Morais Leitão promotes five to partner
Morais Leitão has promoted three to equity partner and two to non-equity partner
Following its General Assembly, Morais Leitão announces the promotion of three new equity partners. In the Litigation and Arbitration area, the new partners are Ricardo do Nascimento Ferreira (pictured first from the left) and Sofia Vaz Sampaio (pictured second from the left). M&A and Capital Markets area new partner is Magda Viçoso (pictured centre).
The same Assembly promoted two to non-equity partners: Employment new partner is Joana Almeida (pictured second from the right) and European, and Competition new partner is Pedro de Gouveia e Melo (pictured first from the right).
Ricardo do Nascimento Ferreira joined Morais Leitão in 2005. He is head of a Litigation and Arbitration team. His practice focuses on several areas of Civil and Commercial law and contentious and non-contentious matters of Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical law, notably involving the pharmaceutical industry. He assists and represents national and foreign clients in pre-litigation issues and conducts and participates in domestic and multi-jurisdictional judicial and arbitration proceedings. He is a regular speaker at conferences and academic activities related to Litigation, Arbitration and Intellectual Propriety. He has several articles published in national and foreign reviews on those subjects. Ricardo do Nascimento Ferreira is an arbitrator in several arbitration institutions. He is a member of the Under-40 Counselling Commission of the Portuguese Arbitration and Intellectual Property International Chamber of Commerce.
Sofia Vaz Sampaio joined the firm in 2006. She is head of a Litigation and Arbitration team, and also a member of the Sport and Entertainment team. She has acted as counsel in judicial and arbitration proceedings in several in a variety of industrial sectors, such as Banking, Construction, Food and Beverage, Infrastructures, Media and Advertising, Public-Private partnerships, Energy, and Telecommunications domestic and international. From September to December 2005 Sofia practised law at Osório de Castro, Verde Pinho, Vieira Peres, Lobo Xavier e Associados – Sociedade de Advogados, and from March to July 2011, Sofia practised as a foreign intern at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP & Affiliates, in London, International Litigation and Arbitration Group.
Magda Viçoso joined Morais Leitão in 2018 as a partner, and today is a member of the firm’s Corporate and M&A and Capital Markets team. Her practice focuses on Capital Markets, M&A, Corporate and Banking law. She has a vast experience recognised by several international directories, having advised national and international public and private offerings of equity, public takeover bids, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and privatisations. She’s also prominent in corporate governance and compliance of listed companies. Throughout her career, she has regularly advised on both transactional and current corporate assistance, listed companies and groups of substantial dimension – particularly in the Banking, Energy, Cement, Telecommunications, Postal services and Logistic sectors. Magda Viçoso worked at CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A. – from 2015 to 2018, including in its subsidiaries. In the CTT universe, she was responsible for a legal team focused on the corporate issues of this listed company with dispersed capital and businesses development (in organic projects, as the set-up of Banco CTT and strategic and innovative business development initiatives, as well as in inorganic projects/acquisitions). Magda Viçoso worked with PLMJ – Sociedade de Advogados – from 2001 to 2014, becoming a partner in 2012 and coordinating the Capital Markets team. She developed her practice in Corporate, M&A and Banking and Finance, specifically in Capital Markets and Corporate governance.
Joana Almeida joined Morais Leitão in 1998, and she is a member of the Employment and Pensions team. Joana provides day-to-day consultancy in all areas of Labour and Social Security law, concerning both individual and collective employment relationships. Acting on behalf of domestic and foreign clients, she has participated in several corporate restructuring processes, provided legal advice on the acquisition and sale of companies and business areas and conducted proceedings for the termination of employment contracts. Joana has also been involved in the conception and implementation of fringe benefit plans of varying sorts, acting as legal counsel for several clients on Labour litigation and Social Security matters. In the academic circuit, she was a teacher in ISLA’s Postgraduate Studies in Labour law. Author of several articles on labour issues published in specialised magazines. She is co-author of the book Código do Trabalho – Três Anos de Jurisprudência Comentada (2007).
Pedro de Gouveia e Melo joined the firm in 2002, and today is a member of the European law and Competition team, as well as of Africa team. He has more than fifteen years’ experience in representing and advising international and domestic companies and public authorities on all fields of Competition law (merger control, State aids, antitrust investigations and counselling), in a wide range of industries, such as Energy, Financial Services and Food & Beverages. He also advises clients on E.U. law, in particular the Internal Market rules, the Common Agricultural Policy and Structural Funds. His experience includes cases before both the Portuguese Competition Authority and the European Commission, and he has been involved in litigation before the European Court of Justice, the E.U. General Court and the Portuguese courts. He has also worked in cases before the U.S. Antitrust Agencies and the European Court of Human Rights. Further to the entry into force in 2013 of the first Competition Act in Mozambique, which closely follows Portuguese law, Pedro is an active member of Morais Leitão Africa Team. During 2007 Pedro was seconded to Latham & Watkins LLP in Washington, DC, where he worked in both local and international antitrust law matters.
