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The 2021 programme ran in early September 2021, virtually bringing together 150 junior lawyers from Hogan Lovells and our clients. A highlight of this year’s program was the keynote speech from Sohaila Ouffata, Managing Director of BMW i Ventures in Europe. 

“It’s easy to say that it’s just fashionable – everyone talks about it today, tomorrow it will be something else. But I don’t think so. I think that your work careers at Hogan Lovells will mainly be influenced by this shift.”

Sohaila Ouffata, Managing Director of BMW i Ventures in Europe

Sohaila’s talk focussed on the connection between economic growth and purpose. As she explained, until recently the two were “seen as something that was not combinable. It was thought that you either make financially good investments, or you make social investments”. Sohaila spent years trying to convince people that the two concepts were not in fact mutually exclusive, but it is only in the past few years that people have really started taking notice. In this context, Sohaila highlighted the relevance of HL BaSE training, saying that the shift to more sustainable business is here to stay and is something that will define the careers of junior lawyers everywhere.

Delegates were given a tree by Treedom, and as a result helped to offset 7,700kg of CO2. Through the social enterprise Treedom tree owners are able to track the progress of their trees through regular photo and video updates, as well as updates on a tree’s crop yield and CO2 offsetting. Since it was founded in 2010, Treedom has planted over 2.25 million trees.