presides over this organization and the second in its 76-year history grants an interview to EL MUNDO at the firm's headquarters in Madrid, before traveling to

Paris

to participate this week in the

Annual Conference of the organization

, which brings together large firms and lawyers from around the world to address the main challenges of the sector.

One of the priorities of your mandate is to defend the Rule of Law, which, as you have said, suffers “a subtle but very dangerous erosion of the Rule of Law, also in Spain.” Is it in danger?

I do not consider that it is in danger, I believe that it is solid, that the institutions in Spain are strong and that we Spaniards attach great importance to it.. But what does happen is that politicians, in many cases, are gaining the upper hand over the rule of law due to those small erosions that occur not only in Spain, but also in the EU environment.. For example, legislation is legislated very quickly, there is legislative hyperactivity and it is very difficult to follow it for lawyers and for citizens or companies, who need more and more advice.. The rule of law is based on the fact that we are all equal before the law, but for that you have to know the law, it has to be accessible.

What other problems do you detect?

This hyperactivity coincides with the fact that the rules are not always dictated by Parliament, which is the legislative body par excellence, but are often dictated by the Government, so there is no time for expert reports to be received, for them to be made. amendments, to the consultations… and erosion occurs. In Spain we have the problem of the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, for example, and obviously the governing body of the judges has to be appointed in a way that demonstrates that the administration of justice is truly impartial.. The important thing about Justice is that it is administered correctly and that it is seen, because otherwise confidence in the system is lost.. You start to see judges who you actually think are politicians in robes and there is a tremendous erosion of trust in the system.. Even so, in Spain the situation is very good but we must take care of the rule of law so that it takes care of us.

As a jurist, what do you think that some members of the Constitutional Court have been in the Government?

When it is said of a body that it is independent of the Government, in reality those who have to be independent are each of the members. Can a member who has been part of a party be independent? Why not? It depends on whether that person is truly independent or not.

Do you see it as harmful that there are members of a Government saying that judges apply the laws poorly because they have biases, as happened with the Yes Means Law?

It is unpresentable, there cannot be attacks by the Executive on resolutions that it does not like from the Judiciary.. There cannot be attacks by the Executive on the actions of lawyers.

Does interference from the Executive through pardons, amnesties… hurt the Judiciary?

It is a debated topic from a legal point of view. I know that there are opinions that believe it is possible, I personally do not see it as being one hundred percent legally correct in the context in which it can occur, in a context of political negotiation.. If we want to apply a legal measure, we must do an in-depth study on whether it is legally correct, especially given condemnatory pronouncements from the Supreme Court.

It is the first time that the IBA presents an agenda of challenges for five years, why have you taken this initiative as president?

For the first time, a legal agenda has been established to identify the most important legal issues for the legal profession worldwide and society, so that at the IBA we know how to respond to them.. Artificial intelligence is the number one concern, due to the very rapid development of generative AI (such as GPT chat and new developments). As they occur very quickly, there is a question mark about how AI will affect all sectors of activity and how it will affect our clients' businesses, our advice and also the professional practice of law firms.

Should legislators get to work or is it better for jurists to clear up doubts in the courts? What does the IBA plan to do to anticipate the problems that are already being seen?

What we are going to do at the IBA is determine what principles should be the basis of any regulation of AI, because it will not have borders, so it does not matter if the EU regulates it in one way, because the Regulatory divergences will only create confusion and what may be mandatory in one jurisdiction may be prohibited in another.. That is why we are going to develop common principles and I hope they accept them. Regulatory convergence is complicated, but if we can get the fundamental principles to converge it would be good.

The second point on the agenda is the ESG criteria with special mention to the inclusion of women in management positions, also one of the axes of its mandate for 2023 and 2024. Why is the legal sector so masculinized?

The legal sector is not the worst of all sectors, there are others that unfortunately are much worse in terms of gender equality. I have focused on senior roles, because the number of female lawyers is equal and even higher than that of members and law graduates, but in lawyers who reach positions of responsibility (partnership, directors, etc.) the proportion of women remains in 30%. We have made a lot of progress, there is enormous awareness on the issue of gender equality, but that 30% is still insufficient, so at the IBA we are doing a field study over nine years to truly know what is happening in different jurisdictions and what measures they have in place to facilitate equality in senior positions, to determine which measures really work.

What more do you think is needed to see more female partners in the offices?

The most important measure from my point of view is the flexibility that allows for the reconciliation of personal and professional life, whether for maternity reasons or for any other reason – there are many interests in life -, flexibility in terms of in-person assistance and remote work. , in terms of schedules, and in terms of career development. That is to say, there is a certain rigidity in the offices and I think also in other areas of the legal sector regarding the steps that must be followed and their cadence to reach the rank of partner.. I wonder: why can't women and men press the pause button and then resume their careers as long as they have a serious and real commitment to the company? Career development also has to be more flexible and that has to be applicable to both women and men.

Have you had to sacrifice your personal life in some way to be able to combine your career at the firm and at the IBA simultaneously?

I am the second woman president of the IBA but from the first to my appointment 20 years passed and I am the second in more than 76 years of existence of the association. If there was a glass ceiling, I think it has been broken to keep it open. When you achieve what we can call professional successes throughout your life, they are always the result of effort, dedication and commitment.. I would be very surprised if anyone, especially women, at this time reached a position of responsibility without merit.. I am a great defender of meritocracy, in the end when the possibility of me becoming president of the IBA was raised, my merits in the IBA and the parallel career that I have developed in GA&P were taken into account, from which I I feel very proud.

So in the segments in which there are no women, is it because there are no women with merit?

You have to know how to search, have your eyes wide open. When I started to rise in the IBA, I had the right to appoint four positions on the council and they presented me with a list of candidates that were only men. Seeing that there was no woman, I began to look. In the end, of the four, three were women. Of course there are women with merit, ability and desire, you have to have them.. It is very easy to say that you want to be a director of an Ibex company or a partner in a law firm, but when the chords begin to sound that it is possible for you to achieve it, you have to take a step forward and that is an exercise in tremendous courage, because except With exceptions, women never consider themselves sufficiently prepared in general.

Very long working hours and total availability have always characterized this sector; Now that young people prioritize conciliation and personal life, are offices adapting to this new work organization? Do you have problems filling vacancies?

Yes, young lawyers also ask to have a space for conciliation and many more things. The new generations look for a purpose in life and work environments that allow conciliation, that are inclusive, respectful of the environment, that are pleasant environments that they can feel proud of and that complement their vital purpose.. So far in the legal sector we do not have any problem attracting talent, although there is beginning to be talk that there is less interest, but not only in Spain but globally.. This should continue as long as we are able to embrace these principles: an environment that is inclusive, environmentally friendly, transparent and has good governance.