VdA hires Assunção Cristas
VdA has hired Assunção Cristas to lead the Environmental practice area and its ESG Integrated Services Platform
Assunção Cristas has been hired by VdA. The lawyer will lead, as of counsel, a team specialised in the area of Environmental Law.
Cristas will also be responsible for coordinating the ESG Integrated Services Platform, created to support clients in matters related to this issue, and the growing regulation which it is subject to.
A spokesperson from VdA said: “The incorporation of ESG metrics – Environmental, Social, Governance – constitutes a determining factor for long-term competitiveness, and the underlying concerns assumed a central importance in the economic and social development of the coming decades, with a transversal impact on the European Union and the public policies of its Member States.”
João Vieira de Almeida, VdA’s managing partner said: “Having Assunção Cristas in the team is a source of enormous pride and a source of motivation for everyone, as it means a structuring investment in the future, in critical areas for our clients. VdA is committed to fulfilling the objectives defined in the Vision 21 | 25 strategic plan, and this is a key step in that process. Assunção Cristas brings unique skills and experience to VdA and shares the same values and long-term vision. I have no doubt that this integration will be a great success.”
Assunção Cristas said: “With VdA clearly focused on the priority of commitment to sustainability, and an innovative positioning, a critical factor in supporting transformation in this domain, there is a clear identification with the values and vision of the firm, relevant to building a more sustainable present and future is an enormous challenge, which I am very excited about. Being part of the VdA team, at a time when the regulatory context is undergoing profound transformation, is especially interesting and I am very honored.”
Cristas is a lawyer by training and a professor at the Nova University of Lisbon. She graduated in law in 1997 from the University of Lisbon, was admitted to the Portuguese Bar Association in 1999 and completed her doctorate in Private Law in 2004.
She was the President of the CDS – People’s Party, from 2016 to 2020. From 2011 to 2015, she served as Minister of Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Territorial Planning in the government led by Pedro Passos Coelho.
