Universidad de Cádiz student José María Vargas-Machuca receives first Manuel Olivencia Scholarship

2019-07-05T00:00:00
Spain
Universidad de Cádiz student José María Vargas-Machuca receives first Manuel Olivencia Scholarship
Universidad de Cádiz student José María Vargas-Machuca receives first Manuel Olivencia Scholarship
July 5, 2019

The Cuatrecasas Foundation awarded the First Manuel Olivencia Scholarship to law student José María Vargas-Machuca after a rigorous selection process in which the scholarship board evaluated academic records, the strengths of study projects and the candidates’ personal qualities.

This annual initiative is aimed at (i) supporting excellence, research, mobility and professional qualifications; and (ii) encouraging and awarding students with the best academic records in the field of business law. It will also help continue the legacy of the distinguished lawyer and academic Manuel Olivencia, who died on January 1, 2018.

The president of the regional government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, highlighted how involved the Cuatrecasas Foundation was in social progress and recalled Manuel Olivencia as a “distinguished professor and lawyer who continues to inspire many people.” Rafael Fontana, senior partner of Cuatrecasas, added that “it is not a scholarship for the best academic record; it is generous support for a student’s unstinting efforts and future goals.” Guillermo Jiménez Sánchez, vice chair emeritus of the Constitutional Court, highlighted the valuable work of the panel: “The panel studied all the brilliant CVs and took into account the challenging projects that require support, all of which were discussed in affable, informative interviews. After appropriate deliberation and a reasoned vote, the panel decided to award the scholarship to José María Vargas-Machuca Reyes to continue his studies in international tax."

The panel, made up of independent and recognized Andalusian legal experts and other personalities from the world of business, was chaired by Guillermo Jiménez Sánchez, vice chair emeritus of the Constitutional Court and professor emeritus of commercial law. The panel’s honorary chair was Macarena Olivencia, counsel at Cuatrecasas.

José María Vargas-Machuca, a student from Universidad de Cádiz, thanked the Cuatrecasas Foundation for the “trust in his project” and the foundation’s commitment to Andalusian students: "There’s a lot of young talent in Andalusia. The Manuel Olivencia Scholarship provides invaluable support for young people who want to go further and who dream of taking Andalusia to the top."

His study project was about international tax in the digital economy. The scholarship winner also expressed his wish to pursue a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in international tax law, a program that combines law and economics, and explores the interaction between tax regimes in different countries. The new law graduate has 16 subjects passed with distinction on his academic record.

 

About Manuel Olivencia

Manuel Olivencia was an accomplished lawyer who combined the vocation of teaching from his chair of commercial law with the desire to share knowledge from his professional work in Cuatrecasas, as a partner of the firm.

His professional curriculum as a lawyer, university professor, undersecretary of education, commissioner of the Expo 92 in Seville and chair of the commission that drafted the Olivencia Code, is complemented by his personal trajectory and the indelible memories he left his family, friends, students, colleagues and everyone who knew and interacted with him.

Manuel Olivencia is, and will continue be, a reference in the public life and society of Seville, Andalusia and Spain.

 

About the Cuatrecasas Foundation

The Cuatrecasas Foundation, created in 1991, focuses its activity on projects relating to the rule of law and access to justice in line with the United Nations Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Goal 16: peace, justice and strong institutions.

The foundation’s flagship activities are the Manuel Olivencia Award for Good Corporate Governance, the Manuel Olivencia Scholarship and the creation of the Spanish Pro Bono Foundation, a platform including a wide representation from the legal world to develop pro bono projects in Spain. The Cuatrecasas Foundation also continues to contribute to society by supporting social, cultural and financial initiatives.

 

 

July 5, 2019