Legal 500

With a longstanding practice in Portugal, VdA – Vieira de Almeida is expanding its Angola capabilities. The full-service country desk acts for a large portfolio of international clients, including insurer Zurich and the International Telecommunication Union. Rui Amendoeira stands out along with energy, natural resources and infrastructure expert João Fialho and managing associate Hugo Santos, who is an expert in banking and finance.

Recommended Lawyers

• Hugo Moredo Santos
• João Fialho
• Rui Amendoeira

Portuguese powerhouse VdA Vieira de Almeida acts for an impressive roster of banks including Santander Totta, Barclays and Société Générale. Practice head Pedro Cassiano Santos led advice to Banco de Portugal on the resolution measure applied to Banco Espírito Santo (BES) and assisted the Ministry of Finance with the resolution of Banif. Paulo Olavo Cunha, Pedro Simões Coelho, Paula Gomes Freire and managing associate Tiago Correia Moreira are also key figures.

Leading lawyers

• Pedro Cassiano Santos

Recommended Lawyers

• Paula Gomes Freire
• Paulo Olavo Cunha
• Pedro Simões Coelho
• Tiago Correia Moreira

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s ‘dedicated’ team has substantial experience handling debt capital markets work and bond issue transactions. The group advised a bank syndicate on electricity and gas operator EDP’s issuance of €750m subordinated notes. Hugo Moredo Santos is ‘reliable and devoted’, and Pedro Cassiano Santos, Paula Gomes Freire and of counsel José Pedro Fazenda Martins are also recommended.

Leading Lawyer

• Pedro Cassiano Santos

Recommended Lawyers

• Hugo Moredo Santos
• Paula Gomes Freire
• José Pedro Fazenda Martins

VdA Vieira de Almeida stands out for its excellent private equity credentials; Apollo Global Management and Advent are clients. The team advised Cheung Kong and Power Assets on the acquisition of Iberwind from seven vendors, and assisted Ageas with purchasing AXA’s Portuguese operations. Jorge Bleck, Paulo Trindade Costa and managing partner João Vieira de Almeida provide ‘to-the-point’ advice; Cláudia da Cruz Almeida has a ‘clear opinion on potential risks’; and Helena Vaz Pinto is ‘very dedicated’.

Leading individuals

• João Vieira de Almeida
• Jorge Bleck

Recommended Lawyers

• Cláudia da Cruz Almeida
• Helena Vaz Pinto
• Paulo Trindade Costa

In 2017, VdA Vieira de Almeida acted for clients including Millennium BCP, Doyen Group and Elos - Ligações de Alta Velocidade. Highly recommended for arbitration, Miguel Pinto Cardoso represented Petrogal in a case concerning compensation claims for the breach of a contractor’s obligations. The ‘technically excellent team’ includes Frederico Gonçalves Pereira, Rui Andrade and the ‘innovative’ Sofia Ribeiro Branco, who is ‘very good in court’.

Recommended Lawyers 

• Frederico Gonçalves Pereira
• Miguel Pinto Cardoso
• Rui Andrade
• Sofia Ribeiro Branco

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s team provides ‘great customer support’. The ‘very committed’ Nuno Ruiz and senior associate Cláudia Coutinho da Costa assisted Dia Portugal with a resale price maintenance investigation by the Portuguese competition authority. Miguel Mendes Pereira and managing associate Rita Aleixo Gregório handled merger control filings for Yildirim Group’s acquisitions of Mota-Engil Logística and Tertir.

Leading Lawyers

• Nuno Ruiz
• Miguel Mendes Pereira

Recommended Lawyers

• Cláudia Coutinho da Costa
• Rita Aleixo Gregório

VdA Vieira de Almeida advised Ferrostaal on the closure of a business in Portugal, which included the collective dismissal of 37 employees. Managing associate Tiago Piló and newly promoted managing associate Benedita Gonçalves are ‘credible and instil confidence’.

Recommended Lawyers

• Tiago Piló
• Benedita Fernandes Gonçalves

Rui Amendoeira and Vanda Cascão’s team at VdA Vieira de Almeida has ‘profound experience’ in the oil and gas sector. Highlights included advising electricity and natural gas grid holder Ren on obtaining a €80m European Investment Bank (EIB) financing to upgrade the transmission network. João Afonso Fialho, ‘proactive’ managing associate Ana Luís de Sousa and Manuel Protásio, who ‘focuses on the client’s perspective’, are also recommended.

Leading Lawyers

• Vanda Cascão

Recommended Lawyers

• João Afonso Fialho
• Manuel Protásio
• Rui Amendoeira
• Ana Luís de Sousa

The ‘well-prepared and professional’ Sofia Ribeiro Branco heads VdA Vieira de Almeida’s fraud and white-collar crime department, which has seen an increase in cross-border fraud cases. Recent work includes defending allegations of corruption, insider trading and market manipulation, and handling competition-related cases.

