Last year we started the GCN Peergroups in June: meetings where centrally located in the Netherlands (a farmhouse in Utrecht) General Counsels meet annually based on the size of their department (small, medium or large). This has been a great success and prompted us, after almost 15 years with more or less the same format, to fully future-proof the GCN activity calendar.
The key outcome? As of January 1, 2026, GCN is revamping its program. The February and November GCN Intervisions and the three GCN Think Tanks will give way to nine brand-new GCN Master Classes. This change was prompted by the desire of many General Counsels to be able to choose from multiple substantive meetings throughout the year, with more variety and a greater opportunity to meet new General Counsels within GCN.
All meetings – whether a GCN Congress, GCN Peergroup or GCN Masterclass – are exclusively for GCs, CLOs, Heads of Legal and other ultimately responsible corporate lawyers. The topics are therefore always approached specifically from the role and challenges of GCN members. Not purely legal content, but mainly focused on the final responsibility of GCs for managing and reporting legal risks and everything related to this within large organizations.
The GCN Master Classes provide in-depth content on a variety of topics relevant to the role of General Counsel. The topics are varied and align with the practice of GCs. Examples include:
- Managerial topics such as strategy for your department, managing corporate lawyers, positioning and transformations.
- Operational and technological themes, including innovations in legal tech and process optimization.
- Topics such as Cyber, Ethics, Intercultural Management etc etc.
- People skills and leadership skills.
- Practical workshops that are directly applicable in the daily practice of a GC.
Group size varies from about 10 to 40 GCs, depending on the topic. Sometimes we start with a keynote from an expert, but the format may vary, always interactive and hands-on. As with all other meetings, each GCN attendee can register separately for each GCN Masterclass. Each session lasts 2-3 hours and ends with an informal drink to chat and make new contacts.
Until now, GCs could participate annually in the following meetings:
- GCN Intervision in February
- GCN Annual Conference in March
- GCN Think Tank in April
- GCN Peer Group in June
- GCN Summerevent in July
- GCN Think Tank in September
- GCN Autumn Congress or GCN Annual Dinner in October
- GCN Intervision in November
As of 2026, the program is as follows:
- GCN Masterclass in January
- GCN Masterclass in February
- GCN Masterclass in March
- GCN Annual Conference in March
- GCN Masterclass in April
- GCN Masterclass in May
- GCN Peer Group in June
- GCN Masterclass in June
- GCN Summerevent in July
- GCN Masterclass in September
- GCN Autumn Congress or GCN Annual Dinner in October
- GCN Masterclass in October
- GCN Masterclass in November
We would like to sincerely thank all GCs who shared their ideas and feedback. Thanks to your input, we can continue to innovatively build a GCN program that meets the challenges of today and tomorrow!
Note: The meetings of the GCN Intervision Group South Netherlands, a close-knit group of GCs working in North Brabant and Limburg will, by express request, continue as usual.
Note: The exact numbers and dates of the GCN Masterclasses are still subject to change