Event information
After last year’s resounding success, The Legal 500 is delighted return to Lisbon to host the GC Summit Portugal 2024, on April 9th. An exclusive event tailored for the country’s esteemed in-house community, aiming to facilitate networking, knowledge sharing, and learning from a panel of distinguished speakers.
The conference will cover a broad spectrum of the top trendiest topics in the country, including the evolution of the role of the General Counsel, the influential developments shaping the ever-growing ESG agenda, among others. Between comprehensive panel discussions and the opportunity to meet and engage with fellow in-house counsel, the GC Summit Portugal promises to be a practical, forward-looking event bringing together some of the country’s top legal minds.
The schedule of panel sessions promises to offer valuable insights and discussions brought to you in association with our event partners CMS, Morais Leitão, and Abreu Advogados.
In addition to hearing from our event partners, this event will also incorporate the unique in-house perspective on these topics, aimed at presenting attendees with a well-rounded and insightful discussion. For corporate lawyers in Portugal seeking professional development and connections with peers, this event is a must-attend. As always, the event will wrap up with refreshments, dining, and an excellent chance for attendees to expand their network within the Portuguese legal sphere.
The GC Summit Portugal 2024 extends a special invitation to the esteemed in-house counsel representing the nation’s foremost companies, along with top practitioners. Together, they will engage in discussions surrounding the evolving responsibilities of in-house leaders and the array of challenges, issues, and opportunities awaiting them in 2024 and the future.
Agenda
1.00pm – 2.00pm Registration
2.00pm – 2.15pm Opening remarks
- Francisco Castro, senior research analyst, Legal 500
2.15pm – 3.05pm Safeguarding Intellectual Property in an Evolving Economic Landscape
In today’s society of knowledge and creativity, intellectual property is an increasingly important issue for the economies of countries and businesses.
The protection, maintenance, management and valorisation of Intellectual Property comprises a set of activities that require specific, in-depth and sometimes complex knowledge on the part of companies.
In today’s economic landscape, it has been shown that companies with a greater capacity for innovation, with the consequent production of intangible goods / assets, are the ones that best withstand the fluctuations in the economy. Valuing these assets therefore requires adequate protection, maintenance, management and valorisation.
On the other hand, in view of globalisation, innovation is less and less restricted to the company’s immediate surroundings, but has extended to the search for innovations in the external environment, such as specialists from outside the organisation, universities, laboratories and research centres, and even creative people who want to put forward their ideas on a particular problem to be solved. We need to share risks, costs, ideas and, consequently, innovations.
The big challenge for companies is therefore to ensure that their rights are protected when they act alone and that they have a share in the intangible assets created when they act in collaboration.
- César Bessa Monteiro Jr., partner, Abreu Advogados
- Sara Barbot, group director, legal, BA Glass
- Pedro Gonçalves, director of legal and compliance, Unbabel
- Rita Branquinho Lobo, head of legal affairs, Novabase
3.05pm – 3.55pm Leveraging AI for Sustainable Business
Discover the future of sustainable business at an insightful panel discussion, as our expert speakers delve into the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), exploring innovative strategies and cutting-edge technologies reshaping the corporate landscape.
Brought by CMS, this session promises invaluable insights into leveraging AI to foster sustainability, enhance efficiency, and drive growth within your organisation. From navigating regulatory challenges to optimising legal operations, this event offers a comprehensive exploration of AI’s role in shaping the sustainable business practices of tomorrow.
Join us for an engaging dialogue that promises to redefine the intersection of law, technology, and corporate sustainability. Whether you’re a legal practitioner or a corporate leader, with an appetite for technology, this panel discussion is your gateway to unlocking the full potential of AI in building a more sustainable future for businesses worldwide.
- Bernardo Cunha Ferreira, partner, CMS
- Pedro Amaral Frazão, adviser to the chairman, Grupo Sousa
- Tiago de Magalhães, senior associate, CMS Portugal
- Sandro dos Santos Zeineddin, director of information systems, Portway
3.55pm – 4.10pm Coffee Break
4.10pm – 5.00pm Introducing ML Assessment.ai
Transform Your Legal Challenges into Opportunities! Designed specifically for forward-thinking legal departments, compliance and risk management teams, strategic development, IT/operations, and Data Protection Officers, ML Assessment.ai is ML innovative approach to navigate the complexities of the legal landscape, through AI-driven solutions.
In this panel, we will share the experience and discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by legal and corporate affairs teams in their role in the technology era, in particular in the banking and energy sectors, from automatization to extractive and generative AI driven tools.
