Joan Ramon Ramos promises political "equidistance" and an end to "clientelism" in the Icab elections.

BarcelonaTax expert Joan Ramon Ramos has been proposed to be the new dean of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB), whose candidacy is defined as "that of real change" and which includes lawyers Sara Iglesias as a candidate for vice-dean and Carmen del Castillo as secretary. The list sets a profile against headed by civil lawyer Cristina Vallejo, followed by criminal lawyer Jorge Navarro, who are labeled as continuists. Both teams are preparing for the college elections on June 19 to take over from dean Jesús Sánchez, who has held the position since 2022 and will not seek a repeat.

Ramos was already president of the tax law section of the Icab in the late 1990s and treasurer of the college from 2001 to 2007. Most of his professional career has been spent at the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), but for the past seven years he has worked with a dissertation. Ramos also teaches law and taxation at various universities and has been on the board of directors of the Barça women's team for over a decade.

His vision is that the Bar Association's management should also have a business perspective, and his candidacy promises to cut the institution's "superfluous" expenses while maintaining its lobbying role in legal matters, although maintaining "equidistance" from political parties. Therefore, he has distanced himself from the current board, which has positioned itself to toughen penalties for occupations and repeated offenses, and assures that before the Bar Association takes a position, it will consult its members. "The moral prestige of the Bar Association is being lost," lamented the candidate, who believes there are public debates that should be kept out of the scope of the governing board.

"Use of office"

"We believe there are many things in which money can be invested, rather than things that are more about personal platforms and positioning," he criticized previous deans. In his opinion, "there is a certain use of the position as a personal platform and positioning," and he criticized the current "clientelism."

Regarding the budget, he has opted to reduce "superfluous expenses" and, instead, create services for the emotional health of lawyers and expand free training, including to cover the courses necessary to practice on public duty. In the area of training, he has also promised to create 400 scholarships for young lawyers to study for a master's degree. "High-level training is what can differentiate us in this increasingly competitive society," he argued.

Among his proposals is also the creation of aid for lawyers in vulnerable situations and the creation of a "stable framework for fees." He intends to negotiate with the National Commission on Markets and Competition, which has twice sanctioned the bar association for publishing these rates. In short, he wants to "improve all types of services for members so that they perceive the bar association as useful."