The Association of Corporate Counsel has opened its first office in Brussels, as part of an effort to persuade more in-house lawyers to join the organisation's European chapter.

Giuseppe Marletta, a multilingual expert in pan-European advocacy and high-level operations management, will head the new office. He formerly managed the International Association of Young Lawyers.

Giuseppe Marletta, ACC Europe.

Marletta said in an interview on Tuesday that he's aiming for a 10% increase in ACC Europe membership by the end of the year. The branch has about 2,500 members inside and outside the EU.

"We see a great potential … and would like to be closer to our members," added Marletta, who studied at the University of Catania in Italy and speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish.

The Brussels office is located in a bustling financial district near large law firms and European institutions, including the European Parliament and European Commission, according to Marletta. He said the UK was not considered as a location for the office, but the uncertainty over Brexit was not a factor in that decision.

"Brussels was the centre and most accessible place for most European countries," he said.

ACC president and CEO Veta T Richardson said in a prepared statement that the new office is "an important signal to our members that we are serving an international community of in-house counsel, whose needs and interests cross borders and languages".

According to Marletta, the ACC also is set to launch a new website in 10 days, which will have a fresher look, additional resources for members and a more global vibe than the current site, which he described as being US-centric. The new site will not be associated with any specific region, he said.

"There is a matter of branding there to make it more accessible and more appealing to European members," Marletta added.

In addition to previously serving as general manager of the International Association of Young Lawyers, Marletta also worked at Brussels-based Interel Association Management, a global public affairs and association management consultancy, and at various EU youth initiatives, according to the ACC.