos, updating of the website and new design of posters and stationery. Subsequently, we enjoyed the presentation of our colleague Mr. José Raúl Calderón y Peragón: ” Advertising and the right to a trial with all the guarantees: parallel judgments”.

After lunch at Hostal Reyes Católicos, we continued with the election of the place and date for the next BGI congress, the re-election of the executive committee, and

debates on how to enhance the image of BGI, the recruitment of new members, and the improvement of communication.

Thursday’s session concluded with a visit to the offices of Balms Vigo where a Spanish wine and a subsequent reception were served at the Real Club Celta headquarters, where more than 200 guests attended, including clients, authorities and political personalities, the company and the industrial sector of the region of Galicia, including Ms. Corina Porro, president of the Economic and Social Council of Galicia and former mayor of Vigo, representatives metal sector, free zone company, shipowners, business circle, etc.

During Friday morning, about fifty companies from Galicia and Portugal participated in the workshop organized by Balms Group International in Santiago, with the aim that entities and offices could exchange professional impressions and resolve legal doubts, especially linked to international issues to explore areas of expansion and business opportunities beyond our borders.

The meeting was closed by the Vice President of the Xunta de Galicia, Mr. Alfonso Rueda, the President of the Parliament of Galicia, Mr. Miguel Santalices, and the President of the Economic and Social Council of Galicia, Ms. Corina Porro.

The afternoon was spent visiting the Parliament of Galicia, led by the President, Mr. Miguel Santalices and his team.

The congress ended on Saturday, the 11th of May, with the attendance at the pilgrim’s mass in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and at night, with the gala dinner at the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos, which was attended by all BGI members, clients, collaborators and friends, concluding the twenty-second BGI international congress.