New Leadership in Valencian Legal Community

Fernando Candela Martínez, former Dean of the Bar Association of Alicante until March 2024, has been elected as the new President of the Valencian Bar Association in a recent plenary session of the Valencian Council of Bar Associations.

During the same event, Auxiliadora Borja Albiol, former Dean of the Bar Association of Valencia and former councilor of the CVCA, was honored with the Medal of Merit of the Valencian Bar Association. Additionally, new councilors have joined the governing body that brings together the eight bar associations of the Valencian Community.

The new President of the CVCA was sworn in, surrounded by the deans of the Bar Associations of Alcoy, Alicante, Alzira, Castellón, Elche, Orihuela, Sueca, and Valencia, along with the councilors who comprise the plenary of the Valencian Council. He first acknowledged the outgoing president, Vicente Pascual, praising his excellent leadership, his effective handling of issues affecting the Valencian legal profession during his tenure, and his successful organization of the IV Congress of the Valencian Bar.

Candela joined ICALI in 1978 and served as its Dean from January 2012 to March 2024. He held key roles in professional organizations, including the General Council of Spanish Lawyers (CGAE) and the Valencian Council of Bar Associations (CVCA). Since 1999, he has taught at the School of Legal Practice of Alicante and as a professor at the University of Alicante (UA).

He is an Academician of the Valencian Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation and authored “150 Years of the Bar Association of Alicante,” chronicling its history. Candela received the Distinguished Cross of the 1st Class of the Order of San Raimundo de Peñafort in 2017 and the Grand Cross of Merit for Service to the Legal Profession from the CGAE in September 2023.