VIPs of Valencia - the movers and shakers - Jaime Almenar

PASSIONATE ABOUT LAW

JAIME ALMENAR
TALKS TO BOB YAREHAM

Law is a passion in Jaime Almenar’s life, and it’s not surprising when you consider that his mother was a midwife. His father however is a lawyer and his elder brother and sister are judges. This is a family whose members haven’t spent much time behind bars!

Many people reckon that in the lucrative world of the mobile telephone market there are enough abuses to require legal action (preferably sending in Eliot Ness and the untouchables) and perhaps that was why Jaime Almenar left his post as a state lawyer in the Inland Revenue to take up the position of Secretary of the Spanish Telecommunications Market Commission in Barcelona.

Jaime, who was born in 1972, forms part of a new Spanish generation of business people and technocrats, a generation that doesn’t remember Franco and that doesn’t conceive of any other system than a democracy.

He was educated in both religious and state schools and maintains his friendships from those days. He considers the English language essential both for professional and cultural purposes (he’s a fan of Monty Python) and his twin brother, an engineer, until recently worked in Essex for a company connected with Ford.

He followed his father’s footsteps into Law School, despite his father’s warnings that it was a profession full of risks, which is where he met his wife, who now works in a bank, and who, by the time this is printed will have given birth to their first child.

Before taking the new job, he was a state lawyer for 7 years, 2 of which were in Barcelona and had to prepare cases against those citizens suspected of cheating on their tax returns, which covers most of us I suppose.

Despite being a bit of an Anglophile, Jaime has only been to Britain once, for a weekend about four years ago, an experience from which he mainly recalls the squirrels in Saint James’ Park, (which he at first thought were rats), the British Museum and the fact that the receptionist at his hotel near the Tower of London was Spanish!

Nevertheless he speaks excellent English, largely due to his excellent teacher who he considers wholly responsible for his landing his present, prestigious and very important job. (Sorry but I already have too many highly influential and very important clients to take on any more). He also regularly watches the BBC world service, which he finds very clear and easy to follow.

Be that as it may, both he and his twin brother used the word ‘cold’ to describe the English (extra homework for you Jaime!) and highlighted the problematic nature of the British character, especially as regards the European Union.

We chatted for a while about the law in Spain, which he said was very different from American court case films, especially as lawyers here almost never raise an ‘objection’, and are not, unfortunately, allowed to approach or intimidate a witness.

He recognised that English law, based as it is on jurisprudence, is better for lawyers, in that they can demonstrate their knowledge better. Best of all though, English lawyers can wear wigs, whereas here they have to settle for gowns, although apparently they do hold wig weekends in the privacy of their own homes, a right guaranteed under the Spanish Constitution.

Jaime also mentioned Jury Trials, which have only existed in Spain since 1995, and which are not such a good idea in his opinion, as they leave important, complicated decisions in the hands of non-experts (instead of highly paid incompetents?)

Having discussed Justice we moved on to important matters and the recent successes of Valencia Football Club after 20 years in the twin shadows of Barcelona and (involuntary shudder) Real Madrid. Like many supporters he feels a great nostalgia for the days of Rafa Benitez, now at Liverpool, and hopes that he’ll one day return.

Jaime spends a lot of his free time in Javea, where his in-laws have a villa in the Tosalet housing estate. His mother-in-law works for the Department of Social Security in Denia and his father-in-law is in fact a regular reader of the British press, from which he taught himself English out of curiosity to know what British residents think. (If he improves sufficiently he might find out that we don’t!)

One of Jaime’s dreams is to retire to the Costa Blanca; preferably next week if his lottery ticket comes up. He will often be found in Javea at weekends, enjoying a meal at his favourite restaurant ‘La Rústica’ or the excellent paellas of the ‘Club Naútico’.

The state monopoly of communications through TVE and Telefónica was created in Spain even before Franco, and only began to be liberalised in the late 80s. The challenge facing Spain now is to keep up to date with the rest of Europe as it launches into digital technology.

In his job in the Telecommunications Market Commission he helped to ensure fair play in all areas of communication, including TV, radio and broadband, and his job as legal counsel to the Commission was to ensure the legality of all operations within this market. The Commission does not however deal with consumer complaints, which is the job of other Consumer Watchdog organisations.

In September 2007, Jaime accepted a new challenge and joined the prestigious Spanish and international legal firm of URÍA MENÉNDEZ in order to run their Valencian department of public law, with particular attention to tenders, public works, expropriations, coastal laws, water rights and highways. In doing so he now frequently has to deal with English-speaking clients.

From his time at the Telecommunications Market Commission, he feels that he had then unique opportunity to get to know a complicated market normally only understood by engineers, a market full of new hi-tech and structural developments.

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