The Red Cross has local lawyers in the jurisdictions where it operates. Avis relies on third-party consultants for advice on topics such as privacy and cybersecurity. It also includes estimating the number of evacuees and their whereabouts in disaster situations. His role includes managing risk, understanding the organization`s insurance portfolio, speeding up contracts – often moving people, things and money quickly across Canada – and negotiating government contracts. While working with the organization, she set her goal of becoming general counsel at the age of 35. “I thought I was completely crazy, but I thought it was an interesting goal to achieve. Various people reminded me that I said that, and they said, “We thought you were joking. “I don`t think there`s a path that gets you where you want to be, but for me, I decided early on that I wanted to be responsible for the internal function and also our insurance and risk portfolio,” she says. From there, she rose through the ranks and became Senior Legal Counsel. “When the former CEO left the organization, our management had the choice at that time to bring in someone from outside or take care of me and believe in me to take on that role,” says Avis.
When Avis joined the Canadian Red Cross legal department, there were three people and this year there are now eight. “It`s grown and evolved a lot since then – our business in Canada has changed so much in the last nine years,” she says. • General Counsel and Vice President of Risk and Compliance International, Avis has travelled to South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India and many other locations to negotiate commercial contracts with Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners, funding agreements or large-scale construction tenders with non-state actors establishing legal status in these countries so that the Red Cross can operate. Last fall, Avis, 31, became general counsel and vice president of risk and compliance at the not-for-profit organization, but worked in the legal department even before graduating from law school. She traveled to South Sudan and the Maldives, where the men she dealt with refused to shake her hand. She is often “shoulder to shoulder” with surgical staff helping her make decisions in the field. “I`ve spent a lot of time refuting this idea of being a millennial, but what I`ve been thinking is that there are many qualities in us as millennials that make us a force to be reckoned with. One of the reasons I`ve succeeded is because I have the millennial spirit of fearlessness and entrepreneurship that characterizes us as a generation. And innovation – something that allows you to really succeed internally is to solve problems creatively and provide innovative solutions to problems that are not exclusively legal. Nine years ago, Avis started as a student and volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross Legal Service. Today, she is General Counsel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), founded in Geneva in 1863 by the visionary philanthropist Henry Dunant as an association under Swiss law, could not have become the first humanitarian organization it is today without the active support of financial and legal experts. Avis “grew” in her legal role at the Red Cross, where she was doing emergency work, and even now, in the role of general counsel, it`s something she continues to do. “I think it`s very important for the company to see us on the same team as them,” she says. Over the years, many legal and financial professionals have donated their ideas and resources to our humanitarian cause because they believe in our neutral, independent, impartial and confidential approach. When working in Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan, Avis must consider the local legal framework versus the Canadian legal framework and consider what arguments might be legally effective in relation to public perception, what is fair and what the humanitarian imperative is. “There are a lot of layers and for me it`s really case by case,” she says. “In the case of South Sudan, it`s a newly formed government, so it`s much more complicated to understand what the rule of law is.” Throughout our history, we have had the privilege of working with an extensive network of legal and financial professionals who share our values. “The courses were very academic and high-level, talking about contracts and things that have little to do with issues of international trade law.
I often think about the fact that there are conventions and treaties about what you can and can`t do, but realistically, if you`re in a country and someone is holding you at gunpoint, you`re not going to discuss the nuances of what they can and can`t do.” She. She received a public interest scholarship at the University of Ottawa and received a scholarship and needed to find a humanitarian organization to work with for the summer. She contacted the Red Cross legal department and convinced them to hire her. “In the Maldives, I went to a room with all the men. I go to all-male meeting rooms all the time all over the world, but in this case, I reached out to shake hands with a gentleman, and he didn`t take it. I kept reaching out and assuming I wasn`t going far enough across the table. Then I realized he couldn`t shake my hand for religious reasons because I was a woman. I am not criticizing that; I don`t think he was disrespectful, but I had to overcome my own embarrassment and that`s a difficult way to start a trial,” she says. There are many women working for the Red Cross, but in incident management, crisis management or critical incidents.
In the event of a problem, the legal department would have an important role to play in an investigation. Recipient: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)Swiss compensation code: 240 (for payments from Switzerland)Swift code (BIC): UBSWCH ZH80A (for payments from other countries)Bank address:. Like any internal function, Avis says, it strives to prove value to the organization, but it`s even more important when resources are so limited and administrative expenses are seen as negative by the public in the nonprofit. Amy Avis is responsible for a unique risk portfolio at the Canadian Red Cross. Whether it`s disaster relief from the Fort McMurray and British Columbia wildfires or international work abroad in countries where she faces cultural challenges as a young woman, work requires her to make critical decisions for the organization, often in extreme circumstances. Founded in 1863, the ICRC works around the world, helping people affected by conflict and armed violence, and promoting laws that protect victims of war. As an independent and neutral organization, its mandate derives primarily from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. We are headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and employ approximately 16,000 people in more than 80 countries.
The ICRC is mainly funded by voluntary donations from governments and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. “It`s usually a super macho situation and I`m sure it would give people more comfort if I had graying hair and was a 50-year-old man.
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