Meet our talented IE Law School faculty

5 min read

IE University prides itself on offering state-of-the-art educational programs that respond to the needs of the market. That’s why at IE Law School, we have a variety of innovative master’s programs in law available, each uniquely designed to provide students with an experience that helps them stand out from the rest.

That experience would be nothing without the support and expertise of our faculty, comprised of world-class academics and industry leaders. These incredibly talented professors have years of experience under their belts and are eager to shape students into changemaking legal professionals.

Here’s a snapshot of just a few of our IE Law School faculty members:

Giulio Palermo, Professor of Sports Arbitration

Professor Giulio Palermo was once an IE Law School student himself. He completed his first law degree in his home country of Italy and planned to take a year off to travel after graduation, but a serious accident forced him to change his plans. Instead, he wound up in his first legal job practicing as a litigator in Rome. He immediately fell in love with litigation, but still longed for a job that would allow him to travel the world. He realized that international arbitration was just what he was looking for, which led him to IE University’s Master of Laws (LL.M.). The connections he made during his studies led to a job opportunity to join his professor’s firm following graduation.

Giulio says that arbitration is increasingly important in the globalized world that we live in today, as disputes often take place in at least two jurisdictions or countries. For young legal professionals, he emphasizes the importance of seeking out a firm where you will have an opportunity to grow.

This year, he will be teaching Sports Arbitration, as part of the Arbitration module. He highlights the master’s usefulness for junior lawyers who want to learn more about how to work in an international business law firm.

Pilar Galeote, Professor of Negotiation and Corporate Law

Having previously worked at big-name companies such as Telefónica and Clifford Chance, Pilar Galeote’s teaching is backed by years of real-world corporate law experience. She specializes in mergers and acquisitions and has received the award of “Best Professor” at IE Law School.

Pilar has a strong belief in the importance of ethics in corporate law and governance, which are key aspects of business, especially in today’s globalized world. Pilar points out that, “in a connected world with transnational operations involving different jurisdictions and different laws, we need a coordinated Corporate Law which allows the economy to take off.”

She now teaches Negotiation and Corporate Law at IE University, as well as serving as the Associate Director of the Negotiation and Mediation Center and as Director of the Cátedra José María Cervelló. On teaching virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pilar says that although technology is a good tool, it will never be a substitute for learning. She says that blended Liquid Learning models, such as the one used by IE University, provide the opportunity “to engage students and to transmit passion, empathy and assertiveness needed during the learning ‘miracle.’”

Luis Leis, Professor of Financial and Tax Law

Luis Leis has been teaching at IE University for 30 years, primarily as a professor of Financial and Tax Law at IE Law School, and he also frequently teaches classes on taxation at IE Business School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Santiago de Compostela and a Master in Business Tax Advice (LL.M.) from our very own IE Law School. He is also a managing partner of tax and business law firm GV Legal Control.

“I love to teach,” Luis says, “[My students’] skills and their attitudes give me greater confidence in their generation, which is also very comforting as I think about my own future.” His classes have a clear focus on the future as well, reflecting an ever-changing and increasingly digital sector of financial law. “It has been said that computer programs and tech tools can do the job of a tax advisor. This gives us a good idea of how important technology is to our profession right now.”

Luis also highlights how much he enjoys the relationships professors get to build with students and the networking opportunities that arise from those relationships. For example, he’s developed fantastic professional and academic collaborations in Honduras, thanks to a student inviting him to teach a few courses there.

Antonios Kouroutakis, Professor of Public and Constitutional Law

Originally from Greece, Dr. Antonios Kouroutakis has a passport full of stamps and a CV full of academic accolades that are impressive to say the least. He has conducted research at the City University of Hong Kong, the Free University of Berlin, FVG Sao Paolo, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and he has a LL.M. in Comparative Constitutional Law from UCLA and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. His time abroad has impacted his global vision of law and his approach to teaching.

Antonios highlights how gaining exposure to so many different societies with different codes of ethics enables you to become more empathetic and understand yourself better. In his classroom, he tries to transmit this to his students, setting an example by showing them “to compare and contrast, to tolerate different views, and show different examples and ways to achieve the same goal.” The diversity of IE University’s highly international student body facilitates this greatly.

In his many experiences abroad, he has seen that when it comes to constitutional law, “there are differences, but the concept of what is just, is very similar. In each country, there is more or less the same level of fairness.” He wants to pass along to his students “a message that promotes tolerance towards different opinions and views and that encourages students to be open-minded and learn from others’ experience, cultures and backgrounds.”

We are proud of our experienced and inspiring faculty members, and thank them for the hard work they do every day!