Almudena Arpón de Mendívil y Aldama, partner at law firm Gómez-Acebo & Pombo in Madrid, Spain is announced as the new President of the International Bar Association (IBA). Ms Arpón de Mendívil is the first woman to hold the position in 20 years and only the second in the Association’s 76-year history. Her tenure is for the two calendar years of 2023 and 2024. She succeeds Sternford Moyo of Zimbabwe.
As IBA President, Ms Arpón de Mendívil intends to focus on five key themes:
-highlighting the impact of the legal profession in society;
-approaching gender equality in the legal sector with a frontal and transversal view;
-placing the legal sector as a relevant player in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda;
-analysing and anticipating human rights protection in the digital environment; and
-preparing the legal profession for the future, especially young lawyers
Overarching all these themes will be the promotion of the rule of law.
Ranked in prestigious legal directories as one of the leading professionals in the telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT) sectors, Ms Arpón de Mendívil is a Corporate/M&A partner and head of the TMT Group at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo. She holds a law degree from ICADE, a master’s degree in European Union Law from the College of Europe in Bruges and a PIL from Harvard Law School.
Prior to becoming IBA President, Almudena Arpón de Mendívil y Aldama was IBA Vice President from 2021–2022 and has held several senior positions within the Association including being on the IBA management board since 2009. She has also held the positions of IBA Treasurer, Chair of the Legal Practice Division as well as having served as leader on several committees and projects over the course of her career with the IBA. Ms Arpón de Mendívil joined the IBA c. twenty-five years ago.
The IBA’s new IBA Vice Presidents are Jaime Carey, Managing Partner at Chilean law firm Carey, and Claudio Visco, Managing Partner at Italian law firm Macchi di Cellere Gangemi. The new IBA Secretary-General is Jörg Menzer, Managing Partner of the Bucharest office of pan-European law firm Noerr.
