The ICAB hosts the graduation ceremony of the Master’s Degree in Professional Legal Practice of the UPF-BSM

The auditorium of the Palauet Casades, historic headquarters of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB), hosted on 16 February the graduation of the students of the 12th Master’s Degree in Professional Legal Practice (MUADVOC) of the UPF Barcelona School of Management.

The ceremony was attended by ICAB Vice-Dean Susana Ferrer, the deputies of the Governing Board of the ICAB Carles García Roqueta and Paz Vallés, and the director of the Master’s Degree Ramón Ragués.

Susana Ferrer reminded us that “after today there are years of effort, of struggle and surely of passion for the law and for the profession that you have chosen, which is in one part technique and specialization, but also part profession and exercise. Now it is up to you to choose the references you wish in order to carry out this profession.”

Afterwards, Carles García Roqueta explained to the graduates “you are in the foreground of your professional practice, which entails a great responsibility” because “the practice of law has different functions, and among them a very prominent one, is social pacification.”

Paz Vallés added to all the congratulations and thanks, saying: “the effort, enthusiasm and willingness to grow every day to become better professionals is a characteristic of those who choose the demanding training program of this Master’s Degree.”

Ramón Ragués, the director of the Master’s Degree in Professional Legal Practice at UPF-BSM, reminded the students that “we have passed through a pandemic together” and hoped that the program “has helped you towards your professional appointment, that it has enriched you, and that you have made friends and relationships with future colleagues.”

Risks and Opportunities of Social Media

Then came the moment of the master class with Jacobo Dopico, Professor of Criminal Law at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, who spoke about the risks and opportunities of social media applied to the world of legal practice.

Dopico, who has 44,000 followers on Twitter, pointed out that the social network is where the information is, but also the disinformation; in any case, “it is the place where you have to be, it is the agora” where discussions are held.

Something that is especially true in the legal field, where many academics, prosecutors and lawyers participate in an enriching way: “what you have to do is follow those who initiate the debate,” advised the professor.

Dopico mainly pointed to three risks: the lack of privacy, going against the grain of general opinion, and the lack of separation of public and private profiles, something he practices and considers essential.

What the future of networks will be, nobody knows, because changes happen at an extraordinary speed, but what we must be clear about is that “if you decide to participate in networks, you have to do it with common sense,” he concluded.

Finally, the class delegates, Victoria Guadalupe Barbebanera and Jorge Gallostra, also participated in the ceremony, recalling the “moral and ethical duty, fundamental in the rule of law” that they are committed to, as well as the general director of the UPF-BSM José Manuel Martínez-Sierra, who as a lawyer himself explained that “restoring a fundamental right is one of the greatest satisfactions, and now you have that power” while the rector of the UPF Oriol Amat, addressed the graduates assuring them that “your successes will be ours.”

After reading the names of the 231 graduate students, the event concluded with the ICAB choir performing the Gaudeamus igitur.