About us
Who we are
European Justice Forum (“EJF”) is a non-profit organisation formed in 2005 to promote balanced, transparent and efficient access to civil justice for consumers and enterprises in Europe without incurring the damage that would arise from the adoption of class actions.
Through its membership and its office in Brussels, EJF engages in an open dialogue with opinion leaders in EU Institutions, national Governments and other relevant stakeholders. EJF develops position papers and other outreach materials, organizes expert debates and participates in factual events.
Our board
The core committee responsible for the development of EJF is the Board. The board appoints the Chairman as well as the CEO. Important decisions related to EJF as a non-for-profit organization are confirmed or approved by the General Meeting to which all members are invited. A Secretariat is supporting the day-to-day activities. Details of EJF’s Corporate Governance are laid out in its Statutes.
The Board calls/meetings as well as the General Meeting are chaired by the Chairman of EJF. The Chairman is part of the board and supervising EJF’s activities.
The CEO is responsible for the operational management of EJF. She is the core contact for political, regulatory & academic outreach and an important interface to members as well as for driving the strategic development of the association
The secretariat is responsible for tasks related to regulatory monitoring, communications, outreach, event support and operational issues.
Agata Boutanos
CEO
Agata Boutanos became CEO of the European Justice Forum with effect of 1st December 2025.
Agata specializes in strategic communication towards the European environment. Over the course of sixteen years she has been involved in determining the impact of policies on business activities and translating the needs of market entities into effective communication campaigns.
Prior to joining the EJF, she has started and led Brussels based offices of Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and European Enterprise Alliance, as well as built first Public Affairs team in Poland and Europe for Tauron Polska Energia (TPE), to later become the company’s representative in Brussels as Head of International and Government Affairs. Since 2008, Agata has worked with EU institutions and in the private sector and co-designed EU decision making trainings since 2016. Agata held various strategic communication roles in CEC Government Relations, where she led the Energy and Environment practice, served EMEA Region as a Energy Partner of the Polish Economic Congress Foundation at the Employers of Poland, and at Dow Corning as European Government Affairs Associate in Brussels.
Simon Neill
CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBER
Simon Neill has been a member of the Johnson & Johnson Law Department since 2001, and is currently Senior Legal Director responsible for external legal advocacy and legal public affairs in Europe. For the past 20 twenty years and before joining the board of EJF in 2023, Simon provided legal support to many of the J&J medical devices and MedTech businesses in EMEA. Prior to joining J&J, Simon was outside counsel at a major international law firm for seven years. Simon studied law and French law at Birmingham and Limoges and he obtained a masters degree in business management from the Solvay business school in 2013. Simon has lived in Belgium for over 30 years.
In his spare time Simon enjoys marathon running, bike tours around Italy and travelling, especially to the Dordogne and Gironde areas of south-west France… and tasting the wine there!
Moya Stevenson
BOARD MEMBER
Moya Stevenson is currently Global Senior Claims Counsel within Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. Her career in private practice, at a broker and now at a re/insurer has brought her in contact with various forms of dispute resolution worldwide, including litigation, arbitration and mediation. Prior to joining the Swiss Re Group in Zürich in 2004, Moya had spent nearly ten years working as a solicitor in London in private practice and a further three years as an in-house counsel at a Lloyds Broking house. She has focused on the insurance and reinsurance industry almost all of her working life.
“Considering and learning from different legal regimes as well as good practice, should enable consumers and business alike to build that fair and effective civil justice system that we all need and deserve. EJF is committed to finding that balance, through research and dialogue.”
Moya is also a member of the Management Committee of ARIAS (UK) – the AIDA Insurance and Reinsurance Arbitration Society – and regularly travels to their committee meetings and events. Moya studied law with German law at King’s College London and at the Universität Passau. In her leisure time, Moya likes to spend time with her son and husband, particularly in the Swiss Alps.
Andrew Mills
BOARD MEMBER
Andrew Mills is the Legal Director for the UK and Ireland business of Experian, the global data business listed on the London stock exchange. He has been working for Experian since 2007.
Although very definitely a lawyer (he is admitted as a lawyer in both England & Wales and the Republic of Ireland and is also a non-practising notary public), Andrew began is career in the world of electronic engineering with Marconi and often brings a different perspective. He remains a member of the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology.
His in-house legal team provides support to Experian on a wide range of matters including working closely with colleagues in the compliance team on regulatory matters and contracting with clients through to handling litigation and leading on global brand protection for the group. In keeping with his background, Andrew is driving transformation in the legal function with a focus on using data and agile methodologies.
Before Experian, Andrew was a partner in the English law firm Freeths LLP, where he led the Intellectual Property & Information Technology team.
Outside work, he still cannot believe that he is old enough to have young grandchildren and he tries to remind himself that he is still young by enjoying outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, cycling and (not as often as he would like) scuba diving as well as live music.
“We believe that the best way of handling a dispute is by avoiding it in the first place. To do that, we need to listen to clients and customers and use feedback to keep improving. We also must give people an effective and accessible way to complain and properly deal with those complaints; not only is this the best way of avoiding an escalation of a problem but this is also an important part of the feedback process.”
David Meyerson
BOARD MEMBER
David Meyerson is the Head of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). In that capacity, he leads all of ILR’s advocacy efforts in Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region. He works to combat litigation and liability expansion, directly addressing the trend of US-style legal practices being exported around the world. Previously, he helped lead ILR’s work in state capitols throughout the western and midwestern portions of the United States.
