International
Federation of European Bar Associations T
he Federation of European Bar Associations (FBE) enables local law societies from all the countries in the Council of Europe to meet and exchange ideas. Since 2017, there has been a marked shift in the leadership to include more women, beginning with Professor Sara Chandler QC (Hon) as its first-ever female President. Here we profile three of the women involved in leading the FBE who have overcome the glass ceilings of the European legal profession.
Silvia Gimenez-Salinas, Barcelona, Spain Silvia Gimenez-Salinas is First Vice President of the FBE, she works in her own firm in Barcelona. Her practice is in family law, children, separation and divorce, and the elderly. She deals with all kinds of disputes which arise in families, and recently worked on international cases where crises arise in families of mixed marriages. Silvia was the Dean of the Barcelona Bar in 2005 and became involved with the FBE. Since then she has always participated in the conferences and as a member of the commissions (in the UK we more commonly use the word committees). Silvia established the ADR Commission and worked tirelessly to encourage the members of the Federation to create their own mediation centres. The aim is that local and national law societies and Bar Associations train lawyer-mediators and assessors for the mediation process, essential for the changing nature of legal practice.
pillar of human rights. If these are not enforceable by promoting systems that can protect them, they disappear, no matter how much they exist in the letter of the law.” Silvia was born and educated in Barcelona. Her father gave her love of books and the law; her mother similarly inspired her by persevering in lifelong study. Silvia’s father was a co-founder member of the FBE and first President in 1992, Eugenio Guy Montalvo. Silvia has four children and during their early years, she concentrated on family life but also managed to develop her professional life. Silvia speaks Catalan and Spanish, French and English, though she would like to improve the latter two as the Spanish education system does not promote foreign languages. She regrets not having a greater education in languages. Izabela Konopacka, Wroclaw, Poland In May 2021 Izabela Konopacka became the fourth woman to be elected to the FBE Presidency. She joined the FBE in 2014 as representative of the Wroclaw Bar Association. She is a qualified attorney-at-law and a teacher and specialises in international family law and medical law. She speaks Polish, Russian and English, does both contentious and non-contentious work and is a partner in two law firms: KS Law and Lex Medyk Law. Izabela (known as Iza) was born and brought up in the city she loves and works in: Wroclaw. She has two sons currently in higher education.
Silvia told us: “the legal profession was born in the origins of legal conflicts, and this still exists. States have an excessive interest in legislating for all types of situations, and given this, the legal profession will always be necessary. Given the complex nature of regulation, the legal profession translates citizens’ rights and obligations, assessing and helping them in complying with them.” She continued: “The legal profession needs to know about legal services in other jurisdictions in order to understand law and justice correctly, as well as understand different legal systems and know who to turn to in other jurisdictions in order to assist their clients. Today, technology allows us to have much better knowledge and also reminds us that we need constant training.” Silvia is a strong defender of human rights and writes: “The foundation of our profession is the promotion and understanding of the rule of law. The protection of individuals is part of the rule of law. If the dignity of the person is not preserved and defended by the legal profession then our profession makes no sense. Human rights exist to defend the dignity of people. Access to justice is a fundamental pillar of human rights, and there must be systems which expand access, as much as the letter of the law defends human rights. Access to justice is a fundamental 28 | LegalWomen
Barcelona on the coast of north-eastern Spain, is the capital and largest city in Catalonia. It has a population of 1.6 million within the city limits and around 4.8 million people including the surrounding area.
