Strong in project finance and the energy sector, the ‘prestigious’ practice at Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados is noted for the ‘speed, clarity and efficiency in its approach’. It predominantly acts for domestic and international banks; recent work includes a variety of structured financing and refinancing matters as well as advice on NPLs. The ‘fantastic’ Luís Branco co-heads the team with Filipe Lowndes Marques; Pedro Gorjão Henriques is also recommended.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados is noted for its ‘timely delivery’. It mostly acts for high-profile domestic clients, among them EDP, BCP, Vista Alegre Atlantis and Galp, in equity, debt and securities matters. Eduardo Paulino and Carlos Osório de Castro stand out for their ‘know-how’ and ‘ability to use the firm’s network to find the best solutions’.
Fielding a large team with international reach, Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado handled a number of cross-border transactions, such as assisting Mystic Invest with the sale of Monumental Palace Hotel to the Paris Inn Group, and Indorama with acquisitions of a number of distressed industrial properties. EDP, Sonae, and several financial institutions count among the clients. Porto-based Carlos Osório de Castro is ‘undoubtedly a reference’; Eduardo Paulino is a 'well-rounded transactional lawyer with an old-school approach of dealing with other parties’; managing partner Nuno Galvão Teles and Tomás Vaz Pinto are also recommended.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado's 'very strong and consistent' team attracts ‘sophisticated’ work that includes civil, commercial and corporate litigation, and maintains a growing arbitration practice. It represented Sonangol Group in a $2.8bn ICC arbitration regarding alleged shareholders’ agreement breaches. António Pinto Leite led the matter jointly with the ‘excellent’ Filipe Vaz Pinto. The ‘pragmatic, prepared and assertive’ Francisco Cortez is the other name to note. Miguel Almada left to join Cuatrecasas in December 2018.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado fields an established team that handles a wide range of transactional and regulatory matters. It advised Indorama on the Portuguese law aspects of its acquisition of a purified terephthalic acid plant from insolvent Artlant, and a co-generation and water treatment plant from Artelia. Nuno Galvão Teles and Tomás Vaz Pinto jointly head the team; Catarina Brito Ferreira and Ricardo Andrade Amaro are recommended. EDP is another key client.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado is noted for its ‘engagement, assertiveness and respect in the market’. It acts for a variety of companies, including start-ups. The ‘extraordinary’ Luís Miguel Monteiro provides ongoing advice to Pfizer, ‘fantastic’ and ‘technically flawless’ managing associate Joana Almeida assisted Indorama with its acquisition of operational industrial assets from Artlant and Artelia, and Helena Tapp Barroso advised Impresa Group on the sale of its magazine portfolio. Practice head Pedro Pardal Goulão regularly acts for Tupperware.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado's ‘knowledgeable’ team acts for an impressive client roster, including high-profile Portuguese companies and public entities, in cases before the EC, the PCA, and other regulatory authorities. Carlos Botelho Moniz and practice head Joaquim Vieira Peres are ‘diplomatic’ and known for their EC and litigation work, respectively; Pedro de Gouveia e Melo is ‘excellent’ and Philipp Melcher, who is dual qualified in Portugal and Germany, is ‘very good at paying attention to details, which is often decisive in competition litigation’. Both are managing associates. Senior associate Inês Gouveia is another name to note.
In line with its expertise in high-profile international criminal cases, Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado represented Manuel Vicente, former vice president of Angola, in a diplomatically sensitive case involving accusations of corruption, money laundering, and forgery. In May 2018 the Lisbon Court of Appeal transferred Vicente’s case to Angola, following a request by his lawyers. The respected Rui Patrício led the team, with support from Filipa Marques Júnior; both jointly head the practice alongside Tiago Félix da Costa, who continues to represent one of the defendants in a case brought by the public prosecutor alleging crimes of corruption, money laundering, tax fraud and influence peddling involving undue benefits provided to public officials of the Republic of Congo in exchange for public tender awards and other deals. Senior associate Tiago Geraldo is another name to note.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado is representing former director and shareholder of BES and the Espírito Santo Group, José Manuel Espírito Santo Silva, in a case filed by the liquidation committee handling the BES insolvency, alleging acts of ruinous management by thirteen of the bank’s former directors, leading to its insolvency. Disputes expert Rui Patrício leads the case; Filipe Lowndes Marques and António Pinto Leite head the practice.
