Carla Vall: "Three men broke into my house to steal a pen drive."

Surrounded by a family with a strong social and political commitment, Carla Vall (Vilanova i la Geltrú, 1989) studied Law with the aim of making a fairer world: "I'm free of repression, of people who have been in concentration camps, in prison, who have had to live alongside your struggle for mine, pointing the finger at us. I'm out of it. It's something really brutal," she explains in statements toCompaniesAt just 36 years old, this lawyer and criminologist has amassed numerous high-profile legal victories in "difficult cases because you're fighting against someone who holds a high-ranking position in the police," as in the cases of photojournalist Jordi Borràs and illustrator Paula Bonet. Vall began working in the family shop, babysitting, and working as a sales assistant, among other precarious jobs. She juggled work, studies, and political activism: "In my second year, I almost dropped out of university; I didn't know if the sacrifice was worth it." She felt like a fish out of water: "My plan B was to become a social worker and specialize in equine therapy." Finally, she pursued her dream, and her first jobs as a lawyer weren't easy either: "I was falsely self-employed; I didn't have a payslip or any decent working conditions." "The only ones without rights are us lawyers," she points out. "I have never had a contract as a lawyer, never in my life," despite always practicing as one.

The author of feminist books opened her practice in 2022 and is one of the country's most renowned criminal lawyers, specializing in the defense of victims of gender-based, sexual, and vicarious violence. She has represented victims of violence such as those from the Lleida Theater Workshop and victims of sexual abuse by the Church, among other anonymous cases. Currently, Vall is working to expand her online school for professionals and individuals. She is also developing a shelter "for survivors of gender-based and vicarious violence who are in the final stages of recovery."

Regarding personal finances, Vall is thrifty: "I'm the daughter of two people who lived through the post-war period. I can travel, but if I don't, it doesn't matter to me; I can be just as happy. What I need is to rest when I'm on vacation." "I don't drink, I don't do drugs, and I don't go to big concerts," she says. She doesn't have big expenses: "The only one is clothing, which has to be appropriate for the work I do. In my personal life, I usually dress simply."

The winner of the Meninas Award in the Feminist Justice category, granted by the Ministry of Equality, says she can't visit clients every day: "What I encounter affects me so deeply that I need time to recover." "I spend my days in the city's underbelly, witnessing the worst of humanity," she emphasizes. Vall also denounces the conditions in the legal sector: "I deeply regret the state of the legal profession; it's appalling how they treat their employees." "If you're a mother, you know what to expect," the criminologist had been told. That's why treating employees with dignity is a priority in her office: "If they're mothers, I'll give them a bonus when they return to work." Furthermore, they can "balance their lives with what makes them happy."

A maternity leave of one and a half months

Because she was self-employed, unlike her employees, she had a month and a half of maternity leave, which allowed her to stop working for the first time and gain perspective: "I realized how I want to practice law." And she saw that she's lacked "legal mothers": "People who can show you what it's like to run a business." In fact, since Vall isn't "the daughter of rich people" or business owners, she's grown through her work.

Having a law firm as a woman is a challenge: "I've been called egotistical for putting my name on the firm. It's normal for a man to put his name on it." However, there is little female representation, and many hide behind the word "lawyers": "Female lawyers who strictly use their own names? Very few in the entire country. And, ultimately, it's a feminist practice to make it visible that there are women in leadership positions."

In this sense, "there's an unwritten rule that says you should be here, but you shouldn't cause a disturbance." Vall has received criticism demanding a more discreet lawyer: "By discretion, you don't mean that I keep my professional secrets to myself; you mean that I should be a person without a public profile, and women who are discreet are the ones who don't appear in history books." Furthermore, she also rejects leading by imitating men: "Without taking into account the needs of the workers, functioning like a machine."

"In my professional career, I've been robbed at home by three men who tried to steal one pen"She confesses. There are aggressors who have launched smear campaigns against her, filing lawsuits to try to damage her public image: "I've come to the conclusion that women don't have skeletons in the closet." And she adds: "When they want to attack us, all they can do is call us whores and liars."