No, the headline of my editorial is not intended to challenge our readers’ understandings of basic math. It’s also not intended a brain teaser like those you can find somehow proving that one equals zero using algebra. It’s simply designed to draw your attention to the fact that what you are holding in your hand is a hybrid issue. It is both issue 7.7 of CEE Legal Matters and the very first issue of CEE In-House Matters.
What is CEE In-House Matters, you ask? Good question!
CEELM has a long and proud tradition of creating platforms for General Counsel across CEE to exchange best practices, war stories, or simply interesting tidbits from their daily routines. In 2015 we published the first edition of our annual Corporate Counsel Handbook special report. That same year we kicked off our annual GC Summit, which brings hundreds of General Counsel together for professional development and networking.
CEEIHM is simply the logical next step to bring this network together – a sister publication of CEELM for, and by, senior in-house counsel across CEE. Yes, the current state of affairs played a role in nudging us towards launching this new platform, as we’re not yet sure when, and in what conditions, we’ll be able to bring everyone together for the next GC Summit. While we hold our breath for that to happen, we are intent on keeping the conversation between in-house counsel going. Thus, we wanted to create a place where GCs can share their views or simply check in to see what their peers are working on (and how) these days. Ultimately, CEEIHM allows the network to grow beyond those who are able to carve out the time to fly out to one of our GC Summits – and we’re excited to connect with more and more senior in-house counsel and add to the pool of voices in this virtual network.
And there’s plenty that our readers can look forward to. With the launch of this issue, we’re launching a dedicated portal as well: www.ceeinhousematters.com. This new website will contain all the usual in-house-focused coverage our readers have come to expect – reporting on in-house moves, Deal 5 interviews, and Inside Insight interviews, among other features – with more interviews, published on a rolling basis, similar to what you can find in this issue, check-ins with General Counsel across CEE to learn what’s going on in their jurisdictions and how it affects their work (similar to the Buzz interviews we run in the CEELM magazine), and more.
Unlike most special issues of the CEELM magazine, this will also not be a one-off or yearly edition. Starting in 2021, CEEIHM will be published quarterly.
Towards that end, this is an open call to you, our readers, to encourage you to reach out to suggest topics that you think are worth sharing with your peers or that you yourself would be curious to learn more about — or simply to offer feedback on what you read in these pages. Indeed, we look forward to hearing from you what you like or dislike, or even simply to share with us your own perspectives and approaches.
Because CEE In-House Matters (too!).