Highly rated particularly for patent litigation in the pharmaceutical sector, Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado is noted for its ‘responsiveness and attention to the client’. It represented key client Teva in patent litigation and arbitration; and Esporão in trade mark prosecution, strategy and litigation. Other work included copyright, advertising and license agreements. Senior associate Vasco Stilwell d’Andrade ‘provides clients with out-of-the-box strategies’.
Portuguese powerhouse Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados provides legal services across the board, including in the areas of tax, competition, employment, and insolvency and restructuring. It recently assisted Violas with the acquisition of 25% of Viacer, which partly owns the Super Bock Group. The team includes Bernardo Lobo Xavier, Carlos Osório de Castro, Eduardo Verde Pinho, Luís Gagliardini Graça and António Lobo Xavier, and is praised for its 'attitude, customer orientation and approach to global issues’. Senior associate Vasco da Gama Lobo Xavier is noted for his ‘energy in involving people and for never giving up’. João Anacoreta Correia joined from Uría Menéndez – Proença Carvalho in January 2019. The client roster features names such as Sonae, Nos, BCP, Galp and Corticeira Amorim.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado brings public law expertise to the table and continued to assist key client Sonae Sierra in land use planning and municipal tax matters related to its real estate properties and construction developments. João Pereira Reis and managing associate Rui Ribeiro Lima are the names to note.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado brings public law expertise to the table and continued to assist key client Sonae Sierra in land use planning and municipal tax matters related to its real estate properties and construction developments. João Pereira Reis and managing associate Rui Ribeiro Lima are the names to note.
EDP continues to be one of Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados’ key clients, receiving advice on energy, regulatory, public procurement and litigation matters. In other work the outfit is assisting Metropolitano de Lisboa with public procurement in the context of its modernisation and expansion. The team also handles the streamlining of administrative procedures and procurement matters in the energy, defence and transport sectors, including contentious work. Practice co-heads are João Tiago Silveira, Nuno Peres Alves and the ‘brilliant’, ‘very imaginative’ and ‘academic’ Porto-based Pedro Costa Gonçalves. Margarida Olazabal Cabral is also singled out.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado handled a wide range of real estate work, including acting on the buyer and seller sides in portfolio transactions and on M&A involving real estate assets, among others for EDP in several property sales, as well as for funds and developers. João Torroaes Valente joined from Uría Menéndez – Proença Carvalho as practice co-head in April 2018, bringing with him client BNP Paribas Real Estate, which he assisted in the negotiation of a joint venture with SIL for the development of a 74,000sqm mixed-use office and residential project in Alcântara. Filipa Arantes Pedroso is the other practice co-head.
The ‘fantastic’ team at Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado provides advice to high-profile clients such as EDP, Galp and Sonae on the entire gamut of tax issues, including corporate and M&A, concessions, and pertaining to the banking and energy sectors. It also handles tax planning and restructuring, disputes and international taxation. Francisco de Sousa da Câmara is a ‘wizard of tax law’; António Lobo Xavier displays ‘a lot of common sense’; António Pedro Braga is also recommended. All three jointly lead the practice, with the latter two being based in Oporto.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado possesses telecoms and media, data protection and gaming expertise. Key client Nos - as opposing third party - received advice on competition, regulatory and public law issues regarding the proposed acquisition of Media Capital by Altice. The matter was led by managing associate Gonçalo Machado Borges, who is noted for his ‘highly professional skills’ and ‘fast, personalised attention’. Other team members include IT and data protection expert Tiago Félix da Costa, João Alfredo Afonso, who has a focus on IT, media, e-commerce and data protection, and data protection specialist Helena Tapp Barroso.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associado adopts a ‘very personal approach’ when providing aviation and shipping advice. It assisted several lenders with mortgages and other secured financings involving aircraft and vessels. Clients include Gazprombank, Nordea Bank and ABN Amro. Segismundo Pinto Basto focuses on aviation matters, and Madeira-based managing associate Cátia Henriques Fernandes handles shipping work. João Anacoreta Correia joined from Uría Menéndez – Proença Carvalho in January 2019.