Winners of Iberian Lawyer 2020 Labour Awards Portugal announced

The winners of the Iberian Lawyer 2020 Labour Portugal awards were announced during a webinar event held fully online

Iberian Lawyer’s Labour Awards are an initiative promoted by Iberian Legal Group, with the purpose of stimulating competitiveness amongst law firms and lawyers in Portugal. The awards cover a variety of specialisations and are focused on the Labour practice area. They aim to recognise the excellence of the private practice lawyers and experts in the labour sector.

Iberian Lawyer was honoured to present and host this dynamic and prestigious online ceremony and would like to congratulate all the finalists that were in the running.

The winners are as follows:

Law Firm of the Year

Morais Leitão

With a high number of partners that make up the Employment Department, some of them with more than 20 years’ experience in all fields of Employment and Labour Law, the team has distinguished itself for being highly skilled in a variety of sectors.

Lawyer of the Year

Benjamim Mendes – DLA Piper ABBC

Head of the Employment Law practice, Benjamim has generated 30% of revenue for the firm during the research period conducted by Iberian Lawyer. He is highly skilled in a number of sectors and has particularly distinguished himself for being involved in high profile court cases.

Thought Leadership

Carmo Sousa Machado – Abreu Advogados

Carmo holds the distinction of being the first-ever female managing partner of a Portuguese law firm. She is also one of the greatest experts in business Employment matters, playing an important role in dealing with clients’ demands and businesses.

Law Firm of the Year – M&A and Employment-related Issues

Morais Leitão

Clients say that their technical skills and measured approach are their best qualities. In 2019 they were one of the most important firms in the M&A market within the Employment area.

Lawyer of the Year – M&A and Employment-related Issues

Marta Afonso Pereira – Linklaters

Marta leads one of the most efficient teams in the M&A sector. She manages more than 100 matters per year and is deeply involved in approximately half of those matters. In 2019 she worked on a consumer goods industry billionaire transaction.

Law Firm of the Year – Litigation

VdA

They are a high-level Team and have worked on many significant cases during the research period. Many of these involved clients from different sectors with international media coverage.

Lawyer of the Year – Litigation

Luís Miguel Monteiro – Morais Leitão

Luís is one of the top lawyers in Portugal. He coordinated and actively participated in more than 20 cases in 2019 and has been gathering victories in front of many courts against important counterparts.

Law Firm of the Year – Industrial/Trade Union Relations

SRS Advogados

During the research period, the team was highly recommended by peers and clients for their deep knowledge of the industrial/trade union relations area.

Lawyer of the Year – Industrial/Trade Union relations

Marta Afonso Pereira – Linklaters

Marta Afonso Pereira has been involved in many matters and negotiations. In particular, she worked on the renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements between a private company, employees and unions in the aviation sector.

Law Firm of the Year – Restructuring/Reorganizations

VdA

It is one of the most efficient team’s in this area. During the research period, they have worked on the restructuring of two important companies of the agrochemical and beauty sector, which were involved in an M&A deal.

Lawyer of the Year – Restructuring/Reorganizations

Susana Afonso – CMS Rui Pena & Arnaut

Susana Afonso was highly recommended for this specific area by peers and clients. She particularly distinguished herself for working on a large insurance company’s restructuring, that generated high media coverage.

Law Firm of the Year – Sports Law

14 Sports Law

The Boutique is fully specialised in sports law. In 2019 they maintained their international footprint and assisted football agents, football players, coaches and clubs from all over the world.

Lawyer of the Year – Sports Law

Paulo Rendeiro – Morais Leitão

Paulo Rendeiro heads the ­sports and entertainment department. His practice is primarily focused on international football transfers, and he has managed deals involving players from all of Europe’s major leagues.

Law Firm of the Year – Top Management

PLMJ

PLMJ has distinguished itself for a dispute that involved a country manager of a US company focused on the sports market. It was one of the most complex cases in 2019 in this area. 

Lawyer of the Year – Top Management

Manuel Ferreira Mendes – Costa Pinto Advogados

With more than a decade of experience in the sector, Manuel has been particularly active in negotiating the exit of senior executives from some multinationals. His rate of success has granted him a high degree of recommendation.

Law Firm of the Year – Non-contentious/Advisory

SRS Advogados

With more than 20% of the activity in these areas, the firm has distinguished itself for providing valuable assistance to its clients and for its management of Employment contracts.

Lawyer of the Year – Non-contentious/Advisory

Tiago Cortes – PLMJ

With a strong experience in this area, Tiago has played a key role in resolving Labour conflicts and in reaching some new collective Labour agreements in Portugal.

Law Firm of the Year – Social Security

CRS Advogados

The team, led by Telmo Semião, is one of the most active in this area. During the research period, he assisted one of the most important media companies in the judicial proceeding in the field of Social Security.

Lawyer of the Year – Social Security

Pedro Ulrich – CTSU – Deloitte Legal

Pedro is involved in all labour matters and generated 80% revenue in his previous firm during the research period. He worked on the planning and execution of a challenging pension scheme for a Bank.

Law Firm of the Year – Agency Relationship

CCA Law Firm

The team is specialised in new market trends and discussions. Among the activities of 2019, we highlight CCA consulting and advisory activities in the agency relationships’ area for an international advertising company.

Lawyer of the Year – Agency Relationship

Inês Arruda – Vasconcelos Arruda & Associados

Inês is the leader of one of the most active teams in this area. She has generated 65% of revenue and worked on a pioneering action in the Portuguese market.

Law Firm of the Year – Public Sector Employment

PRA – Raposo, Sá Miranda & Associados

The team was highly recommended during the research period by peers and clients for their deep knowledge of the Public sector and Employment area. Their recent work includes a complex deal on the national Health Care sector.

Lawyer of the Year – Public Sector Employment

Nuno Cerejeira Namora – Cerejeira Namora, Marinho Falcão

Nuno is highly skilled with a deep knowledge of the area. He leads one of the most active teams in this sector. During the research period, he worked on a delicate public Employment lawsuit.

Law Firm of the Year – Criminal Employment Law

Abreu Advogados

Highly skilled team, in 2019 they advised an important non-profit organization on the relevant judicial proceedings regarding management criminal responsibility, in particular, for alleged embezzlement

Lawyer of the Year – Criminal Employment Law

José Mota Soares – Andersen

José has more than two decades of experience in Labour Law matters. He is now working on one of the most important Criminal Labour lawsuits with a high economic value.