From streamlining everyday operations (like organizing your legal workflows and documentation and enhancing client and supplier relationships), to mastering risk management through GAP analysis and targeted solutions for regulatory issues, and even smoothing out typical execution burdens in M&A activities, we will discuss how AI-driven solutions may transform your legal challenges into strategic advantages: making legal operations more agile, efficient, and prepared for the ever-evolving business world; and preparing your teams/organization to deal with and overcome the cultural, security and quality issues raised by these solutions.
- Magda Viçoso, partner, Morais Leitão
- Carlos Coelho, director of innovation and knowledge, Morais Leitão
- Bruno Pina, chief legal officer, Repsol
- Ana Moniz Macedo, director of corporate affairs, Millennium BCP
5.00pm – 5.50pm Voluntary Carbon Markets: Challenges and Opportunities within the New Legislation
Sustainable Finance has been a growing topic. Intended to avoid green washing and overcome criticism, the Voluntary Carbon Markets new legislation both at the Portuguese and the EU levels bring new opportunities to evolve the topic. The most relevant points of both regimes will be covered as well as the possibility to create financial products on the grounds of bold carbon credits. The panel discussion joins views from the offer and the demand side and will share insights on the opportunities created by the legislation and the constraints that still need to be tackled.
- Assunção Cristas, partner, ESG integrated services platform and the environment, VdA
- Hugo Moredo Santos, partner, banking & finance, VdA
- Patrícia Mendes, head of legal and compliance, Volkswagen Financial Services
- Angela Lucas, co-founder, partner & board member, LAND Fund
5.50pm – 6.20pm Fintech Market Trends
Join the panel for a dynamic discussion on the evolving fintech scene in Portugal. Our experts will take an in-depth look at the latest trends, from the acquisition of regulated entities and the creation of new ones, to the opening of branches and the establishment of joint ventures. The panel will also explore the provision of cross-border services targeting the Portuguese market, providing insights based on their extensive experience of fintech in the Portuguese market.
- Bruno Ferreira, managing partner, PLMJ
- André Abrantes, managing associate, PLMJ
- Tomás Almeida Ribeiro, managing associate, PLMJ
6.20pm – 6.25pm Closing remarks
- Francisco Castro, senior research analyst, Legal 500
6.25pm – 7.25pm Drinks and canapes
Speakers
César Bessa Monteiro Jr., partner, Abreu Advogados
César Bessa Monteiro jr, is a partner and has been with Abreu Advogados since 2017, working mainly in the areas of Corporate Law and Intellectual Property Law.
He has extensive experience in matters relating to innovation, inventions, trademarks, trade secrets, unfair competition, copyright and design, as well as in defining and implementing strategies (in a wide variety of industries) for the acquisition, maintenance, protection and defense of intellectual property rights. He is also particularly active in advising national and multinational companies on all types of cross-border commercial transactions, namely global corporate structuring and integration projects, corporate acquisition and reorganisation projects, as well as structuring and implementing venture capital operations.
He works with a wide range of national and multinational companies, including automotive, pharmaceutical, hospitality, health, entertainment, fashion, construction, chemical, financial institutions, manufacturers of various consumer goods, software and hardware manufacturers, physical and online retail companies.
Bernardo Cunha Ferreira, partner, CMS Portugal
Magda Viçoso, partner, Morais Leitão
Magda Viçoso, Partner of the firm’s corporate and M&A teams and member of the firm’s board of directors with responsibilities in innovation and IT matters.
Her practice focuses on M&A, corporate, private equity, investment funds, capital markets and banking law. Throughout her career she has regularly advised on both transactional and current corporate and regulatory assistance, listed companies and groups of substantial dimension – particularly in the banking, energy, cement, telecommunications, postal services and logistic sectors.
From 2015 to 2018, she was responsible for an in-house legal team of a Portuguese listed company focused on corporate matters and businesses development, being involved in transformation and strategic organic initiatives and in inorganic M&A acquisitions and joint ventures.
Carlos Coelho, director of innovation and knowledge, Morais Leitão
Carlos leads an innovation team that actively engages in addressing and solving legal issues through innovative approaches. Since joining Morais Leitão in 2014, he has concentrated on introducing new methodologies into legal tasks and processes with the support of technology, such as legal tech tools, to enhance efficiency and leverage internal knowledge. He advocates for the use of artificial intelligence, document automation, low-code/no-code platforms, and robotic process automation (RPA) as means to revolutionize the legal industry.
Assunção Cristas, partner, ESG integrated services platform and the environment, VdA
Assunção joined VdA in 2022 as Partner to head the firm’s ESG Integrated Services Platform and the Environment practice area, which encompasses ocean and agriculture related matters.
