Lisbon annual report
Portuguese law firm set to be paid in bitcoin
Personal relationships are still critical in Portugal, “which is yet to see a panel-driven approach from
most domestic clients”
Rodrigo Almeida Dias
With lawyers seeing innovation and
technology as lynchpins of future
success, it is only a matter of time
before law firms will be paid in
bitcoin, says Rodrigo Almeida Dias,
co-managing partner at FCB Sociedade
de Advogados. “The Web Summit
being secured in Lisbon for another ten
years was a major coup and this will
further strengthen start-up culture and
Lisbon’s mission to be the Silicon Valley
of Europe,” says Almeida Dias. “We
will see more of the bigger law firms
investing in artificial intelligence tools,”
he adds. “I also believe we will see the
first law firm in Portugal accepting
payments in Bitcoin from clients.”
This willingness to harness new
technologies has been partly driven by
the increasingly competitive nature of
the market, and the changing demands
of clients. “Clients are increasingly
demanding more for less,” says
Almeida Dias. “This is their right
given the exceptionally competitive
nature of the legal market in Portugal
and an hourly rate that is the lowest
in Continental Europe.” Almeida Dias
continues: “Personal relationships are
still critical in Portugal and we are yet
to see a panel-driven approach from
most domestic clients, but international
companies with a foreign branch are
starting to request that law firms pitch
for work.” While client demands may
be increasing, this is balanced out by an
improvement in market conditions, as
demonstrated by Portugal’s 2.7 per cent
GDP growth in 2017, the highest since
2000, according to the World Bank.
“The legal services market has
been exceptionally active in areas
such as real estate, tourism and
M&A, mainly in relation to foreign
investment,” says Alemeida Dias, who
also highlights some less traditional
areas of growth. “This, together with
the privacy legacy of GDPR and the
legalised use of cannabis for medicinal
purposes, are two major growth areas
and opportunities for law firms in
Portugal.”
Investors from Asia and the US targeting Portuguese
outsourcing and infrastructure sectors
Pedro Rebelo de Sousa
Investors from Asia and the US are
generating increased demand for legal
services in Portugal, while uncertainty
caused by Brexit is also presenting
opportunities for lawyers, says Pedro
Rebelo de Sousa, managing partner at
SRS Advogados.
“Foreign direct investment (FDI)
has been driving growth and law firms
have been among the beneficiaries
of this economic growth,” explains
Rebelo de Sousa. “The Portuguese
legal market’s revenue is growing
as transactional work increases and
prospects are improving – law firms, in
particular, have experienced an increase
in data protection, employment, M&A
and real estate work.”
Law firms that have offices outside
Europe have also managed to channel
a significant amount of work through
their international networks. “SRS
Advogados has been involved in
numerous FDI transactions, principally
38 • IBERIAN LAWYER • September / October 2018
with investors from Asia (through
our Singapore office) and the US,”
says De Sousa, who adds that
geopolitical issues such as Brexit
are driving investors towards
Portugal. “Uncertainty related to the
consequences of Brexit is generating
opportunities for law firms.”
The foreign investment is not
only taking the form of M&A deals,
as there is also significant appetite
for assets in the outsourcing,
infrastructure and real estate sectors.
“Cross-border M&A is driving growth
in the Lisbon market and if there are
no international or national contextual
changes, the country in 2019 has
interesting opportunities in areas
such as maritime transport and port
infrastructure, tourism, real estate and
mining, not to mention a continuation
of the significant trend of relocation of
the R&D centres of multinationals to
Portugal,” De Sousa says.
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