IE LAW SCHOOL LEGAL CLINIC

LAW FIRM: ALLEN & OVERY

Madrid Futuro is a non-profit association, driven by civil society, which seeks to transform and promote the city as it recovers from the crisis COVID

The association aims to implement in Madrid city a project by which the city will be more sustainable and technological. It will create a Sandbox in Villaverde to allow star ups and companies to develop their sustainable and technological projects there. The Legal Clinic assisted them to search whether municipal regulations should be reviewed or not for the implementation of its goals.

SUPERVISOR: JOHANNES KRUSSEMARK (MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE MPFPR)

The Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law provides assistance to the reconstruction or restructuring of the internal organisation to States which have experienced radical change in relation to their constitutional law. Beneficiaries and stakeholders of the Foundation’s expertise include States which are trying to re-establish public order following civil wars, States undergoing a change of direction (e.g. Sudan or Somalia), new States which come into existence after having seceded from other States (such as South Sudan) and States which are trying to realign their legal systems in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

The Legal Clinic has provided the Foundation legal research for some projects that the MPFPR has in America and Asia (in countries such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Chile) with the aim of helping to improve the application of democratic principles and the separation of powers.

LAW FIRM: BDO SPAIN

This organization is devoted to protect the rights of disabled people in the area of education. In particular, in relation to recent drafts on education bills.

The Legal Clinic has supported them in the drafting of a report on international human rights texts applicable in Spain to determine how education for disable people was addressed.

SUPERVISOR: PATRICIA GARCÍA RODRÍGUEZ (ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, IE LAW SCHOOL)

IE University’s Legal Clinic has worked on a collaborative Project with Fundación Luis Amigó’s Centro de Día y Kanguroteca. This day care center provides a space for the education of vulnerable children and adolescents who are at risk of social exclusion, while also offering support for any women or children who need help.

The Legal Clinic has created a comprehensive legal guide so that families and caretakers at the center have a resource to turn to when advocating for the rights of the most vulnerable. The guide provides information on topics such as immigration, mínimum wage, rent, family issues (marriage, divorce and alimony), labor rights for victims of gender-based violence, sexual violence and harassment, and the approval of professional titles, among others.

SUPERVISOR: FERNANDO PASTOR MERCHANTE (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, IE LAW SCHOOL)

Colectivo Azálvaro is a non-profit organization located in El Espinar, Segovia. As part of their mission, they seek to protect nature and the environment, with special attention paid to theconservation of birds of prey. The Legal Clinic has prepared a report that studies and analyzes the legal consequences of Colectivo Azálvaro’s communications with the state, Administración Central (Red de Carreteras del Estado). It also studies its obligation to carry out a simplified environmental impactassessment of the SG-500 road.

LAW FIRM: BIRD&BIRD

Fundación Luzón is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to improving living conditions for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their families.

The Legal Clinic has provided a comparative law report describing the regulation of health systems in certain European countries: Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The aim of the report is to recommend improvements in the Spanish regulation of health systems with regard to ALS.

SUPERVISOR: BART WAUTERS (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, IE LAW SCHOOL)

The Fundación Pombo and IE Legal Clinic Project aimed to advance the rule of law in businesses. The project studied the IBEX 35 companies at the top of the Spanish market, evaluating which aspects of the rule of law they prioritised and where the companies could learn from their competitors.

The Legal Clinic developed a questionnaire to assess the companies’ performance in the following areas pertaining to the rule of law: access to justice, accountability, administration of justice, equality and legal certainty. The questionnaire has been finalized two years later and is now ready to be filled out by the IBEX 35 companies. Once the Legal Clinic receives the answers to the questionnaire, they can do a comparative analysis between the companies, highlighting the areas that need to be worked on and sharing best practices.

The project is hoped to guide Spain’s biggest companies that operate internationally to advancethe rule of law in their daily business.

LAW FIRM: LATHAM & WATKINS

This was an on-line incubation software for entrepreneurs to develop their business together with a mentor. Based on the information that entrepreneurs provided in their application, they were matched (taking into account language, interests, and expertise) with one of their mentors who provided insight and feedback through out the business development process. The online workspace assisted the entrepreneur in developing the venture helped by the mentor.

Geography is the largest barrier for entrepreneurs not located in major innovation hubs. Bridge for Billions bridges this gap by providing an online incubator that connects early-stage start-ups with training and mentors. Ultimately, this creates an impact in each of the entrepreneur’s communities. They have been awarded for social entrepreneurship in Forbes 30 under 30.

The Legal Clinic role in this project was to review the mentorship agreement and to draft a reporton dispute resolution, data protection and applicablelawaspects of Bridge for Billion sactivity.

LAW FIRMS: ASHURST AND DENTONS

This is a social entrepreneurship Project which intended to implement an on line virtual platform that connects refugees with enterprises and look for the better match in order to Foster their integration in the host countries, an idea already working in Austria.

There were several sets of legal issues at stake, supervised by two different law firms (depending on their respective expertise): (i) migration law: who and under what conditions is allowed to work in Spain; (ii) Personal data; (iii) trademark law (how to register, price, rights attached), (iv) corporate law: options to implement the idea (through a branchor a subsidiary, procedures needed in each case and money to be spent); (v) other issues related to the use of the service through theplatform, for instance the terms and conditions.

LAW FIRM: PÉREZ-LLORCA

Social entrepreneur which provided assistance to asylum seekers by helping them to start their own business in rural areas. The access to information and advice in such places as to what a refugee can and cannot do during the asylum process is not easy. Our students drafted a report on that matters.

LAW FIRMS: HOGAN LOVELLS AND ELZABURU

NGO working with biometrics software, which faces difficulties as regards processing personal data both in Spain and through their partners in other jurisdictions. The students drafted a comparative law report on data protection in Spain, India, Sierra Leona, Colombia, Perú and México.