Day 0 in Bucharest: the early arrivals open the IGAL AGM 2026

The IGAL Annual General Meeting 2026 officially opens on Wednesday 28 October. On Tuesday evening, the first members to reach Bucharest were already sitting at the same table. In practice, that is when the week began.

The early-arrival dinner is optional. It sits outside the official programme, the night before the Board meets and before the welcome reception. Members book it because they know what the first evening of an AGM is worth: a few hours with colleagues, before the schedule, the sessions and the gala take over.

Dinner on Calea Victoriei

This year the table was set at Maison des Arts, on Calea Victoriei, the avenue that earned Bucharest its nickname of Little Paris. Lawyers and accountants from across the network came with their partners and accompanying guests, and the evening went at its own pace.

There was no agenda to follow and nothing to present. Some guests had not seen each other since the last meeting; others were putting faces to names they knew from emails and referrals. The conversations were the kind that rarely happen on a video call: how the year has gone, what has changed in each firm, what everyone wants to see in Bucharest.

Then the bar

After dinner, the evening carried on at the bar. Smaller groups, a glass in hand, and the easy back-and-forth of people who are starting to know each other well. Anyone who has attended an IGAL meeting will recognise the moment. It is often where a colleague in another country stops being a contact and becomes the person you call.

Why the first evening matters

A network of independent law and accounting firms is only as strong as the trust between the people in it. When a client needs help in another jurisdiction, a referral goes to someone you know, whose judgement you rely on and whose firm you are happy to put your own name behind. That trust is built in person, over evenings like this one.

It is also why partners and accompanying guests are part of every IGAL meeting. Many of the friendships in the network are shared between families, and the social programme is designed with that in mind.

What comes next

Wednesday brings the Board meeting, a walking tour of the city for accompanying guests and the welcome reception and dinner, when the full group comes together. Thursday is the business day (see Episode 02 for the programme). On Friday everyone heads out to Singureni Manor for a joint social day, and Saturday closes the week with the Annual General Meeting, updates on Brussels 2027 and Montreal 2027, and a Gatsby gala dinner.

We will be sharing the week as it happens on LinkedIn and Instagram.

See it from the inside

If you lead an independent law or accounting firm and want to know what an international network looks like from the inside, this is it: a table, a room and colleagues around the world who will pick up the phone. Find out how to join IGAL on our Become a Member page, or write to us at contact@igal-network.com.