Event Report

On April 9th, The Legal 500 was delighted to be back in Lisbon, hosting the GC Summit Portugal 2024 at the EPIC SANA Lisboa Hotel. The event convened the nation’s in-house legal community alongside five leading law firms and 20 esteemed speakers, providing a platform for the highest calibre of legal expertise to examine pressing issues faced by corporate counsel.

The conference kicked off with opening remarks from Francisco Castro, The Legal 500’s editorial lead, underscoring the significance of uniting the in-house community and collaborating with law firms to deliver top-notch content tailored to their interests.

The first panel, in collaboration with Abreu Advogados, brought the topic of Intellectual Property to the forefront. César Bessa Monteiro Jr., partner at Abreu Advogados moderated a discussion with Sara Barbot, legal director at BA Glass, Pedro Gonçalves, director of legal and compliance at Unbabel and Rita Branquinho Lobo, head of legal affairs at Novabase. The session explored challenges companies encounter in safeguarding their rights and sharing intangible assets in collaborative endeavours.

The subsequent session, brought by CMS Portugal, with esteemed speakers Bernardo Cunha Ferreira, partner at CMS Portugal, Pedro Amaral Frazão, adviser to the chairman at Grupo Sousa, Tiago de Magalhães, senior associate at CMS Portugal and Sandro dos Santos Zeineddin, director of information systems at Portway, delved into the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), exploring innovative strategies and cutting-edge technologies reshaping the corporate landscape.

After a short coffee break to exchange ideas on the topics discussed, the third panel of the afternoon, in collaboration with Morais Leitão, introduced the firm’s ML Assessment.ai, the firm’s innovative approach to navigate the complexities of the legal landscape, through AI-driven solutions. The session was moderated by Magda Viçoso, partner at Morais Leitão and Carlos Coelho, director of innovation and knowledge at Morais Leitão, alongside guest speakers Bruno Pina, chief legal officer at Repsol and Ana Moniz Macedo, director of corporate affairs at Millennium BCP.

The session that followed, brought by VdA, focused on the Voluntary Carbon Markets newest legislation, both at the Portuguese and the EU levels, which brings new opportunities to, among others, create financial products on the grounds of bold carbon credits. The discussion was led by Assunção Cristas, partner, ESG integrated services platform and the environment at VdA, Hugo Moredo Santos, partner, banking & finance at VdA, Patrícia Mendes, head of legal and compliance at Volkswagen Financial Services and Angela Lucas, co-founder, partner & board member at LAND Fund.

Concluding the day, leading firm PLMJ, brought a dynamic discussion on the evolving fintech scene in Portugal, taking 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. Speakers were Bruno Ferreira, managing partner at PLMJ, and André Abrantes and Tomás Almeida Ribeiro, managing associates at PLMJ.

In summary, the GC Summit Portugal 2024 served as a catalyst for fostering legal excellence, promoting business innovation, and forging meaningful connections within the legal and corporate community. Following the event’s impressive conclusion, the dialogue continued into a drinks and canapes reception. Here, lingering questions were addressed, and attendees seized the opportunity to reconnect with their peers.

On June 27th, The Legal 500 will return to Lisbon for the release of its annual GC Powerlist: Portugal, highlighting the top in-house lawyers in the country, in collaboration with PLMJ.

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