Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal need to bring about a change of mindset in their companies and embrace the concept of being fully compliant, according to Paulo de Sá e Cunha, partner

Clients need to be able to demonstrate that they have a programme that meets the specific needs of their company

Due to the explosion of corporate scandals over the last two years and the ensuing criminal and civil litigation, there is a growing awareness among board members of the personal liabilities they potentially face in

Despite a relatively undeveloped legal framework for compliance, companies can still be held criminally liable for the actions of their representatives

Though having a compliance programme is not yet enshrined in Portuguese law, lawyers are taking the opportunity to develop a new practice area focusing on helping clients eliminate the risks associated with non-compliance, say Tiago

Companies that can demonstrate they did all they could to prevent a data-related crime have a better chance of success in court

While compliance is not the top priority for a lot of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal, there is one kind of small business that is already ahead of the rest in this area,

Compliance should be part of the culture of a business, staff at all levels of an organisation should be educated and those who do not comply should be disciplined

The pharmaceutical sector may have become more concentrated due to regulatory and compliance demands, but this has meant more work for law firms, says José Luís Esquível, managing partner of Esquível Advogados