Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas: "Being in the media ends up costing the firm"

Lawyer, professor, politician, economist. But above all, Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas is a passionate jurist and, following the family tradition of his father, uncles and brothers, he studied law. He started working in a car parts warehouse and at the age of 16, with the money he had earned, he bought a wasp: "It cost 36,000 pesetas (216 euros), I thought it was very expensive," he recalls in statements to the newspaper El País.Companies.

At 35, Alonso-Cuevillas was the youngest dean of the Barcelona Bar Association. He promoted the approval of the Catalan Bar Code, liberalising the profession in different areas, and was the promoter of the shield on the toga that lawyers wear today in court: "It has not only become established in the Barcelona bar, but has been copied by all the bars in Spain."

In this sense, he created commissions that were pioneers: "I remember that in Madrid everyone was pissed off at me and now all or almost all the bar associations in Spain have them." "We were able to leave small traces of things that have been maintained and of which I am very proud," says the emeritus dean, an unpaid position.

Alonso-Cuevillas was known only within the profession, until he received a call to defend the Catalan government in the legal matters of the Process. Aware that it would "change his life" he accepted by making a "technical-professional" defense. As he explains, in those years he came to the conclusion that the law was being used "as a tool for the repression of dissent." After declining different proposals, he entered the candidacy of Junts per Catalunya in 2019: "I ended up being convinced by Lluís Llach, who is not even from Junts." He was a deputy in the Senate in Madrid and, later, a deputy in the Parliament of Catalonia.

"The first year I was well-known, I looked at the firm's turnover and the four or five most important cases were from clients who were clearly not pro-independence," he says, adding that his political career and the fact of being a media figure "end up being a significant cost for the firm." "I have a ballot box in the firm, and clients tell me, 'Politically you can be whatever you want, but I know you're a good lawyer.' And, on the other hand, people with whom I might have political sympathy tell me, 'We're not bothering you, we have to save the country.'"

As for his remuneration, he says that being a professor is completely his vocation: "For me, money has never been a great concern, because if it weren't I would not have "wasted my time," as a good friend says, and I would have dedicated all my hours to working at my firm." In fact, he says that all the positions he has taken on are for public service purposes and lack profitability. This is also the case with the books he writes: "The last payment I received for royalties on a dozen books and I don't know how many articles and book chapters was 6.92 euros." His gift to himself when he turned 50 was to study for a degree in economics with honours in all subjects. And now he is also a member of the College of Economists of Catalonia.

However, he stresses that he has earned a "good living" by working as a lawyer. Although in recent years the competition has been fierce: "The big firms count by hours of dedication, and so they don't take on cases that are not worth it for them." He continues: "A partner's hourly rate is approximately three times mine." On the other hand, it is a job that requires many hours, and it is often difficult to organise the agenda well, because the deadlines for making legal appeals are short and it is necessary to work on weekends. The type of client he handles is small or medium-sized Catalan companies: "The owner of the capital pays, and he looks at the hours."

As for personal finances, he does not consider himself a saver, but he does not have any major source of expenditure beyond the maintenance of his family, with a total of six children. As for housing, he is also clear: "I have a second home that I own with a very large outstanding mortgage, but, on the other hand, in Barcelona I live on rent, I do not have a first home."

Alonso-Cuevillas says that he is often tempted to return to politics: "From time to time someone puts me in the sweet tooth," he explains. Now he wants to continue working in what he likes most: "Lawyers do not retire, we die." He also points out that the professor's pension is meager, but that he will have a decent retirement with the monthly contributions he has been making to the Catalan legal profession's social security mutual fund.