New initiatives of UIA Young Lawyers' Group
Initiatives of the UIA Young Lawyers' Group
by Ángel Sánchez Freire – President and Lydia Picoteiro Bettencourt – Vice President
The Young Lawyers’ Group has been successfully implemented under the UIA’s wing since its foundation in 2012, during the 56th UIA Congress held in Dresden.
Our current status is a UIA Working Group and we are approximately 80 young members, namely lawyers under 40 years-old, even though lawyers over this age are very welcome, as their experience is always rewarding.
The Young Lawyers’ Group was created to hit a double target: on the one hand, to promote the active participation of young lawyers in the UIA and, on the other hand, to favour new young lawyers joining the UIA, to ensure its future.
Under the presidential mandate of Miguel Loinaz and taking advantage of his support and invaluable encouragement, some measures and initiatives have been put in place in order to achieve the aims mentioned above. The most important ones are briefly described below:
- The participation of the President of the Young Lawyers’ Group in the Executive Committee is under study with the Presidency, so that young lawyers are heard in the UIA’s top executive body.
- Young lawyers have been appointed in the Future of the Lawyer Working Group (Olivier Nicod) as well as in the Editorial Team of the magazine Juriste International (Elizabeth McGowan) in order to promote the publication of articles written by young lawyers at least one or twice per year.
- A list of young members very interested in participating actively in the different commissions and working groups have been circulated to the Presidents of the Commissions, encouraging them to count on them young lawyers as speakers in seminars or the Congress and, if possible, appoint them in the executives’ bodies.
- Financing formulas or credit terms of the Congress and seminars’ registration fees are under study to avoid cost being an obstacle fpr the participation of young lawyers in the UIA.
- Free participation for students in the scientific sessions of the Congress and seminars, in collaboration with the local universities, are currently being explored.
- To sum up, we are firmly convinced that the best way to ensure the UIA’s future is by counting on their young members, who are very enthusiastic in bringing new ideas and contributing to the improvement of the UIA.
UIA Young Lawyers’ Group
by Ángel Sánchez Freire – President and Lydia Picoteiro Bettencourt – Vice President