Prior to joining ILR, David was a public affairs consultant in London, working with clients throughout Europe and the Middle East. Before that, he served as a Regional Political Director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), overseeing its political and policy operations in the ten western states.
David is a graduate of the University of Arizona. He holds a Juris Doctor, with an emphasis in International and Comparative Law and Regulation, from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and is an active member of the Washington, D.C. Bar Association.
Seyide Direk
POLICY MANAGER
Seyide Direk is Policy Manager at the European Justice Forum.
Over 5 years of experience, Seyide specializes in policy analyses, stakeholder engagement. With a background spanning European, international, and industry environments, Seyide brings a broad, cross-sector perspective to daily operations of the Forum. She holds an LLM in Law and Sustainable Development and an MA in European and Global Studies, and BA in American Studies. She is driven by a strong interest in inclusive development and cross-border cooperation and is also Co-Founder of the European Centre for Social Innovation, a Milan-based initiative advancing community-centred solutions.
Agata Boutanos
CEO
Simon Neill
CHAIR & BOARD MEMBER
Moya Stevenson
BOARD MEMBER
Andrew Mills
BOARD MEMBER
David Meyserson
BOARD MEMBER
Seyide Direk
POLICY MANAGER
Our members
EJF legal network
Our goals
EJF’s main goal is to promote fair, balanced, transparent and efficient civil justice systems in Europe.
To do so, EJF leads and promotes open dialogues on collective redress and effective dispute resolution mechanisms. Our main discussion partners are from the political, academic, civil society and business worlds, both at European and national levels.
EJF adopts an holistic approach and looks at the entire process from dispute detection, out-of-court dispute resolution to in-court dispute resolution, to ensure the legal environment in Europe protects both consumers and businesses alike, and that those with a legitimate grievance have access to as well as delivery of justice.
EJF promotes systems in which innovation and companies can flourish and which enhance the international competitiveness of Europe.
Code of conduct
This Code of Ethics sets forth the ethical principles guiding EJF’s outreach activities with third parties. It covers inter alia overarching principles, treatment of information and conduct of lobbying. These are the standards to which EJF requires its Executive, its members, and those working for EJF as independent operators, to adhere.
WHY
While compliance with laws and regulations is mandatory, it also shows EJF’s commitment to be a responsible organisation. It demonstrates we care about and respect the people we deal with in our (outreach) activities. This Code is intended to deter wrongdoing and to promote the ethical conduct of EJFs’ activities.
HOW
Compliance with the standards of this Code is monitored by the Board of EJF. Disciplinary, and in the appropriate case, legal action in respect of non-compliance is the responsibility of the Chairman under the supervision of the Board. Any conflict between laws and regulations and this Code of Ethics and Business Conduct should be brought to the attention of the Board of EJF.
Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct
Overarching principles
- EJF will conduct its relationships with all third parties with whom it deals in its outreach activities, with integrity and transparency.
- EJF will conduct its affairs with all third parties with whom it deals in its outreach activities, in compliance with all relevant laws, as well as with the rules of behaviour and established ethics regulating the conduct of such third parties.
- EJF will not in connection with its outreach activities, or at all, make, nor facilitate nor encourage, any financial inducement, bribe, or corrupt practice.
Treatment of Information
EJF treats confidentiality of information, both of its and others’ information, seriously and respects the requirements of confidentiality imposed by law.
EJF exercises no control over the independent academic research it funds beyond identifying areas for research, formulating the scope of the research, and paying for it.
No transfers of monetary value or for money’s worth
In its outreach activities with third parties, whatever their purpose, EJF will not offer any monetary inducement or financial reward in order to advance our objectives.
Any social interaction between EJF and such third parties as part of its outreach activities or otherwise will be at a modest level, consistent with conventionally accepted practice.
EJF will not entertain, or make gifts to, such third parties beyond what is consistent with their responsibilities, duties and expectations, and in any event will be of very modest value. As an example of what EJF considers permissible, EJF may provide, free, in order to further its advocacy objectives, copies of published research output or other written work it has sponsored or funded, or helped to sponsor or fund, in its areas of focus. EJF will also be free to invite such third parties to participate socially, in a modest and appropriate manner, as part of one or more of its educational events, such as a workshop, book launch, conference, round-table, seminar or similar.
Declaration of who we are
When EJF representatives speak to such third parties as part of EJF’s outreach activities we will declare that we are speaking for EJF, and explain its objectives, and its membership, when asked to do so or otherwise if considered appropriate.
Compliance with Competition law
As a small, non-profit organization, EJF does not compete commercially on any level in the market place. It does compete for ideas.
Its members are all competitive businesses, with well-developed competition compliance programmes of their own and reputations they jealously uphold. They cover a variety of industry sectors and some compete within one sector, and they have their own separate and distinct commercial interests.
Accordingly, EJF has a strong attachment to the maintenance of strong competition and to competition law compliance.
EJF abides by the strictures of EU competition law and equivalent provisions of national laws. Accordingly, in pursuing its purposes and objectives neither EJF, nor any of its members, will discuss or exchange information relating to the commercial policy of any business entity, including any of EJF’s members, with anyone, in such a way as to lead to the infringement, or the perception of infringement, of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”), and national equivalents.
Membership of EJF or access to information of EJF is not conditional upon a promise not to participate in associations or entities which compete with existing members. Compliance is monitored by the Board of EJF on a regular basis.
Statute
EJF Bylaws (EN Articles of Association 2023) Updated
EJF Competition Policy
This competition code of conduct has been endorsed and adopted by the European Justice Forum (EJF) AISBL’s board of directors 23/04/2026 (hereafter: “Code of Conduct”).