CS'Associados

Number of partners worldwide: 14

Number of lawyers worldwide: 54

Languages: English, French, Spanish, German

Firm Overview:

CS'Associados is a top-tier firm whose reputation is built in the establishment of a close professional relationship with its clients, based on the quality of the legal services provided and on the all-time involvement of its partners. Its main constitutional principles are:

■ Maximum leverage of 1:3 between partners and associates, demanding a more direct and permanent involvement of partners with clients

■ Top-quality of the services provided to clients throughout the whole firm

■ Strict control of conflict of interests

Main Areas of Practice:

Banking & Finance: CS'Associados is a leading firm in this area of practice, with the highest number of ranked lawyers. Having been involved in many of the largest and most complex financing transactions completed in Portugal, CS'Associados banking and finance lawyers are acknowledged by the market and amongst their peers due to their excellent structuring and deal management skills, as well as extensive experience.

Contacts: Maria Castelos, Duarte Brito de Goes, Antonio Rocha Alves

Capital Markets: The team advises clients in the full spectrum of securities deals, regulatory matters and corporate governance. It has been involved in some of the most ground-breaking capital raising transactions in Portugal that require sophisticated and creative advice.

Contacts: Maria Castelos, Antonio Rocha Alves, David Oliveira Festas

Corporate/M&A: CS'Associados lawyers are acknowledged as leading practitioners in mergers and acquisitions, divestiture, spin-offs and joint ventures. Lawyers have been regularly involved in the largest and most complex transactions of this kind in Portugal and provide sophisticated legal advice on all types of deals.

Contacts: Maria Castelos, Martim Morgado, Bernardo Abreu Mota, João Gonçalo Galvão, David Oliveira Festas

Criminal Misdemeanour & Compliance: CS'Associados supports its clients in a preventive perspective — paying special attention to compliance policies. The practice includes the defence in regulatory or administrative offenses procedures and general criminal law litigation, with experience also in parliamentary hearings and in proceedings before the Court of Auditors, the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

Contact: Pedro Duro

Energy and Sustainability: CS'Associados’ Energy and Sustainability team is experienced in delivering practical A to Z advice in all stages of an energy project, should it be to develop, dispose of, acquire or finance it.

Contact: Mafalda Ferreira

European & Competition: CS'Associados provides legal advice in all areas of European Union Law, assisting clients in procedures before national and European authorities and courts. In particular, the firm has been involved in procedures concerning the control of concentrations, restrictive practices and agreements, abuse of dominant position, State aid and services of general economic interest.

Contact: Gonçalo Machado Borges

Financial Services: The Financial Service area encompasses financial services regulation, collective investment schemes and other types of financial intermediation, payment services and fintech, consumer credit, crowdfunding, and insurance and insurance distribution businesses.

Contact: André Fernandes Bento

Labour: CS'Associados team has long acquired experience in providing advisory and litigation services, ranging the majority of labour issues, such as: hiring of employees (in its different variations), management of individual employment relationships, drafting of internal regulations and rules, support on the drafting of complementary retirement plans, health plans and other social benefits, restructuring procedures and transfer of undertakings, termination procedures (collective dismissals and individual redundancies), collective negotiations, social security issues and public law employment relationships.

Contact: Pedro Furtado Martins

Litigation & Arbitration: Lawyers have taken part in relevant legal proceedings in recent years, representing clients at all stages of the process and collaborating with reputable foreign law firms in international proceedings. Experience encompasses all areas of law (such as civil and commercial litigation, enforcement proceedings and criminal law) and includes cases before civil and criminal courts. The litigation and arbitration team has also acted in multi-jurisdictional proceedings and actions before the highest arbitration bodies.

Contact: João Maria Pimentel

Private Equity: CS'Associados lawyers have extensive experience and expertise in all legal and tax aspects of buyouts, acquisitions, financing, high-yield offerings, exit strategies, venture capital and structuring funds. CS'Associados advises on the full range of transactions from venture capital investments to complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions and from initial investment to exit.

Contacts: Maria Castelos, Martim Morgado, Bernardo Abreu Mota, João Gonçalo Galvão

Projects: The firm has one of the leading project finance practices in Portugal. Lawyers have a long-standing experience in advising clients in many of the most important infrastructure projects launched in Portugal since the very first project finance closed in this country to the current days. In addition, lawyers have been consistently involved in energy, water and sewage and ports projects closed and financed in Portugal.

Contacts: Maria Castelos, Duarte Brito de Goes

Public: The team includes lawyers of acknowledged expertise and experience in advising both private and public entities in public matters. As such, members of the team have been involved in several major public contracts, including road and energy concessions, as well as in the setting up of high profile building and tourism projects.

Contact: André Salgado de Matos

Real Estate: The firm assists national and international clients in investments, M&A and other transactions concerning real estate assets in the retail, industrial and logistics, office, tourism and residential sectors. CS'Associados is vastly skilled in all types of agreements regarding real estate assets, including sale and purchases, exchanges, call options, surface rights (building leases) or usufructs, as well as lease agreements, retail management or store use agreements. The practice is also experienced in preparing agreements governing the construction and supervision of real estate projects, including private and public works agreements.

Contacts: Bernado Abreu Mota, João Gonçalo Galvão, Martim Morgado

Restructuring & Insolvency: CS Associados provides advice to all the parties that may be involved in a company crisis. These include, amongst others, company or group restructuring procedures, refinancing of debts, acquisition of distressed assets and debt, protection of creditors’ rights, directors’ duties and liabilities, protection of assets, claw-back actions, design of security structures, corporate recovery as well as general advice on insolvency proceedings and related litigation.

Contact: João Maria Pimentel

Tax: The firm has a highly experienced practice group who deal with the tax aspects of the full range of corporate, commercial and financial transactions. The firm’s tax practice works closely with the corporate and finance practices to deliver flawless advice responsive to the objectives of CS'Associados’ clients and is always involved from the initial stages of a transaction. The group has also a stand-alone tax practice that assists the firm’s clients, helping them to deal with their daily or more sophisticated tax matters.

Contact: António Rocha Mendes

Technology, Data and Digital Innovation: The team is comprised of experienced and highly versatile lawyers, whose expertise cuts across all the different areas within the digital spectrum. As such, the team is specialized in industries where innovation is key, including technology, ecommerce, electronic communications, privacy and data protection, cybersecurity and internet law, intellectual and industrial property matters, as well as highly disruptive projects involving blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data, fintech and e-health.

Contact: Jorge Silva Martins

International Work: CS'Associados has a wide international experience and provides legal advising in cross border transactions. To guarantee the quality of the services provided in a global scale, CS'Associados has established longstanding work relations with other selected top-tier law firms around the world that share the same principles and client service profile.