Press Release

On June 9th, 2021, the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship of the New York University (NYU) of the United States awarded Beccar Varela with the Grunin Prize Law and Social Entrepreneurship 2021 for having designed the structure of a Trust for the Argentine Network of Municipalities against Climate Change (RAMCC), which enabled various municipalities from provinces across Argentina to unite efforts for the joint development of social and environmental impact projects, in a reliable, transparent, efficient and scalable way. This is the first vehicle of its kind in Latin America.

Beccar Varela’s team was comprised of partners Daniel Levi and Carolina Serra; senior associates Dorothea Garff and Santiago Barbarán; the coordinator of the firm’s corporate sustainability area, Evangelina Petrizza; associate Diana Warszawski and former associates Constanza Connolly and Agostina Coniglio. This is the first time that a law firm from Argentina has reached the prize finals.

Annually, the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship awards lawyers with the Grunin Prize to recognize business projects that help achieve sustainability and human development goals. The prize aims to reward the innovation, replicability and/or scalability, and potential impact of projects developed by lawyers to advance the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing. Jay Grunin, co-founder and chairman of the Grunin Foundation, said that in a year that has caused so much hardship and loss for the world, “the 2021 Grunin Prize finalists worked tirelessly to drive impact, advance equity, and solve challenges to improve the quality of life for all. Their commitment to creating lasting change through their innovative contributions in the legal field of social entrepreneurship and impact investing is inspiring. I am humbled to be a part of their journey”. “In awarding this prize, we are celebrating the dedication of this growing legal community of practice to make the world a better place for all,” said Deborah Burand, professor of clinical law and faculty co-director of the Grunin Center at NYU Law.

Daniel Levi and Carolina Serra, coordinators of the team that carried out the winning project, say they are deeply honored and grateful for being awarded the Grunin Prize “which is not only a wonderful recognition for our team, but also for all the Argentine municipalities that believed from the beginning that the RAMCC Trust could become a powerful tool in their mission to protect the environment, creating a better place to live for their citizens.” Dorothea Garff states that “these kinds of recognitions strengthen our enthusiasm to keep driving sustainability initiatives that help improve people’s quality of life.”

Beccar Varela is the go-to firm in Argentina for clients concerned with global issues such as corporate sustainability and triple impact business models. It is the country’s first full-service firm to have joined the United Nations Global Compact (2016) as well as to produce a Sustainability Report (2020). Beccar Varela’s corporate sustainability strategy provides a concrete demonstration of the commitment to their people, clients, and the community to do business in an integral and sustainable way.

Read the official press release.