The new leadership team at the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) has begun its term of office this month.

During its Plenary Session on 29 November, the CCBE nominated José de Freitas (Portugal) to become its new president. He takes over from Antonín Mokrý.

His presidency will be supported by Ranko Pelicarić (Croatia) as first vice-president, Margarete von Galen (Germany) as second vice-president, and James MacGuill (Ireland) as third vice-president.

James MacGuill is a former president of the Law Society of Ireland (2007-08).

José de Freitas was admitted to the Portuguese Bar Association in 1980. He has been head of the Portuguese delegation since 2006.

José de Freitas has been a partner of Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira & Associados, Sociedade de Advogados, since 1990, having founded the firm’s Porto office in 1989.

Important

James MacGuill, commenting to Gazette.ie, said: “We all know how important it is for Ireland to be active in Europe now.”

The CCBE represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than one million European lawyers.

Founded in 1960, the CCBE is recognised as the voice of the European legal profession by the EU institutions, and acts as the liaison between the EU and Europe's national bars and law societies.

Issues

The CCBE has regular institutional contacts with those European Commission officials, and members and staff of the European Parliament, who deal with issues affecting the legal profession.

The CCBE is an international non-profit-making association incorporated in Belgium