It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados regretfully communicates the passing away of João Soares da Silva, one of our founder partners, Chairman of the firm’s board of directors and, above all, a great lawyer.
Partner head of the corporate department and coordinator of the commercial and capital markets team, João Soares da Silva was graduated in Law by the Law Faculty of the University of Lisbon (1975) and had a postgraduate course in Finance by the CIFAG – IPE. During his academic journey, he also attended the International Aspects of Legal Finance course at the Queen Mary and Westfield College of London University and was Certified International Director (IDP-C) by the INSEAD. Member of the Portuguese Bar Association since 1979, he was chairman of the jury appointed by the General Board for the examination of applications that granted the title of lawyer specialized in financial law. He was also a founding member of the Portuguese Capital Markets Institute, a member of the ECGI – European Institute of Corporate Governance, a member of the Club of Florence - Istituto Internazionale per una buona Corporate Governance, a member of the INSEAD International Directors Network and a member of the INSEAD Corporate Governance Center.
As a lawyer, João Soares da Silva was responsible for a large number of operations and projects of great size and complexity, not only in Portugal but also abroad, being rightly recognized for the excellence and extreme elegance of his legal work.
Most recently, he published a twenty-year collection of studies and reflections on company law and securities as well as corporate governance issues entitled “A propósito de Corporate Governance e de Direito das Sociedades e dos Valores Mobiliários: escritos vários” trough which he was able to share his unique practical experience alongside with an admirable theoretical knowledge.
João Soares da Silva is a reference for several generations of lawyers. He began as Miguel Galvão Teles’s trainee, of whom he was also a student, and became his partner for 30 years. MLGTS’ history and culture are indelibly marked by his personality and his vision of advocacy, appealing to the defense of the interest of others with absolute dedication. Ultimately, João Soares da Silva leaves as a legacy an unrepeatable mark in national advocacy, where he engraved his very own and admired style, with a remarkable strategic capacity and an expression of a truly distinct synthesis and clarity.
