November 4, 2022

Over thirty years ago, a number of general counsel felt the need to gather in person on a regular basis, for fellowship and to discuss legal issues facing their technology sector companies. Their group grew with Silicon Valley, eventually becoming the Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel.

Ivy Associates arranged speakers for the GC monthly luncheons, and was soon asked to produce a larger, annual event to which GCs could bring their staff counsel. The first All Hands Meetings were held at the Menlo Park headquarters of a member company (now the Meta campus), with a single presentation track and lunch on the lawn at picnic tables.

The All Hands Meeting briefly relocated to Stanford Law School, and then to the Santa Clara Convention Center as it became a multi-track, two day conference drawing general and staff counsel from hundreds of tech sector companies. Faculty came from around the world to address the AHM audience. The first general counsel for Microsoft gave our first Keynote Address, followed by former GCs for Oracle, Apple, Cisco and other tech giants, and keynoters who had served on the federal bench or as a United States Attorney General, Representative, Senator or Counsel to the President.

As lockdowns began in the San Francisco Bay Area, the SVAGC was one of the first professional organizations in America forced to cancel in-person gatherings. The All Hands Meeting, produced by Ivy Associates in cooperation with the SVAGC, could not take place in 2020 or 2021, and SVAGC activities have ceased. Sadly, despite efforts to restart the AHM, rising costs and uncertainties and the increasingly remote locations of former participants currently make it impractical to produce the All Hands Meeting or the AHM Hub.

Ivy Associates continues as a State Bar approved MCLE provider, and will maintain records and provide verifications as needed for credits based on 2020-2022 AHM server video viewings. (Credits from the 2019 conference may no longer be claimed for the current and future MCLE reporting cycles.)

It has been a privilege to serve the All Hands Meeting audience, and its support over these many years is greatly appreciated.