RJ Gaudet & Associates LLC was honored to have the opportunity in early 2012 to represent Oikocredit in a $10 million credit line agreement to another Micro-Finance Institution (“MFI”) in support of small businesses and entrepreneurs around the world.  In August 2012, Oikocredit released Facts and Figures about its worldwide operations which you can download at this website.

Roughly 83 percent of Oikocredit’s clients are women, which helps address gender inequality in the developing world.  Read more about Oikocredit at this link.  The Oikocredit Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society was founded in 1975 as a result of a 1968 meeting of the members of the World Council of Churches with the goal “to encourage social justice.”  Its headquarters are in Amersfoort, the Netherlands.  Oikocredit manages 522 million Euros through 864 partners and 26 million clients.  The funds are used to fight poverty, promote fair trade, and respect the planet’s resources.

For the most recent transaction in which he represented Oikocredit, Robert J. Gaudet, Jr. conducted due diligence in accordance with standard practices in the finance industry, drafted the credit line agreement, liaised with the legal and management personnel at Oikocredit, exchanged communications with the counter-party, and provided a legal opinion.  The credit line agreement was based on New York law and the firm cooperated with co-counsel in New York City.  It was the third transaction for which Mr. Gaudet represented Oikocredit.

RJ Gaudet & Associates LLC is proud to represent Oikocredit and other socially responsible clients who work hard to make the world a better place.

Registration is now open for an exceptional conference on E.U. class actions that will take place in Brussels within the committee rooms of the European Parliament on November 12 – 13, 2012.  Seating within the European Parliament is limited so spaces should be reserved now.

The list of speakers is extraordinary and includes a lawyer who drafted Poland’s law on opt-in class actions; the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Ireland Michael McDowell; former vice president of the European Parliament Diana Wallis; Boston lawyer Jan Schlichtmann who was portrayed by John Travolta in the film “A Civil Action”; Prof. Laura Caraballo of Spain; Prof. Rachael Mulheron of Queen Mary University, London; Michele Carpagnano, co-author of a recent report on class actions for the European Parliament’s Economic & Monetary Affairs Committee; and many others.

European Parliament Building in Brussels

The location is the European Parliament with a few of its committee rooms, graciously hosted by Members of European Parliament McGuinness, Gallagher, Harkin, and Van der Stoep.

European Parliament Committee Room Booked For the Conference

The topics that will be discussed include Access to Justice as a Human Right; How to Prosecute a Class Action; How to Defend a Class Action; The New Paternalism in Europe: Why Some Prefer Governments and NGOs Over Private Plaintiffs; the Opt-Out Mechanism versus the Opt-in Mechanism; and numerous other topics.  The conference will provide a balanced look at some of the critical issues that Brussels is thinking about in deciding whether to design a system of collective redress for the entire E.U.  The speakers will discuss class action mechanisms that already exist in certain Member States such as Sweden and Italy as well as any lessons to be learned form the United States experience with class actions.

To register, please go to this link as soon as possible to save your space, since seating in the European Parliament is limited, and to book a room at the nearby Renaissance Hotel at a reduced rate.

Numerous organizations are jointly presenting the conference including the Netherlands Bar Association, the French-speaking Brussels Bar Association, Union Internationale des Avocats, AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers); National University of Ireland Maynooth Department of Law; New York State Bar Association International Section; Catholic University of Lyon Department of Law; PEOPIL (Pan-European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers); American Bar Association Section of International Law; and others.  You can view the complete list of cooperating entities at this link.

For more information, please check the link above or feel free to contact Robert J. Gaudet, Jr. who is a member of the planning group.