Maria Zagallo > PLMJ > Lisbon, Portugal > Lawyer Profile
PLMJ Offices
Av. Fontes Pereira de Melo, 43
1050-119 Lisboa
Portugal
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Maria Zagallo
Work Department
Public Law
Position
Partner
Career
Maria is a partner in the Public Law practice who has over 15 years’ professional experience in general administrative law, public procurement, project finance and public-private partnerships. She has focused, in particular, on projects and infrastructures.
Maria has advised public and private entities in various areas of public law, with an emphasis on dealing with concessions and projects in the road, rail, airport, port, health, water and waste sectors.
Before joining PLMJ, Maria was head of the Portuguese PPP Unit (UTAP) and a member of the Higher Council for Public Works. In these roles, she was involved in the launch and renegotiation of the main public projects in Portugal. At the same time, she represented the Portuguese State in various domestic and international forums on PPPs and major projects. These forums took place before European and multilateral institutions as part of the missions and reviews of the Economic and Financial Assistance Programme for Portugal.
Maria began her career at the law firms Sérvulo & Associados and Vieira de Almeida.
Languages
Portuguese and English
Education
Law degree from the University of Lisbon, 2004
Admitted to the Portuguese Bar Association, 2006
Postgraduate course in pharmaceutical law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, 2006
Lawyer Rankings
Portugal > Projects and project finance
(Next Generation Partners)Led by Maria Zagallo, the team at PLMJ has a wealth of experience in the financing and development of projects in the transport, healthcare, and energy sectors. Practitioners ‘actively search for innovative solutions to the problems presented’ and are noted for their capabilities in public procurement, PPPs, concessions and regulatory issues. Zagallo possesses ‘experience in both the private and public sector’, with a particular focus on matters related to motorways, ports, and railways. Diogo Perestrelo
, a ‘reference in the national legal market’, is noted for his expertise in M&A and investments in regulated sectors, while Joana Brandão is recognised for her work in energy, infrastructure and real estate projects. Former co-head Inês Pinto da Costa left the firm in October 2024.
Portugal > Public law
PLMJ, led by the reputed Diogo Duarte Campos, receives particular praise for its work in procurement, tender procedures and public law-related contentious matters. Campos is ‘an unmissable name in public procurement and administrative litigation’. Maria Zagallo is skilled in project finance and concession agreements, often working with major players in the transport sector. Praised for ‘her deep legal knowledge, professional ethics and integrity’, Raquel Freitas focuses on environmental law, while Tiago Duarte handles public procurement procedures administrative contracts and constitutional law issues.
Lawyer Rankings
- Next Generation Partners Portugal > Projects and project finance
- Projects and project finance Portugal
- Public law Portugal
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Banking and finance
- Capital markets
- Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Dispute resolution
- Employment
- EU and competition
- Insolvency and restructuring
- Planning law
- Projects and project finance
- Real estate and construction