A MEETING of DLA Piper’s global board takes place in Liverpool this week.
A group of 20 delegates representing the firm’s offices around the world will begin arriving in the city today ahead of the quarterly global board meeting on Thursday.
The party includes Senator George Mitchell, who helped to broker the Good Friday Agreement and is a partner of DLA Piper in the States, and Jay Rains, an executive of the United States Golf Association instrumental in organising this year’s US Open, who is also a partner and co-chairman of the corporate and finance practice.
Sen Mitchell will give a speech on the challenges facing western democracies in the 21st century at the Philharmonic Hall on Thursday evening, as part of Liverpool John Moores University’s Roscoe lecture series, which is sponsored by the law firm.
Delegates will also meet all staff at the DLA Piper Liverpool office in the India Buildings.
Managing partner Philip Rooney said: “We are delighted they are coming here, it is a feather in our cap to have them choose Liverpool and I’ve no doubt they will enjoy themselves.
“I had invited Senator Mitchell to come to Liverpool and visit us and to do a Roscoe Lecture, and at the same time, Jay Raines is a big Liverpool supporter and a member of the global board, and he had also suggested it – so to get the whole board is fantastic.
“Sen Mitchell and the board will be having lunch with all the staff on Wednesday so that everybody has the opportunity to meet and have a chat, as the board are interested in what is happening in Liverpool, in the office as well as the city.
“One of the purposes of getting them here is to be able to see Liverpool as a vibrant place where business can be done – it is a positive thing for them to take back and gives a very positive message about our city and the wider region.”
Word had spread about the Liverpool office thanks in no small part to its sponsorship of the DLA Piper Series at the Tate. Although it is not known what will be on the agenda of the meeting, Mr Rooney said that one of the big items for the global board is “looking to see how we can develop our business, and as part of that it has been looking at how we project our brand in each country that we operate”.