The IBA ERF’s ‘Big Retreat’ 2025 from an officer’s perspective
Annalise Papa
Ganado, Malta
This year brought a slight change in how we approached our ‘Big Retreat’. The Officers’ Retreat and the Council Members’ Retreat were joined into a single event which took place in Budapest at the start of March 2025. Our Senior Vice Chair, Viktória Szilágyi from Lakatos Köves and Partners, carried out the work as this year’s gracious host and needed to accommodate such a large crowd with a full schedule. She certainly lived up to it!
Chaired by European Regional Forum (ERF) Co-Chairs, Anna Dabrowska and Panagiotis Drakopoulos, the Officers’ Retreat hosted at Lakatos Köves and Partners’ offices was intense and productive. It is wonderful that, knowing each other so well, we can share our thoughts and ideas for the Forum so openly and agree on the way forward in the best interest of all the ERF members. Many aspects were discussed including the utility and validity of the current structure of working parties and regional groups as well as an update on their status and future. Our communication channels were also considered for the ERF events planned for the year. We reviewed afresh our guidelines to determine any updates required for our onboarding, offboarding, expectations and benefits guidance. We also finalised plans for the Council Members’ Retreat that was to follow and took note of our respective action plans so that we may all play our part in keeping the committee moving smoothly. Viktoria’s and all the Lakatos team’s impeccable support during the retreat enabled us to truly focus and make the most of the short time we had together.
Of course, such a meaningful day of collaboration could only be crowned with a merry evening of socialisation to further strengthen our ties and welcome the council members who arrived that evening. We were lucky enough to have enjoyed a musical treat during dinner through the surprise performance of the Singing Lawyers Budapest – a music association and choir for lawyers and law students. Such skill and talent! We were energised and prepared for an equally productive retreat with the Council Members. I must say, out of all the council members’ retreats I have been to over the years, this is the one during which I have felt the most engagement and energy from our council members. All were keen to share their views with us on how they see their roles developing within the ERF and how the officers and the committee can aid them in their role and make the best of the ERF in the interest of all its members. The council members engaged in fruitful discussion and breakout brainstorming from which we made many notes in the hope of fully implementing them as best we can in the future.
Discussions continued during the social events which allowed us to also catch up on our practices, client needs and expectations, and for those of us who have collaborated for many years, our friendships.
