Manuel Cavaleiro Brandão > VdA > Lisbon, Portugal > Lawyer Profile

At VdA, the employment practice acts for an impressive client roster, featuring leading companies from the banking, technology, life sciences, and energy sectors across Portuguese-speaking countries. At the helm of the team is Manuel Cavaleiro Brandão, a veteran labour practitioner based in Porto with a wealth of experience in national and international arbitration. In Lisbon, Américo Oliveira Fragoso provides comprehensive advice to a diverse client base on all aspects of labour and social security law, including litigation. The ‘exceptional‘ Benedita Gonçalves, who sits in the Porto office, focuses on corporate restructuring, lay-offs, labour negotiation, and employment law training. Both Fragoso and Gonçalves were promoted to the partnership in 2023.

VdA fields a robust Porto-based team, enriched with extensive expertise in ‘several areas of law’, spanning corporate and M&A, tax, employment, public law, dispute resolution, white-collar crime, TMT, data privacy, and real estate. The team is active across the manufacturing, energy, automotive, telecoms and technology sectors, and earns further praise for its cross-border capabilities. Focused on tax law, practice head João Velez de Lima regularly acts for clients in judicial and administrative tax litigation, international taxation issues and compliance work. Labour and employment specialist Manuel Cavaleiro Brandão is noted for his experience in contentious matters, including arbitration. Miguel Reis excels in domestic and international taxation issues, while Isabel Gião de Andrade works closely with clients in corporate governance issues and M&A deals. Recently promoted partner Benedita Gonçalves undertakes a range of labour and social security law work.