KPMG Law: the Portugal strategy
Luís Magalhães discusses the firm’s growth ambitions, its multidisciplinary model and plans to build a substantial legal practice in the country
by glória paiva
KPMG had been waiting 15 years for the right conditions to enter Portugal’s legal market. A legislative change that took effect in March 2024 (click to read) paved the way for the launch of KPMG Law Portugal in June this year, backed by a €12 million investment. The practice started with seven partners and around 20 professionals, with a target of exceeding 70 lawyers within two years, Luís Magalhães, partner, Executive Committee member of KPMG Portugal and head of KPMG Law Portugal, tells Iberian Lawyer. Marking KPMG’s entry into Portugal’s legal market, the practice is betting on a sizeable, autonomous legal team within a multidisciplinary organisation. “The difference lies in combining legal advice with financial, tax, accounting, technology and operational expertise, as well as KPMG’s international reach”, Magalhães says.
How would you assess the launch of KPMG Law in Portugal?
These first few months of activity have confirmed the soundness of the strategy we defined for KPMG Law and the market’s receptiveness to our offering. We launched with a high-calibre team of partners with established careers and recognised reputations in their respective areas of specialisation. Alongside this legal expertise, we offer close collaboration with our advisory, assurance and tax teams, as well as the ability to mobilise KPMG Law’s international network for the benefit of our clients. The careful preparation of the project enabled us to launch with the quality, execution capabilities and ambition we had set as our objectives from the outset.
How did you prepare for the launch?
This project was years in the making. KPMG has been monitoring this issue very closely, and we have always maintained that we would only proceed once a legal and regulatory framework was in place that would allow us to develop the project with confidence and credibility. This was also the position we consistently communicated to the relevant bodies, such as the Portuguese Bar Association and the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM). Once the legal conditions allowed us to move forward, we proceeded with our strategic plan, operational and technological preparations, and team-building. This groundwork enabled us to begin operations with a structure ready to meet clients’ requirements from day one.
What types of work, sectors and practice areas have generated the greatest demand?
We have seen interest in the quality of our team, but also in the opportunity to benefit from a legal approach that, where it adds value, incorporates financial, tax, operational and business considerations from the outset. We have already started projects in corporate law, corporate transactions and M&A, public law, infrastructure and real estate. We have also seen particularly significant interest in environmental and natural resources law and competition law. These areas are domains in which legal implications frequently intersect with companies’ strategic decisions, making the ability to analyse issues from an integrated perspective particularly valuable.
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