Esade Alumni Aptissimi award winners: Cándido Paz-Ares (Uría Menéndez), ILUNION, Laboratorios Ordesa and the Association of Corporate Counsel
Esade Alumni presented their prestigious Aptissimi Awards for Business Law to Cándido Paz-Ares, partner emeritus at Uría Menéndez; ILUNION; the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC); and Laboratorios Ordesa. The award ceremony held at the Real Fábrica de Tapices in Madrid, brought together some 400 outstanding members of the legal profession and consolidated these awards as a benchmark in Spain’s business law sector.
The Aptissimi Awards are held each year by the Esade Alumni Law Club in recognition of excellence in four essential categories: professional career, corporate counsel, contribution to the sector and society, and a new category this year: the best innovative legal project. With these awards, Esade Alumni reaffirm their commitment to professional and academic excellence, and foster a community dedicated to promoting social responsibility and ethical leadership in business law. The panel of judges consists of representatives of leading law firms, companies and entities that work with Esade.
Award winners in each category
Professional career. Cándido Paz-Ares, Chair in Mercantile Law and partner emeritus at Uría Menéndez, received the professional career award for his exemplary track record of academic excellence combined with legal practice. The judges underlined “his skillful contribution to Spanish mercantile law with an innovative, intellectual mindset and a robust commitment to professional ethics. His influence in the sector has proven essential for the adaptation of mercantile practices to new demands arising from the business world”.
Best Corporate Counsel: The winner of the best corporate counsel award was ILUNION in recognition of the significant tech transformation implemented in their legal department. The judges were impressed by “the incorporation of cutting-edge technology to optimize efficiency and accessibility, particularly in an inclusive landscape where these solutions are accessible to people with visual disabilities”, and also cited the value of their in-house, autonomous approach to developing these solutions, adapting to the complexity of their different realms of business, and bolstering their position as a strategic partner in decision making.
Contribution to the Sector and Society: The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) received this award in acknowledgement of its global commitment to corporate law and its on-going support for in-house lawyers. The panel of judges highlighted “its work in boosting the skills of corporate counsel worldwide through training initiatives, mentoring programs, and championing the profession. The ACC has raised the bar regarding quality and ethics in the sector, fostering a community of law professionals equipped to undertake strategic roles for dealing with complex business challenges. With its dedication to training and its commitment to innovation in the legal profession, the ACC has garnered considerable influence in the field of corporate law.”
Best Innovative Law Project: This year’s Aptissimi featured the Best Innovative Legal Project category for the first time. The winner was Laboratorios Ordesa for its Eleva Project, in recognition of “its commitment to digitizing and optimizing the internal processes of the legal department, implementing solutions to promote efficiency and enhance alignment with the business. Despite its limited team and resources, Laboratorios Ordesa stood out thanks to a venture that sets a new standard for the digital transformation of corporate counsels, in what amounts to a reflection of its leadership capabilities and strategic outlook in the sector.”
A well-established event in the legal profession
Since the inception of the Aptissimi Awards, recipients have included famous lawyers of the ilk of José María Alonso Puig (CIAM), Miquel Roca Junyent, Rodrigo Uría, Fernando Pombo, José Pedro Pérez-Llorca and Gaspar Ariño; international academics such as Christian Armbrüster, Barry Carter and David O. Wilkins; outstanding corporate counsels such as those of Aena, Abertis, Inditex, Ferrovial, CaixaBank, Telefónica España, ACCIONA, Grupo MASMOVIL and Iberdrola; and entities such as CNMV, Abogacía General del Estado, the International Chamber of Commerce, the EU Court of Justice, the International Bar Association, CNMC and Fundación Pro Bono España, to name but a few.
The sponsors that contributed to the organization of the 16th awards this year were: Baker & McKenzie, BDO, Clifford Chance, Cuatrecasas, Deloitte Legal, EY, Garrigues, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados, KPMG, Osborne Clarke, Pedrosa Lagos, Perez-Llorca, RCD Abogados, Roca Junyent SLP, Uría Menéndez SLP, ViaLegis, AGM Abogados, A&O Shearman, Anzizu López & Castellanos, Ashurst, Bird & Bird, Broseta, Cases & Lacambra, CMS Albiñana Suárez de Lezo, Crowe, Fieldfisher, PwC, Ramón y Cajal Abogados and Santiago Mediano.
