ICAM celebrates the “EMPRENdayMIENTO” festival to promote legal entrepreneurship
The Madrid Bar Association (ICAM) will celebrate on May 23rd the “EMPRENdayMIENTO” festival, a day designed to inspire, connect and open new avenues in the practice of law, under the slogan “Emprendiendo la abogacía del futuro” (“Entrepreneuring the law of the future”). The event will bring together experts in legal innovation, established entrepreneurs and legal professionals in a dynamic format that will include presentations, workshops, competitions, networking spaces, thematic tables and interactive activities.
The initiative, promoted by Abogacía Joven ICAM, seeks to become an annual meeting platform for those who wish to develop their own legal projects, promote the digital transformation of the sector or explore new ways of practicing law from autonomy, technology and collaboration.
The dean of ICAM, Eugenio Ribón, has described the event as a “pioneering initiative”. For his part, Gabriel Rodríguez, deputy in charge of Abogacía Joven, emphasized that the aim of the festival is to change the way of understanding legal entrepreneurship, with a practical and results-oriented approach. Celia Herrero, president of the Professional Initiation Section of the Bar Association, pointed out that “EMPRENdayMIENTO is much more than a training day; it is a platform to promote the conversion of ideas into projects with professional and social impact”.
The institutional opening will take place at 10:30 a.m. and will be attended by senior officials from the Government, the Community of Madrid, the City Council and representatives of the European Commission. The event will be closed by the magistrate of the Supreme Court, Manuel Marchena, who will lead a session entitled “Conquering an unexplored territory” together with Mabel Klimt, deputy of Technology and Innovation of the ICAM.
Undertaking the legal profession of the future
During the festival, the Innovation Pitch competition will be held, in which young lawyers will present their entrepreneurial ideas to a specialized jury. There will also be an intervention by the publicist Miguel Ángel Mejías, as well as a conversation on legal innovation with the participation of renowned figures such as Sara Molina, from Pérez-Llorca, and Alejandro Touriño, from Écija. In addition, the round table entitled “The Future of Law is Entrepreneurial” will feature Natalia Martos, from Legal Army, Soledad Atienza, from IE University, Moisés Barrio, from the Council of State, Eugenia Navarro, from LOIS, Idoya Fernández, from Cuatrecasas, and Santiago Mediano, president of the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Section of ICAM.
As a differentiating element, the festival will feature a keynote speech by a surprise guest. In this first edition, the spotlight will be on the creative agency ‘PutosModernos’, known for its messages full of sarcasm and self-parody, with great impact on social networks.
A boiling legal ecosystem
The celebration of this festival coincides with a moment of special dynamism for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2023-2024 report, the intention to become an entrepreneur in the country has reached its highest level in more than a decade, with 11.2% of the adult population planning to start a business in the next three years. This growth is led especially by the younger generations, who are committed to innovative, technology-based projects with an international vocation. In turn, the Observatory of Entrepreneurship in Spain highlights the importance of training in this area, since 46.8% of recent entrepreneurs have higher education and those who have received specific training in entrepreneurship have a greater propensity to start and consolidate their projects.