She is associate professor at Nova School of Law, coordinator of the Master’s degree in Law and Economics of the Sea — Ocean Governance (ranked 1st place globally by Eduniversal), lecturing on Ocean Policies, and director of NOVA OCEAN, a knowledge centre established in 2021 dedicated to ocean research. At the undergraduate level she lectures several courses, namely Law and Sustainability. Her areas of research interest are focused on sustainability and legislative architecture and development. At the NOVA University level, she has been leading the launching of the Ocean Studies degree, an innovative and interdisciplinary three years cycle starting in 2024 and coordinates the Ocean Challenges Eutopia Community.
From September 2009 to January 2020, Assunção held several political positions: she was Minister of Agriculture, the Sea, Environment and Land Use Planning (2011-2013) and Minister of Agriculture and the Sea (2013-2015); Member of the Portuguese Parliament (2009-2011 and 2015-2020); President of the political party CDS-PP (2016-2020) and previously Vice-President (2009-2016); and Councilwoman of the Lisbon City Council (2017-2021).
Hugo Moredo Santos, partner, banking & finance, VdA
Hugo Moredo Santos joined VdA in 2001. Partner of the Banking & Finance practice area, Hugo provides legal advice in the context of takeovers and public offerings, as well as in respect of the issuance of securities and structured finance products, including securitisation and covered bonds, advising issuers, offerors, financial intermediaries or investors.
He also provides ongoing advice on regulatory matters in the areas of banking law and capital markets.
Francisco Castro, senior research analyst, Legal 500
Francisco joined the Legal 500’s GC Powerlist series in August 2022. As part of its in-house legal research team, Francisco’s work focuses on researching, editing and interviewing some of the most prominent and exceptional in-house counsel of some of the largest companies in the world. He has also played a part in chairing Legal 500 summits all around world, and is a regular host for The Legal 500’s webinar series, which provides market-leading expertise on a distinctive digital platform.
Additionally, Francisco has extensive research experience in other fields, such as Public Policy, Higher Education and International Law. Other scientific areas of interest include International Relations, Geopolitics and International Humanitarian Law. Francisco is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Ana Moniz Macedo, director of corporate affairs, Millennium BCP
Degree in law and a master’s in business legal sciences from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Ana Moniz has been the Corporate Secretary of BCP and the Coordinating Director responsible for the corporate legal monitoring of the BCP Group in Portugal since December 2022. In this context, she provides legal and technical advice to the corporate bodies of administration and supervision on matters of corporate governance and regulation, organizes the general meetings, interacts with regulators and qualified shareholders, and ensures Fit & Proper processes, among other functions.
With 15 years of experience in the banking and financial sector, she previously worked in the Legal Department of Novobanco, was a Senior Manager in the area of Financial Services, Risk & Regulation at PwC Portugal, and an Associate Lawyer in the Banking and Financial department of the law firm Vieira de Almeida & Associados.
Bruno Pina, chief legal officer, Repsol
Bruno has been with Repsol since 2006 and presently serves as the General Counsel in Portugal, a position he has held since January 2021. In this capacity, he offers comprehensive support to all facets of Repsol’s operations and corporate functions in Portugal.
Prior to assuming his current role, Bruno served as the lead attorney overseeing Legal Services at Repsol in Mexico. He played a pivotal role in this capacity from the initiation of Repsol’s international expansion project in Mexico in 2018 until the conclusion of his tenure in 2020.
Drawing from his diverse background, Bruno has also contributed his legal expertise in various esteemed firms. He served as a lawyer at PricewaterhouseCoopers within the Corporate and M&A Practice Area and later at Linklaters LLP within the Mainstream Corporate Finance Practice Area.
Sara Barbot, group director, legal, BA Glass
Executive with over 18 years of experience working across multiple industries, including construction and real estate, renewables, transports and electric mobility. Sara Barbot has worked in companies such as Efacec, Kora Angola and Martifer. Blending in-house legal career with law firm practice, Sara worked in private practice at leading law firms. Passionate about international transactional law and M&A, she is currently BA Glass’ Group Legal Director.
Rita Branquinho Lobo, head of legal affairs, Novabase
With over 25 years of experience, the last decade and a half in the IT industry negotiating Software Licensing, Outsourcing (ITO and BPO), Maintenance, Consulting Services and e-commerce related matters, with a strong component in Intellectual Property Rights. Since 2017, Rita Branquinho Lobo has been the head of the legal team of the large Portuguese IT solutions provider Novabase. Prior to her in-house legal career, Rita worked in private practice at major law firms.
