Cristina Vallejo elected new Dean of the Barcelona Bar Association

Cristina Vallejo, managing partner at VPG Abogados, has been elected the new Dean of the Barcelona Bar Association (Ilustre Colegio de la Abogacía de Barcelona – ICAB) following elections held this Thursday. Vallejo received 3,446 votes, succeeding Jesús M. Sánchez, who held the position since January 18, 2022.

Vallejo, a law graduate from Universitat Abat Oliba with over 20 years of legal experience, previously served as an ICAB board member between 2017 and 2021. She has also been actively involved in legal education, teaching civil and procedural law at the ICAB’s School of Legal Practice for over 15 years, and currently lectures on the Master in Legal Practice at the University of Barcelona (UB).

Her entire candidacy was elected, resulting in a complete renewal of the ICAB governing board. Jorge Navarro has been elected as Vice-Dean with 3,480 votes, while Carles García will serve as Secretary with 3,392 votes.

A Modernization-Oriented Mandate

Vallejo has outlined her main goals as:

• Elevating the prestige of the legal profession,
• Enhancing continuing legal education, and
• Supporting law firms in the digital and AI-driven transformation of the legal sector.

She described her team as diverse and multidisciplinary, comprising professionals from a wide range of legal backgrounds and firms of varying sizes, from large practices to smaller boutique firms.

Election Results and Voter Turnout

The election saw a voter turnout of 15.9% among more than 24,100 registered lawyers, with 3,855 members casting their vote (3,521 practicing or formerly practicing lawyers, and 334 non-practicing). Of note, votes from practicing lawyers and those with more than 25 years of membership counted double.

Vallejo won by a margin of more than 300 votes over runner-up Joan-Ramon Ramos, who received 3,102 votes. Other candidates included Vanessa González (631 votes), Joan Maria Xiol (78), and Josep Maria Paños (41).

The swearing-in ceremony for the new ICAB board is expected to take place in the coming weeks. Vallejo will serve a four-year term as Dean.

The New ICAB Governing Board

• Dean: Cristina Vallejo
• Vice-Dean: Jorge Navarro
• Secretary: Carles García

Board Members:

• Cristina Capuz
• Ramón Casanova
• Natalia Centella
• Quim Clavaguera
• Cristina Crespo
• Cristina Díaz-Malnero
• Marta Domènech
• Octavio Gracia
• Natalia Martí
• Lluís Rodríguez
• Alexander Salvador
• Vanessa Sánchez
• Carmen Sánchez