Lisbon annual report
International law firms could enter Portuguese market as
foreign investors target real estate and energy sectors
To take advantage of market boom, lawyers need to continuously innovate, offer highly-specialised
legal services and ‘far exceed the expectations of clients’
Nuno Galvão Teles
Foreign investors are showing a
growing interest in Portuguese
assets and this could result in more
international law firms taking steps to
boost their presence in the Lisbon legal
market, says MLGTS managing partner
Nuno Galvão Teles.
“Tourism, industry, R&D, real estate
and renewable energies are some of
the areas which are currently growing
rapidly in Portugal and we believe will
continue to grow in the coming years,”
says Galvão Teles. “Portugal is a very
stable country, politically and socially,
and is now an innovative country,
with modern technology and qualified
workers, and it is still a quite affordable
country.”
To take advantage of this boom,
however, lawyers recognise that they
cannot afford to stand still – innovation
is key for those wanting to stay
ahead of the market. “Innovation is
probably the biggest challenge, but it
is crucial for Portuguese law firms to
continuously try to find innovative
ways to add value to highly-specialised
legal services, and far exceed the
expectations of clients,” says Galvão
Teles. “Ten or 15 years ago, most
lawyers had a very conservative
view of their work and tended to
believe that their work would begin
and end with legal advice. However,
clients now want lawyers to be their
business partners, as well as partners
in innovation.” Galvão Teles continues:
“This involves assuming some risks
with the client, mostly through
alternative fee arrangements, but also
by having an in-depth knowledge of
the sector where the client operates,
as well as understanding what the
clients’ needs really are and proposing
innovative and value-added solutions.”
Firms in Portugal are facing
competition from international
firms, a trend Galvão Teles believes
may become more common. “The
increasing attention foreign companies
are devoting to Portugal means more
players could enter the Lisbon market.”
Lisbon legal market is buoyant, but firms must not
stand still in highly competitive environment
Dulce Franco
Following a decade of turbulence,
Lisbon’s commercial legal market
is entering a welcome period of
stability. Despite the relatively
benign conditions, most lawyers
acknowledge that by standing still they
will effectively be moving backwards
because the competition remains so
high.
“The market is increasingly
competitive,” says Dulce Franco,
partner at AAA Advogados. “One of
the main reasons for this is that the
level of quality of legal services in
Lisbon within a certain range equals
international standards, either in
large or small law firms, and therefore
clients have a considerable number of
options.”
She continues: “Within this range,
differentiation is not so easy to achieve
and law firms have to constantly find
new ways to improve to become more
efficient and competitive.”
36 • IBERIAN LAWYER • September / October 2018
Law firms need to offer higher
standards of service in order to retain
a competitive edge in the market,
Franco says. “This entails continued
innovation and improvement, as
well as strengthening teams and
specialised offerings – it all goes back
to quality and competitiveness,” she
explains.
The fact that the market is currently
enjoying a period of buoyancy ensures
that successful innovation is likely
to be rewarded with high-quality
mandates.
“The Portuguese legal market
seems to be in a relatively stable
phase and I see no indications of
major changes in the short term,” says
Franco.
“A significant newcomer in the
market could bring about change, but
that sort of change is positive as it
forces all players to increase efficiency
to cope with the competition.”
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