About us

The German-Irish Lawyers and Business Association (GILBA) is a bilateral professional association, which currently has around 200 members mostly based in Germany and Ireland. GILBA is a registered charitable association under German law.

GILBA provides lawyers, tax consultants, accountants and business people, active in both Ireland and Germany, with a forum for the exchange of information and expertise. Founded on the 18th of June 1988 in Bonn as a registered charitable association under German Law, the association was introduced to the Irish public 2 years later on the 28th of March 1990 by then German Ambassador, Dr Helmut Rückriegel, in front of 140 guests in the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland in Blackhall Place.

GILBA aims to foster and promote personal and professional links between German and Irish members. The highlight of each year is the annual conference, which offers members from Germany and Ireland the opportunity to engage with colleagues and renowned expert speakers from the worlds of law, politics, business, science and the arts.

In addition, GILBA offers further opportunities to interact throughout the year in the form of thematic seminars, cultural events and networking get-togethers. We also engage and organise events with befriended organisations to connect the Irish and German community.

Our second main event are the GILBA-Awards. We cooperate with several Universities in Ireland to foster young students in the subjects Law and German as well as Business and German. The GILBA awards for the most successful students provide a monetary price and a free GILBA membership for the price winners. GILBA also facilitates exchange between young professionals by, in particular, supporting legal trainees in finding traineeships in law firms.

Please click here to see the Articles of our Association (Constitution): Satzung der DIJW

Please click here to see the GILBA Privacy Notice: Datenschutzerklärung

Please click here to get our: DIJW / GILBA Flyer

Executive Board:

Hilkka Becker
Dr. Michael Hördt
Enda Jordan
Marcus Metz
Thomas Schmidt

Member of the supportive committee:

Fionnuala Crocker
Lothar Köhl
Enya Levy
Gabi Scholz
Maike Schwiddessen
Mareike Zackariat

In recognition of his long-standing commitment to German-Irish relations and his tireless commitment to GILBA, Elmar Conrads-Hassel is appointed honorary chairman of the association.

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