Pedro Gonçalves, director of legal and compliance, Unbabel
Executive with over 30 years of experience working across multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals and language operations. Pedro Gonçalves has a vast educational background and extensive global experience leading and managing corporate legal initiatives while overseeing the compliance and risk management operations. He has worked in companies such as GSK and Pfizer, as well as international law firms in Portugal. He is currently the Director of Legal and Compliance at Unbabel.
Patrícia Mendes, head of legal and compliance, Volkswagen Financial Services
Angela Lucas, co-founder, partner & board member, LAND Fund
Pedro Amaral Frazão, adviser to the chairman, Grupo Sousa
Sandro dos Santos Zeineddin, director of information systems, Portway
Tiago de Magalhães, senior associate, CMS Portugal
Bruno Ferreira, managing partner, PLMJ
Bruno is managing partner and partner in the banking and finance and capital markets practices, and he has over 15 years’ experience in giving legal advice in these areas. He specialises in advising on complex transactions in Portugal and internationally, combining transactional and regulatory advice with advice on financial issues, including project finance operations, leveraged finance and asset based finance.
André Abrantes, managing associate, PLMJ
Tomás Almeida Ribeiro, managing associate, PLMJ
In association with...
Abreu Advogados is a Portuguese independent full-service law firm set to provide legal advice in this changing society and for over 30 years has been working daily to ensure that new solutions are created for every industry.
As the world changes and new challenges unexpectedly arise, people’s mindsets and the way business is conducted call for innovative, fast-adapting lawyers. Abreu Advogados invests in multidisciplinary, borderless teams that tackle increasingly complex transactions, breaking down barriers and established models, presenting a business-oriented vision and cost-effective solutions, anticipating its client’s needs.
Abreu Advogados is amongst the largest firms in Portugal, with a team is composed of more than 220 fee earners and over 330 professionals. Present in 10 locations, with offices in Lisbon, Porto and Funchal, as well as strategic partnerships in the Portuguese speaking countries, such as Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Macau and Timor-Leste.
CMS Portugal is part of the CMS global team, a world leader in the ranking of the Top 10 Global Law Firms with in-depth local knowledge and local experience in over 40 countries.
Our clients benefit from our experience, an in-depth knowledge of various sectors as well as from our unique international coverage, which enable us to provide a truly global service with a solution and an agile approach.
At CMS Portugal we provide a client-focused service, forecast future trends and develop efficient solutions to meet continuously changing needs of the market.
We have a multidisciplinary team of lawyers specialised in activity sectors, committed to develop innovative, practical and efficient strategies adapted to the Client’s reality needs.
Morais Leitão is a leading and experienced full-service law firm in Portugal. Internationally recognised, its reputation stems from the excellence and high level of the services provided to clients, solid ethical values and a distinctive approach with cutting edge solutions.
Specialised legal services in the main areas of law and in different sectors of the economy are a benchmark of the firm leading to its involvement in the most important operations in Portugal, as well as in high value cross-border transactions and disputes.
Through the network Morais Leitão Legal Circle, we present a team of more than 275 lawyers, with offices in Portugal (Lisbon, Porto and Funchal (Madeira Island)), Singapore, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde.
Vieira de Almeida (VdA) is a leading international law firm with more than 40 years of history, recognised for its impressive track record and innovative approach in corporate legal services. The excellence of its highly specialised legal services covering several industries and practice areas enables VdA to overcome the increasingly complex challenges faced by its clients.
VdA offers robust solutions grounded in consistent standards of excellence, ethics and professionalism. Recognition of the excellence of our work is shared by the entire team, as well as with clients and stakeholders, and is acknowledged by leading professional associations, legal publications and academic entities. VdA has been consistently recognised for its outstanding and innovative services, having received the most prestigious international accolades and awards of the legal industry including the Financial Times Most Innovative Firm in Continental Europe.
Through the VdA Legal Partners network, clients have access to 7 jurisdictions, with a broad sectoral coverage in all Portuguese-speaking African countries, as well as Timor-Leste.
Angola – Cabo Verde – Equatorial Guinea – Mozambique Portugal – Sao Tome and Principe
PLMJ is a leading, national, independent law firm in Portugal that is focused on providing legal advice to the business sector, and we have one of the largest teams of lawyers in the country.
Leaders for over 50 years, we are proud of the culture we have built. We see our clients’ challenges as our own and we put our people at the centre of our strategy to always excel in delivering value to everyone who places their trust in us.
Our teams are made up of the best lawyers in the country, we provide a full-service, and we take a multidisciplinary approach. The agility of our teams combined with in-depth knowledge of the sectors where our clients operate is a defining feature of the way we position ourselves: as true legal partners.