Recommended

• Sofia Ribeiro Branco

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s ‘creative’ team is highly regarded for patent expertise in the pharmaceutical sector. Clients include AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Shionogi and Novartis; the firm successfully represented the latter in mandatory arbitration concerning the withdrawal of infringing products from the market. António de Magalhães Cardoso and managing associates António Andrade, Margarida Sameiro and Patrícia Paias are recommended.

Leading Lawyers

• António de Magalhães Cardoso
• António Andrade

Recommended Lawyers

• Margarida Sameiro

Next generation lawyers

• Patrícia Paias

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s team provides ‘excellent guidance through the restructuring process’. The group is experienced in handling distressed M&A transactions, and advised Apollo on acquiring insurance company Tranquilidade from Novo Banco through the enforcement of a financial pledge pertaining to Grupo Espírito Santo’s insolvency. Frederico Gonçalves Pereira and managing associate Joana Domingues are recommended.

Leading Lawyers

• Frederico Gonçalves Pereira

Next generation Lawyers

• Joana Domingues

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s ‘multi-disciplinary team is always able to find useful solutions’. It advised The Sakthi Group on the construction of two industrial units pertaining to its foundry and aluminium businesses. ‘Calm, sharp and business-minded’ office head Isabel Gião de Andrade is recommended alongside TMT expert Fernando Resina da Silva and public law specialist Mário Esteves de Oliveira.

Recommended Lawyers

• Mário Esteves de Oliveira
• Fernando Resina da Silva
• Isabel Gião de Andrade

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s Rodrigo Esteves de Oliveira advised Fundbox on urban planning, zoning and land use regulations concerning the Quinta da Ombria environmental resort development project. He also assisted real estate firm Imoban with planning matters pertaining to residential and tourism resort developments.

Recommended Lawyers

• Rodrigo Esteves de Oliveira

VdA Vieira de Almeida is adept at handling infrastructure, particularly road, projects. It assisted the EIB with the renegotiation of the Beira Interior and Baixo Alentejo road subconcessions. Teresa Empis Falcão’s ‘profound knowledge of financial schemes’ enables her ‘to implement projects worldwide’. The ‘innovative’ Paulo de Barros Baptista, Manuel Protásio and João Afonso Fialho are also recommended along with Vanda Cascão, the well-regarded head of the energy and natural resources team.

Leading Lawyers

• Manuel Protásio

Recommended Lawyers

• João Afonso Fialho
• Paulo de Barros Baptista
• Teresa Empis Falcão
• Vanda Cascão

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s headline matters saw the team advise the Portuguese government and Parpública on the privatisation of TAP, and defend the parties in litigation challenging the conclusion of the privatisation process. ‘Practical adviser’ Paulo Pinheiro and Mário Esteves de Oliveira are the practice co-heads. Managing associates Ana Marta Castro and André Proença are also recommended.

Leading Lawyers

• Mário Esteves de Oliveira
• Paulo Pinheiro

Recommended Lawyers

• Ana Marta Castro

Next generation lawyers

• André Proença

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s ‘impressive’ real estate group advised Fundação Oriente on the sale of its Lisbon headquarters to Pavilions Hotels. Practice head Pedro Ferreirinha and managing associate Manuel Gouveia Pereira are the key names. Miguel Marques dos Santos and managing associate Pedro Pereira Coutinho joined from Garrigues Portugal. Leonor Brito left the firm.

Leading Lawyers

• Miguel Marques dos Santos
• Pedro Ferreirinha

Recommended Lawyers

• Manuel Gouveia Pereira
• Pedro Pereira Coutinho

VdA Vieira de Almeida’s Joaquim Pedro Lampreia scored a significant victory for Brisal and KBC Finance in claims against the Portuguese Republic before the European Court of Justice concerning a member state’s preclusion from imposing withholding tax on interest paid to EU-resident financial institutions. Practice head Tiago Marreiros Moreira and managing associate Conceição Gamito are also noted.

Recommended Lawyers

• Tiago Marreiros Moreira
• Joaquim Pedro Lampreia
• Conceição Gamito

VdA Vieira de Almeida is frequently retained for legal studies; the team analysed the universal service of telecoms across Lusophone countries for the International Telecommunication Union. Fernando Resina da Silva advised Microsoft on preparing an IT, privacy and data protection guide to cloud services. Magda Cocco and Margarida Couto are also recommended.

Leading Lawyers

• Fernando Resina da Silva
• Magda Cocco
• Margarida Couto

VdA Vieira de Almeida handles mandates across the full spectrum of maritime and transport law. Aviation finance expert Pedro Simões Coelho advised Omni Helicopters International on the purchase, sale and leaseback of helicopters. Paulo de Barros Baptista ‘finds innovative solutions to fulfil a client’s needs’ and Rodrigo Esteves de Oliveira is also recommended.

Recommended Lawyers

• Paulo de Barros Baptista
• Pedro Simões Coelho
• Rodrigo Esteves de Oliveira