José Maria Corrêa de Sampaio > Abreu Advogados > Lisbon, Portugal > Lawyer Profile

Abreu Advogados excels in sectors such as energy, aviation, infrastructure, natural resources, and financial markets. The firm’s diverse experience includes advising on oil and gas logistics platform concessions and retail real estate projects, as well as providing litigation and debt collection support to major domestic banking clients. Ana Sofia Batista and José Maria Corrêa De Sampaio lead the team from Lisbon, alongside Zara Jamal, who manages local partner firm JLA ADVOGADOS in Maputo. Batista is adept at M&A negotiations, including private equity transactions, while Jamal specialises in project and energy financing, real estate, and banking. Manuel Santos Vítor handles M&A deals across the energy, natural resources, and leisure spaces, and Isabel Pinheiro Torres contributes banking and finance expertise.

Well-regarded for its ability to marry a ‘strong commercial understanding of banking and financing matters’ with ‘practical solutions’, the team at Abreu Advogados covers a wide range of regulatory and transactional work, both on a domestic and international scale. Operating across a myriad of sectors and industries including real estate, energy, aviation, infrastructure and insurance, the practice advises on NPL restructuring and disposals, structured lending, as well as real estate and acquisition finance. The team is jointly steered by a capable trio: José Maria Corrêa De Sampaio, who boasts a proven track record in complex financing transactions in Portugal; Rodrigo Formigal, who is praised for his ‘practical and adaptable approach to matters’ and recommended for cross-border deals, debt restructuring and distressed assets transactions; and Diogo Pereira Duarte, who heads up the fintech-focused group and specialises in the regulatory framework applicable to banks and investment firms. Key contact Pedro Ferreira Malaquias handles all legal aspects related to retail and investment banking activity.

With expertise spanning the real estate, banking, tech, life sciences, energy and natural resources sectors, Abreu Advogados draws considerable praise from clients, who turn to the team for its ‘commercial and pragmatic’ approach in a range of corporate transactions. The practice possesses strong capabilities in  cross-border mandates, notable in Mozambique and Angola. With over two decades’ experience in this space, Ana Sofia Batista acts for a variety of national and international clients in private equity deals. She leads the practice alongside José Maria Corrêa De Sampaio, noted for his ability to ‘quickly understand the client’s intended objectives’, and Manuel Santos Vítor who, in addition to M&A transactions, excels in corporate governance and reorganisations.