Isabel Santos Fidalgo, Antas da Cunha Ecija new partner

Antas da Cunha Ecija has hired Isabel Santos Fidalgo as partner in the Porto office. The lawyer spent the last 21 years at Morais Leitão and has experience in tax law, particularly in tax litigation, corporate reorganisations and taxation applied to regulated sectors.

Isabel Santos Fidalgo also serves as a tax arbitrator at CAAD. With more than two decades of practice, she has built a reputation in leading landmark tax disputes. Throughout her career, she has advised major national and multinational economic groups, supporting strategic decisions on tax planning and inspections, deep corporate reorganisations and cross-border M&A transactions. Her experience spans highly regulated and capital-intensive sectors such as energy and oil, telecommunications, banking, retail, construction, industry and infrastructure. In addition, she has actively contributed to the design of key tax regimes, notably as a member of the Commission for the Reform of Corporate Income Tax (IRC).

Before joining Morais Leitão in 2004, Isabel Santos Fidalgo worked as a tax senior consultant at PwC. Her professional background also includes periods at Abreu Advogados and Arthur Andersen & Co. She holds a law degree from the Faculty of Law of the Portuguese Catholic University (Porto). She has a postgraduate qualification in Corporate Legal Sciences from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra and a master’s degree in Law, Business & Management from NOVA SBE. She also attended the Executive Program in Comparative Tax Policy and Administration at Harvard Kennedy School.

According to Fernando Antas da Cunha, managing partner of Antas da Cunha Ecija: “Isabel is one of the most recognised lawyers of her generation and an unavoidable reference in Portuguese tax law. Her high level of expertise and experience represents a significant reinforcement of our practice in the north, as she combines deep knowledge of the regional context with a broad global strategic outlook.” The managing partner concludes: “In 2026, we will continue to be committed to strengthening our local operation across a wide range of areas, always with the aim of contributing to value creation for our clients, in line with the market’s growing demands.”