ESADE Alumni Organises 1st MUA Thesis Awards

What are the most innovative projects and trends in the legal sector? The Thesis Awards for the Master in Legal Practice (MUA) are meant to recognise the most novel and community-impacting work of this generation of young people.

In addition to showcasing young talent, the MUA Thesis Awards are intended to connect recent graduates with the wider alumni community, promote the sharing of knowledge, reward ideas with social impact, and support students in achieving all their professional goals.

Recognising the best MUA final projects not only opens the door for recent graduates to participate in the network and contribute to its development, but also “increases mutual knowledge among alumni who share the same motivations and principles, while also providing networking possibilities,” commented Patricia Valentí (MBA ‘02/Promociona ‘17), Director of Esade Alumni.

Teamwork

The idea for the MUA Thesis Awards originally came from the Young Commission and is supported by the Law Club. The new competition joins a growing slate of initiatives, including the BBA Thesis Awards and the upcoming MSc Thesis Awards. But this competition is also a cross-cutting initiative involving Esade and the executive boards of various alumni clubs, with many people working together to identify, celebrate and share talent.
The panel of judges responsible for reading the theses and making the final assessment is made up of several board members of the Esade Alumni Law Club – Rubén Ferrer (Lic&MBL ‘00), Cristina González (Lic&MD ‘10), Ariadna Solana (Lic&MD ‘08/Master in Corp. Finance & Law ‘11), Berta Santos (Master IP&IS ‘07), Raimon Tagliavini (Lic&MBL ‘01/MBA ‘09), Verónica Valls (Master IT&IP ‘17), Núria Pons (Lic&MBL ‘00), Miguel Rovira (DIN ‘18) and Lorena Sánchez (DIN ‘09/PMD ‘15) – in addition to several members of the Young Commission: Alex Pérez (DIN ‘20), Joan Basseda (Double Degree ‘18), Ariadna Vall (Master IT&IP ‘19) and Maximiliano Ranftl (Master IT&IP ‘20).
After a short list was drawn up by Marc García Soler, Associate Professor in the Department of Law at Esade, the judges selected the winning projects, taking into account their impact on society and their contribution to business progress.

Winners

Àngela Martí (GBD ‘19/MUA ‘20) was recognised for her thesis Elaboración de un plan de compliance para una empresa de consultoría tecnológica (“Elaboration of a compliance plan for a technology consulting firm”), in which she provided some background on the concept of compliance and the various phases of implementation. In order to develop an effective plan for a technology consulting service, Àngela assessed the inherent risks to the company and detected 13 possible risks. She then defined 74 control mechanisms and recommendations to reduce the risks, underscoring the importance of crime detection plans for legal entities.

Daniel Garrido (MUA ‘20), was recognised for his thesis Smart contracts según el ordenamiento español (“Smart contracts according to the Spanish legal system”). He chose the topic because it is expected to gain prominence in the near term, with smart contracts impacting 10%-15% of law firms in the next five years. Daniel explored the question of whether smart contracts have full legal validity. In addition to the concept itself, he studied the applicable Spanish laws, the problems of contracts hosted on blockchain, and whether self-regulation is sufficient or legislation is needed in order to fully enable smart contracts.

Danae Travé (BGG ‘19/MUA ‘20) was recognised for her thesis La intimidad en el trabajo desde una perspectiva empresarial (“Privacy at work from a business perspective”). She explored the question of whether workers’ right to privacy collides with the company’s power of supervision and control in terms of rights and interests. With employer surveillance and control viewed as a duty, and there is a juxtaposition of obligations with respect to protecting the right to privacy. Danae concluded that, although case law provides an answer in the context of collision, there is an approximation but not a solid answer with regard to the triple obligation of protecting privacy, investigating crimes and exercising control.