Vieira de Almeida appoints four new partners

Vieira de Almeida (VdA) has promoted four lawyers to partners: Carlos Filipe Gonçalves Couto, Joana Bernardo, João Soares Franco and Lisa Ventura Lopes.

“These appointments reflect the firm’s strategy to strengthen its capabilities in areas such as banking & finance, white-collar crime & criminal law, public law, and real estate & urban planning, while also developing new expertise in key sectors of economic activity that add value for clients”, states VdA.

Carlos Filipe Gonçalves Couto has focused his practice primarily on the securities, banking and insurance sectors, providing ongoing advice to asset management companies on regulatory and legal matters, as well as on transactions involving the purchase and sale of assets and shareholdings. In recent years, he has been particularly involved in the insurance sector, advising on regulatory, contractual and insurance mediation matters, as well as assisting bondholder representatives and trustees on regulatory and contractual issues.

Joana Bernardo has been involved in criminal and administrative offence litigation, with a particular focus on economic and financial crime across various regulated sectors. She has experience in corporate risk management and compliance, including anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and whistleblower protection, and also advises on international sanctions, internal investigations and proceedings before the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

João Soares Franco practises in the area of administrative law, with a particular focus on public procurement, litigation and arbitration, administrative concessions and regulatory law. From a public corporate law perspective, he has advised public entities and private companies, in Portugal and abroad, in sectors such as construction, transport and infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and healthcare.

Lisa Ventura Lopes practises in real estate and urban planning, advising national and international developers on residential, commercial and tourism real estate projects, from the acquisition phase through to sale or operation, and has been involved in some of the most significant real estate transactions carried out in Portugal in recent years.

Pictured (top row): João Soares Franco and Lisa Ventura Lopes; bottom row: Carlos Filipe Gonçalves Couto and Joana Bernardo.