The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s practice, led by the capable Pedro Ferreira Malaquias, continues to attract a number of international clients despite the departure of Francisco Sá Carneiro in 2009. The team advised Banco BPI on the Douro Mortgages No.5 securitisation transaction, and advised a banking syndicate including Caixa Banco de Investimento on financing the Lisbon-Porceirão PPP railway line. Carlos Costa Andrade is also recommended.

Within Capital markets, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s ‘strong’ capital markets team recently advised BNP Paribas on the public offering of €50m worth of index-linked redemption notes. Banco Santander is also a key client. The firm also advises on M&A-related capital markets matters, such as representing Lafarge on selling its shares in Cimpor. Carlos Costa Andrade heads the practice and is supported by highly rated senior associate Ana Sá Couto.

Within Corporate and M&A, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho has a ‘fantastic track record’ and provides an ‘excellent service’ to clients across a range of industries. Among several high-profile deals in 2010, the group assisted Telefónica on its acquisition of PT’s stake in Brasilcel, and advised Lafarge on selling its share in Cimpor. It also handled Grupo Damm’s acquisition of Drink In, and advised Olympus on divesting its diagnostics business to Beckman Coulter. Francisco Brito e Abreu is the lynchpin of the team, providing ‘most appropriate and considered legal advice’, while Carlos Costa Andrade is also recommended.

Within Dispute resolution, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

As ‘a top European firm’, Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho excels in advising on complex cross-border disputes, and offers ‘accuracy and dedication to every legal question’. The team is praised for its ‘personal and direct relations’ and provides ‘immediate attention’ to matters. ‘Very smart’ practice co-head Daniel Proença Carvalho has a ‘splendid practice’, and recently advised two former directors of Millennium bcp in a €1.3m civil claim. His fellow co-head Tito Arantes Fontes advised a television company on a €6m compensation case, and is advising on a major ICC arbitration. Oporto-based João Anacoreta Correia is also recommended, as is the ‘committed and passionate’ of counsel Sofia Martins, who is ‘very experienced, tough and extremely thorough’.

Within EU and competition, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s ‘very good’ competition and EU team advises on merger control filings, competition compliance programmes, and antitrust and cartel investigations. The team has been representing Uniarme in an antitrust investigation and Socitrel in an appeal relating to an alleged steel cartel, and also advises Apifarma on EU and competition-related issues. Joaquim Caimoto Duarte is recommended.

Within Employment, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

The ‘incredibly experienced’ Filipe Fraústro da Silva leads the team at Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho, which pairs ‘very good expertise and response times’. The group’s recent experience includes advising on collective dismissals, and it also advised Barclays on employee transfers following its acquisition of Citibank’s credit card division in Portugal.

Within Energy and environment, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Bernardo Diniz de Ayala at Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho leads an expert team which regularly advises energy companies on project finance and M&A transactions. The group advised the New Energy Fund, part of the Fomentinvest Group, on its acquisition of a stake in Spain’s Helios I and II solar thermoelectric power plants. It is also advising Galp Energia on environmental liability compliance.

Within Insolvency and restructuring, Uría Menéndez is a third tier firm,

‘Very good in all respects,’ Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s practice is led by the Oporto-based João Anacoreta Correia, supported by ‘very professional’ litigator Tito Arantes Fontes. The team advised Damm Group on purchasing a brewery following the insolvency of Cintra. João Maria Pimentel is recommended.

Within Intellectual property, Uría Menéndez is a third tier firm,

Senior associate Jacinto Bettencourt handles the majority of IP work at Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho and is a ‘fluent communicator’. The group advises Fox International on copyright matters and Xutos & Pontapés on trade mark infringements. Francisco Brito e Abreu heads the practice.

Within Oporto: Leading commercial firms, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s 11-strong Oporto offering has a strong reputation regionally, and can call upon the firm’s wide network of contacts to offer a broad range of services. Office head João Anacoreta Correia handles restructuring and insolvency work, and acted for Damm on its €16m acquisition of an insolvent Portuguese brewery. The team is advising Rádio Televisão Portuguesa on employment law, and providing tax advice to Barclays’ Portuguese branch. On the contentious side, the firm represented Cespa in a case against the Municipality of Matosinhos relating to taxes on crude oil pipelines.

Within Project finance, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Bernardo Diniz de Ayala leads Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s capable team, which also features Pedro Ferreira Malaquias. The group advised a consortium of banks including BCP and BNP Paribas on financing for the first part of Portugal’s high-speed railway project. It has also advised lenders on projects relating to the Transmontana Motorway and Norte Litoral toll road conversion. The group is also engaged for photovoltaic power plant financing.

Within Public law, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s ‘fantastic’ public law team advises private and public sector clients on litigation, regulation, projects and administrative contracts. Its private clients include major domestic banks, while its public institutional clients include the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Praised for its ‘exemplary professionalism’, the group was involved in financing the high-speed railway and the Águas da Boavista water distribution project in Cape Verde, where it is advising Banco BPI and Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde. Bernardo Diniz de Ayala is ‘one of the best public law practitioners’.

Within Real estate, Uría Menéndez is a first tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s real estate team is ‘extremely thorough, insightful and high quality’, particularly for transactions, and has been handling a steady flow of work despite the slow market. Highlights included advising ING Real Estate, Sonae Sierra, Iberdrola Imobilária, and a holding company of Caixa Geral de Depósitos on the €70m sale of Torre Oriente to Union Investment Real Estate. Elsewhere, the group assisted Multi Development with the €1.3bn sale of a portfolio of shopping centres to Corio. The team also acts for Pestana Hotels & Resorts and Galp Energia. ‘Sharp negotiator’ Duarte Garin manages the ‘solid and pragmatic’ group. Principal associate João Torroaes Valente is ‘most capable’.

Within TMT, Uría Menéndez is a third tier firm,

A smaller player in the market, Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho fields a ‘responsive’, value-for-money TMT team led by ‘dedicated’ senior associate Jacinto Bettencourt. The firm is advising Nokia on a telecoms project, assisting a subsidiary of the Portuguese postal service on outsourcing contracts, and advising Wyeth on transferring data to Pfizer. The Walt Disney Group and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe are also clients.

Within Tax, Uría Menéndez is a second tier firm,

Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho’s tax practice focuses on deal-related taxation, including restructuring matters, as well as tax litigation. The ‘very competent’ Filipe Romão advised ING, Sonae Sierra, Iberdrola and Caixa Geral de Depósitos on the €70m sale of Lisbon’s Torre de Oriente, and also assisted the Portuguese branch of Barclays on the securitisation of €1.3bn of residential mortgage loans. The team also represents Uniame and Grupo Damm.